Blog has moved to http://codykimmel.wordpress.com

My Blog has moved!

2010-10-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

My Blog has moved to the following address:

http://codykimmel.wordpress.com

Thanks so much for reading and hopefully you will continue to be encouraged towards a deeper walk with Christ.

Cody

Songs of Righteousness

2010-09-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

“Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:23–24 ESV)

For the last month I, along with a team of three other guys, have been preparing to launch a new campus for our church in an Elementary School about five miles away from the main campus. I am going to be the worship pastor and can't wait for it to begin this Sunday. Most of my time preparing for this new role has been spent researching and purchasing the equipment we need to do what we want to do there, developing the different ministry teams for the church, and working with the web guy and the design guy and the print guy at our church to make sure we have everything we need for the new campus to run smoothly. It's been a lot of work, but I have learned a ton and sincerely enjoyed the preparations. However, with it now four days away from beginning, I am getting anxious. This morning our 2 month old son woke Lauren and I up at 5 am (the second time he had woken us up last night) and I was grumpy. I started thinking about all the things I still need to get done for the new campus, all the people I would have to call, all the homework that I've put on the back-burner to get through this week, and in the end I was taking out my stress from those things on Lauren and Kyler.

After Kyler finally fell asleep, I sat down at the kitchen table and opened up my bible to read, the whole time anxiously hoping that the baby monitor in front of me won't light up with his cries and interrupt my breakfast and quiet time. I'm working through the minor prophets right now, so I was just expecting to read some of Amos and walk away with only a better appreciation for God's revelation through his interplay with Israel, valuable no doubt, but sometimes hard to make relevant to my life. God had different plans for me this morning. I got to chapter 5 and started to see a familiar theme. I had read just a few days before in Hosea, but it's familiarity stifled some of it's impact. Amos, the shepherd prophet, started to list all of the sacrifices and festivals and songs that Israel would sing. As he listed them he wrote how God has rejected all of those things. God was tired of their sacrifices and ceremonies, he didn't want to hear there singing or there instruments. When Amos was prophesying, Israel was not walking with God. Although they maintained temple practices, they also kept altars in the mountains to sacrifice to foreign gods. They neglected the poor among them and abandoned many parts of the law. So what God told them through Amos, is that if they are not going to act with justice and righteousness, he doesn't want their worship. God tells Israel to let justice flow down like water and righteousness flow like a river. Those things would worship him.

When I read that, my heart beat rose a little bit and my countenance dropped in a way that only the Holy Spirit and his conviction can do. This morning I was so worried about the show of worship, I was so concerned with the songs and the liturgy, that I neglected truly worshiping God by treating my beautiful wife and helpless two month old with frustration and unwarranted anger. There is a constant theme I have seen throughout the prophets and which is reiterated through Christ himself. If we are not living with justice and righteousness, if we are not seeking mercy and forgiveness towards each other, if we are not devoting ourselves to knowing God and the glory of his presence, then our worship is detestable to him.

Lord Jesus, I confess that so much of my worship falls upon your deaf ears due to my own sin and misplaced passions. Forgive my iniquities in your gracious eyes and accept my praise on behalf of my integrity, which I have because you alone have saved me!

The Living Bones

2010-08-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

“And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”” Ezekiel 37:3

The Indiana Jones movies were some of my favorite movies growing up (still today?). But I must admit, as a kid watching them, I couldn't help but be scared every time Indy would walk into an old tomb or an underground sewer and be surrounded by the bones of explorers who went before him. From the filmmaker's perspective, these bones created a great contrast to the living Indiana Jones exploring the same treacherous artifacts as the bones laying around him. But for a boy, I was always scared that Indy wouldn't make it. I was worried he would become just another skeleton for some future archeologist to pass over in search of grails and arks and whatnot. Even at a young age, I knew that dead was dead, bones were bones, and that once you were a skeleton, you weren't going to be anything else but dust after that.

During another one of Ezekiel's crazy visions, he is brought into a scene from Indiana Jones. The Spirit of the Lord takes him to a valley filled with dry bones and asks him if these bones could live. Most people if asked that would respond with the obvious, "No," since dead is dead and bones are bones. But Ezekiel knew that God was unpredictable, so he merely responded "O Lord God , you know." As the story goes, God commands Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones to give them flesh and breath, and that which was once dead was given life.

I can only imagine the scene. At one moment surrounded by what looks like the remains of a horrible massacre and the next minute in the middle of new life, breathing bodies rejoicing in every new breath. Over and over in the Scriptures God shows that not only does he delight in creation, but also in re-creation. God delights in taking my dead, dry bones and giving them new life, breathing His breath and Spirit back into that which is breathless and soulless. What a wonderful God we worship!

Lord Jesus, let us live in the newness of life that you give us. We praise for taking what sin has killed and giving us your breath!

From Omni to Chili's

2010-07-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”” Song of Solomon 2:15

About a year ago, Lauren and I were making our way down from Dallas to Austin to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. We set a budget, went to Priceline and found an incredible room in the Omni Hotel. The weekend was spent eating $25 plates, going on aimless walks through downtown Austin, eating crepes out of a trailer near Zilker Park, buying records at Waterloo Records, and enjoying an elegant and exciting weekend in the unique Texas hippy culture that is Austin, Texas. It was incredible.

Last week, Lauren and I celebrated our second anniversary. But instead of waking up to room service and downtown rooftop pools, we woke up every two hours to a fussy and hungry baby, to feed, burp and change his diaper. After a sleepless night, we spent the rest of the day carrying around a car seat and diaper bag meeting our pediatrician and other specialists. Instead of meandering through parks holding hands, we walked tiredly through doctors offices and waiting rooms, spit up on our shirts and the all too familiar "deer-caught-in-the-headlights" look of week old parents on our faces. For dinner we had plans of using a gift card and escaping between feedings for an hour to our local Chili's for a quick meal, but after a day of parenting and Lauren recovering from a C-section we ended up calling in the Chili's order, setting up a romantic dinner on our kitchen table and having a 20 minute meal while the baby hung out with Grandma in the nursery.

A lot can happen in a year.

I find it funny sometimes how much pressure can be put on couples to make anniversaries spectacular. Don't get me wrong, a weekend away dining finely and living largely is fun and a great way to celebrate a marriage. But we often times miss the point. By placing the weight on the spectacle, by putting all of our efforts into anniversary plans and expensive gifts, we often times do so at the expense of putting our efforts into the 364 days in between anniversaries that make or break marriages. That's all Satan has to do. Distract us and shift our priorities just enough to make us forget what honors God about marriages. God doesn't care whether we spend $1 or $1,000 on an anniversary gift or if we can outdo ourselves each year with elaborate plans and surprises. God cares if we cherish and hold our spouse even after they blow up at us after a bad day, He cares if we choose to not look at porn and save our eyes, passions, and thoughts for our wives alone, He cares if we utilize our marriage to be an example in faith to show that it is God's glory and sovereignty that matters more than our reputations, paychecks, and social status.

As I went to bed that night, I looked at my wife then at our baby sleeping in the bassinet. Despite the vastly different wedding anniversary that day, I couldn't help but praise God. The rest of our lives we will be threatened by little foxes trying to sneak through the fence of our marriage and destroy all that God has planted. Some of the foxes will be obvious, but most will be subtle--a slight shift of focus, an underlying fear, a disproportionate love of a child, unmet expectations and the unending pressure to live a life full of genuine love in an inauthentic and soulless world. But that night as we fell asleep, as the baby sighed his sleeping sighs while swaddled tightly for the night and as my wife's breath grew longer and deeper as she slipped into a hard sleep, I knew that we were resting in a garden protected by the grace and mercy of God, safe at least for the night from the crafty little foxes trying to break in. I hope that our future anniversaries will contain more one on one time than this last one, but I'm so happy we don't need the fireworks for it to be romantic.

Lord Jesus, we are incapable in ourselves to be godly and to guard what you have sown. Protect us with your grace and glory from all the snares the devil sets for us and let our marriages be a picture of your love!

Thus Begins Fatherhood

2010-07-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

“Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.” (Psalms 128:3-4 ESV)

As I write this, my beautiful wife is sleeping in a hospital bed filled with pillows from constant feedings with our new son swaddled and sleeping in a "milk coma" on her lap. The cold fluorescence of hospital lights have become common place and the room on the eighth floor of Medical City hospital has become a far too familiar surrounding for us over the last five days. What began as a routine induction that was supposed to bring us back home on Saturday turned into a five day stay and a long recovery from 3 and a half hours of unsuccessfully pushing out a baby and an unexpected C-section. Although Lauren pushed with all of her might, God made her with an overly prominent sacrum, which made it so our son couldn't come out that way. So in many tears and faith that seemed smaller than a mustard seed at the moment, we trusted the doctors choice for a C-section and welcomed our healthy son into the world an hour later.

It's a peculiar thing becoming a father. From 5pm Wednesday evening when we began the induction process and 10:04 pm the following night when our son, Kyler, was born, something truly miraculous happened in my heart. Years of stunted maturity and foolishness seemed flushed out of my body and soul and was instantly replaced by the joyful weight of responsibility that all new fathers are filled with the moment they hold that child they've been waiting nine months to meet. Praise God that Lauren was able to make it through the painful delivery and that God put such smart doctors in our life to keep both my wife and my new son safe.

As they continue to sleep behind me, and the room is not filled with crying babies or nurses or other various hospital machines, my mind began to race back to a verse I read a few weeks ago while reading through the Psalms. I had read the above verse before, but without feeling the weight of fatherhood, its message was lost on me. When I initially thought about being a father, my mind went straight to the responsibility of providing through working, or being actively involved with helping my wife with the everyday tasks of having a newborn, or holding Kyler until he stops crying and all of those other things that come with being a dad. All of these are part of it and important, but they are not the most important responsibility I now have as a father. If I want to be a responsible dad, the Psalmist writes that I must lead by fearing God. When I fear the Lord, my wife and my children will thrive and be blessings.

I knew early on in my faith that fearing God was important, but it wasn't until 10:04 Thursday night, July 8th, 2010, that the axiom became the unwavering reality it always should've been in my life. The fear of God is the most fundamental responsibility I now have. If God is as great and powerful, as gracious and wrathful as he truly is, then what does that mean in loving my wife, in raising my son, in spending and saving money, in how I use my free time, in how I spend all my time. I have to justify my every step, action, and thought to the greatness of God and his majestic love in my life, and my family will see it and follow in step.

In a few hours we will go home and be away from the constant help of the hospital staff and on our own with the giant learning curve living in our house the next twenty years. My prayer is that, although there will be mistakes and sleepless nights and stress, that I can rise to the occasion of leadership that submits whole-heartedly to the awesome power of our wonderful God and that one day our Son would find his salvation in the saving blood of Jesus Christ the lamb.

Early in the morning after he was born, while pondering his recent birth and the great presence f our sweet child, I wrote a hymn of praise that I will leave everyone with. We all have joy because God became a son and died and through him we all have hope in this dark world.

Oh joy! What joy a son is born!

The world in anxious wait

For darkness covers endlessly

Where no light penetrates

But light brought forth in God the Son

Has caused the dark to flee

The presence of the Son, the Lamb

Now reigns victoriously!

The Cross! The Cross! Born for the cross!

The Father's glory in his eyes.

Born for the cross, to conquer death

The way to life in manger lies.

Oh Son! What grace that walks between

The twisted hearts of men

The pharisee and lowly thief

Can all be born again!

A gracious God born humble man

And emptied of his throne

For sinner's sake, and Father's name

Walks to the cross alone.

The Cross! The Cross! Born for the cross!

The Father's glory in his eyes.

Born for the cross, to conquer death

The way to life in manger lies.

Oh Son! So humble bursting forth

From grave to conquering sky.

Though bruised heel has crushed the head

Of Satan and his lie.

Oh Son! Now seated at the throne

Our Lord! Our God! Our King!

The Son suffering for greatest joy

Born for the Cross we sing.

The Cross! The Cross! Born for the cross!

The Father's glory in his eyes.

Born for the cross, to conquer death

The way to life in manger lies.

Respond With Integrity

2010-06-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

“I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;” Psalms 101:2

It's easy to praise God once we begin to interact with him. This may sound trite, but really, as we as believers begin to read about Jesus in the gospels and his mighty works, or study the story of the Exodus or just in general see the transformation from sinners into saints in or own lives it is easy for us to look at all the evidence and deem God worthy of our praise. Verbally acknowledging that God is a great God is really a no brainer as we truly see what he has revealed to us through his word, the common grace evident in his creation, and the sanctifying power of his Spirit in our souls. And this is what we should do. God is a God who is worthy of receiving our verbal affirmation of His glory and wonder. However, what will often times happen in my life, and I think it is indicative of a deeper problem of culture, is that I will pour myself out with words before God, telling him how great and wonderful he is...and then stop. My praise both begins and ends with words. Whether they are through songs, or prayers, or through conversations with others, I find it easy to praise God with my lips, but then stop. This seems to be a problem with those who interact with God for a long time. Over and over again in the Scriptures, there is evidence of Israel praising God with their sacrifices and laws, or covenants made to God, or all these different things, but then the actions they take apart from their words are completely separated and run counter-intuitive to what we say to God. I do this so often in my own life, and every time I do it, my words become pointless. The proper response to God's presence is first and foremost living righteously with integrity. If we were to say nothing, but act differently, God would be praised more truly. Whenever we as believing people praise God with what we say but insult God by what we do, our praise becomes insulting to God.

Lord Jesus, please help us to walk not only with words but with integrity. You are worthy of our righteous living and it is your grace that carries us!

Let God Be God

2010-06-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

“The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”” Psalms 29:3-9

As a worship pastor, I spend most of my time doing everything I can to get people to worship God. Whether it's discussing song choice and order, whether or not to put chairs out, fiddling with lights, or spending hours practicing with the band to get the bridge to that one song just right, the majority of my week is occupied trying to figure out what I need to do for God to be worshipped. As I was reading this morning and thinking about the above passage, it struck me how silly much of what I do during the week truly is. In truth, I don't have to do anything for God to be worshiped. It is very humbling and horrifyingly awesome to know how great God is. His presence doesn't need to be enhanced by me, or by a certain song, or a lighting effect or any other thing. The only thing necessary for God to be praised is for God to be God. Which he is all the time. I fear that a lot of the things that I do on a Sunday morning or any other time I'm leading worship can distract and keep people from what they really need, which is encountering the true God. God doesn't need our help to be praised, we just need to let him be God and he'll take care of the rest.

Lord Jesus, please give me the humility and wisdom to allow you to make your presence known to those who seek to worship you. Let us not be distractions from the Almighty king, so that as people enter into his holy temple, they can't help but cry "Glory!"

How to Complain to God

2010-05-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

“Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me as a crown; I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him.” Job 31:35-37

Life is difficult and unfair. I remember as a child growing up and being reminded constantly by my parents that life isn't fair. Whenever my older sister would get to go the dollar store and I couldn't go or my younger brother would get the toy I wanted on Christmas, I would plead my case before my parents and the response was always, "Cody, sometimes life just isn't fair." On such occasions I returned to my room, buried my head in my pillow and longed for an impartial judge to hear my case and give me fairness. But no such judge existed. Job was a man who, though righteous, lost everything. He was charitable, faithful, loving, wise, and generous and in payment for his integrity his wealth, health, and household was destroyed. Unlike the trivial things I saw as unfair as a child, his complaint was well founded. Job was the lab rat for a cosmic social experiment. So when Job complains, nobody should be surprised. At some point in every one of our lives, we will have to reconcile the realities of the suffering and unfairness of pain in this world, with the perfect and loving God who created it. Why would God, who is infinitely just, do this to Job? Furthermore, why was Job considered righteous for complaining? Job examines every aspect of his soul, he pleads with God to show him where he messed up, and ultimately demanded a fair hearing in front of the Lord almighty. And in this response, it seems God was pleased. If we define God's justice merely by fairness and equality, we will miss the point and never reconcile suffering with God. What Job learns eventually and what God ultimately declares is that God's justice is anything that serves to proclaim deeper and more poignantly his glory to others. The greatest thing any human being can experience and behold is the glory of God. Job's complaining with God, his wrestling and confusion, his bitterness and angst was justly brought upon him by God to declare majestically his power and sovereignty over creation. Job was righteous in his complaints because they ultimately brought about and magnified the glory of God. It's a hard lesson and one I'm still learning today. We are all pawns in the game of God's glory, and by it we are blessed.

Lord Jesus, let us see your glory as the ultimate purpose for justice and bring our complaints before you in a way that brings you praise!

We Give Up Quickly

2010-05-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

““Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right? Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you?” Job 11:2-3

The thought of feeding the homeless, helping the helpless, comforting the suffering, and fixing the broken are always highly appealing to those with religious sentiments. It is not uncommon to give up a Saturday around Christmas to serve at a soup kitchen, or to toss a few coins into the hands of the beggar in a downtown alleyway. We all love to be the shoulder for others to cry on and the voice of wisdom in a misguided friends life. These things are all good things and the desire to help those who are hurting is evidence of God's presence in our lives. But for many people, charity has a short life when its truly played out with those who are in need of it. We all want to feed hungry people, but are shocked that they would steal bread or ask for more than what we give them. We love to comfort those who are hurting, but when out of their hurt they show anger, pain, and doubt, we slink back in confusion. We desire to help those in need, but are surprised that they act needy. Job's friends had the same problems. When they first arrived, they sat in silence with their suffering friend for seven days. There is no doubt they cared about Job and wanted genuinely to help him. But when Job finally opens his mouth and acts like a man who lost everything without cause and a man in sever physical pain, there compassion quickly dries up and turns to frustration that Job won't just humbly accept their advice and be healed instantly. It is frightening how quickly I lose patience with hurting people because they won't let me be the hero I thought I would be in their lives. Broken people act broken, suffering people act hurt, and needy people act needy. If our compassion for those in need is not coupled with patience through the long process of recovery, then we fall into the same sin of Job's friends and do not reflect God's patience for us. If God treated us the way we treat others in need, we would be hopeless.

Lord Jesus, please give us both compassion and patience to walk with others through their hurts. Let us not give up on loving others!

God Out of the Box

2010-05-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

“It is all one; therefore I say, He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.” Job 9:22

One of the difficult things about reading Job is how to sort through the advice given by Job's friends. Although in the end we know God finds them with fault and finds Job faultless, it is difficult to see how that could be possible in the middle of things. Job's first friend Eliphaz looks at Job's situation and says Job must have sinned against God to have this much suffering brought upon him. A lot of the things he says about God are found elsewhere in Scripture, God does bring punishment and destruction down on the wicked and there is wisdom in examining your actions if calamity is brought upon you. After Job denies that he has sinned against God and wishes that God would just kill him, his second friend takes a stronger approach. Bildad sees Job's struggle through suffering as offensive and says surely there is malice in your heart and you must repent, because God just doesn't destroy righteous people. Once again, Bildad is not entirely wrong in his assessment on how God acts during certain circumstances. Job then responds in a way that seems even more blasphemous, he claims that if there were a fair judge between him and God, he would be in the right. The advice given by Job's friends is not all that different from the advice many of us would give to a friend in a similar circumstance. Our view of God's justice is clean and systematic where he punishes the sinful and prospers the righteous and nothing can exist outside of that box. But that is exactly where Job's friends, and likewise many of us, err. God's justice is not a systematic equation of fairness or a black and white labeling of right and wrong. God's justice is whatever God does, regardless of what we find fair or equitable. Job sees this. Job sees that God can still be just and sovereign and destroy both the wicked and the righteous. The all-powerful glory and sovereignty of God is the point. It is so easy for us to put God and his attributes into a neat little box and build our controlled world around a God who is predictable and safe. That is the sin of Job's friends and it is a sin that I so frequently fall into. God is neither predictable or safe and the proper response to his interaction in the world is not to control him, but to worship him in the awe of his terrifying might.

Lord Jesus, let us fear you because you are a God who is not safe, who does what he pleases and is always just!

The Plight of Job

2010-05-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

“But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Job 2:10

I often times fear how I would respond to God if my circumstances were different. When reading the book of Job it is easy to caricature the different people in the story and turn it into a one of those flannel Sunday school lessons of lifeless cut outs. We can look at Job's wife as simply a nagging wife, we can look at his friends as cold, legalistic idiots with no sympathy, we can see Job as an unrealistic superhero of faith, and we can see God as a cruel unjust deity who hands over the fate of this man to a cunning devil. But to see the book like this completely ignores the complex human emotions of worship and suffereing, the deep theological significance of God's sovereignty, and the philosophical exploration of evil and injustice. Within the first two chapters of the book, Job loses his children, his land, his wealth, and his health and is faced with the crucial question of whether or not he will still treat God as sovereign over his life. I fear how I would respond to the same trial. It is easy for me to write off his wife as a faithless fool, or his friends as hard-headed simpletons, but if I were to really put myself in the shoes of any one of them, I don't know if I would act any differently. And that is why the drama of Job is so important to life. Are we willing to accept God's sovereignty and goodness over both the good things that happen to us and the bad? The plight of Job is really the plight of all of us and the point of his story is not to teach us to suffer well, but teach us to keep God sovereign.

Lord Jesus, help us to hold your lordship in all circumstances and worship you for both the good and the bad!

Here for a Purpose

2010-05-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”” Esther 4:14

Not only are we all born, but we are all born into a particular time and place. With that time and place comes a social, political, and cultural context, along with a religious need and most importantly, a section of God's redemptive story. As a result, none of us can remain idle or indifferent to the time and place in which we exist. For example, Esther was born into a culture of Exile, but also placed in a position of power and influence. On top of that, her background, her position of power, and the influence she carried with her made her a prime candidate to help in God's redemptive story. She was in a position to save many Jews from being exterminated within the Persian empire. Although many of us may never carry the position or influence that Esther had, or face the dire circumstances she faced, every single one of us who are born again into Christ are born into the history of Christ's redemption. God will accomplish his purposes with or without us, but why would we pass up on the opportunity to make an eternal impact and serve what God is doing in the world? We were all born with a particular context and we have the amazing choice to be used by God in that context or to be passed over. What is it that God is calling you to? What part of his story is he asking you to play? We may find it difficult to follow God in all circumstances and it may seem that ignoring his call is the safer bet. And to the world, it may be. But we will all write a story with our lives in the end, and all of those stories will eventually end with our deaths. Since we will all end up the same, it seems to make more sense to at least write a good story with our lives. God's story of redemption is the greatest narrative in the world and beyond. I choose to be a part of his story, do you?

Lord Jesus, give us the strength to answer your call and live in accordance with time and culture you placed us in. Give us courage and faith to take part in your redemption!

Freedom from Oppression

2010-05-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

“I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.” Nehemiah 5:6

One of the indicators of the place Christ holds in my heart is what things make me angry. When criticism or blocked expectations quickly set me off, or when I get upset that things don't go my way, or someone disagrees with me, that's usually an indication that Christ is not at the center of my life. On the other hand, anger in and of itself, is not wrong. In fact, there are things in this world that should make us angry. Nehemiah, after returning to Jerusalem to oversee the building of the wall, witnesses his people exacting interest from the poor among them and making other Jews sell themselves and their children into slavery to pay for the debt incurred. When Nehemiah observed this, he got angry. The oppression of his people by his people was too much for him to ignore. So he got angry. I'll get angry if I'm supposed to meet someone for something and they don't show up, but do I ever get angry at the oppression of my neighbors by my neighbors? Do I get angry at the drug trafficking that keeps poor people addicted to meth? Am I infuriated by the excessive spending done by churches while people literally one block are starving? Does it bother me when laws are passed that tear apart families and make it illegal to feed or clothe or shelter people in need just because they are an undocumented immigrant? Oppression is something that righteous men get angry about. When Jesus entered the temple and saw money lenders and merchants charging interest and overcharging for sacrifices, Jesus got angry. It seems there is a mistake in thinking that Christian maturity means never getting angry. The truth is, we should be angry, just not about the things we're typically mad about.

Lord Jesus, give us an anger towards oppression and sin. Fill us with disdain towards those things that plague your compassion!

Not Our Stuff

2010-04-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

““But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” 1 Chronicles 29:14

We've all been there. Staring endlessly at our computer screens, our check books or bank statements, wondering where all the money could have gone. We have budgets, or at least we have one written down somewhere, but it just seems like the money is gone before we even know its there. It can sometimes be difficult for us to imagine giving to others when money is so tight. One of the areas God has really been working on in Lauren's and my life is the area of discipline with finances. It is in area that we have grown in significantly and must continue to grow in significantly. I find one of the most difficult struggles is consistent giving in the midst of difficult finances and unexpected costs. When an excess of money is there, it isn't hard to give some of it to others in need, but when we are the ones in need, giving money to others becomes more and more difficult to justify. When David prayed for the gathering of the material for the temple, he reminds Israel of something that has hit me hard this morning. None of it is our stuff. When I tithe or I give to a ministry or anything like that, I'm not really giving from my own wealth or sacrificing something that's mine, I'm just giving back to God what already belonged to him in the first place. Every penny that our family brings in, every resource or talent that we have is a gift given by God. It's not our stuff! But in my own sinfulness, I quickly forget God's generosity and immediately feel entitled to the money. If I give ten percent in tithe I feel really good about myself, almost like God owes our family for our faithful support. How messed up is that mentality! There should be no struggle in giving to God's kingdom because it's his money anyways.

Lord Jesus, please replace my heart of entitlement for a heart of willing giving and help us all to let go of what is rightfully yours to begin with!

Power of The Word

2010-04-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

“When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes” 2 Kings 22:11-12

I was speaking with a friend the other day who had spent some time as a missionary in Nepal. After looking through pictures of his trip to Mt. Everest, he began recounting a story of one of the ladies he had met during the course of his trip. One of the things he did over there was distribute Bibles in Nepalese to people and he remembers being amazed by this woman's excitement in receiving a Bible. As he talked with her a bit longer, she asked if she could show him her old bible. Of course he said yes and she went and grabbed a few pieces of parchment with Nepalese written on it. As he looked closer he saw tear stains and countless notes written all around the main text. Due to past persecution, Nepalese Christians didn't have more than a few sheets of the Bible at a time, and they would just read them over and over again, and then trade them with each other. My friend was very humbled and amazed by the power the Bible had in this woman's life, the tears that had been shed over this fraction of Scripture that she treasured for so many years. Josiah, after hearing the Book of Law, tore his clothes. He was so moved and convicted by the word of God, that he ripped his clothes, read it before everyone in Judah, and then overtook the greatest reform in all of Israel. As I read this passage and thought about the story of the Nepalese woman and her parchment Bible pages, I recognized a significant absence in my life. I can blame the over-saturation of Scripture in America, the bottom line of Bible publishing companies, the critical and over analysis of biblical higher criticism. I can blame all of those things and I wouldn't be wrong to recognize the effect these things have had on the power of God's word in the West. But I would be wrong to blame them. God's word lacks weight in my life because God lacks weight in my life. I can read the Bible and walk away relatively unchanged for the same reason that I can receive the Holy Spirit through the death of Christ and the will of the Father and be relatively unchanged for a long period of time. I don't fear God, not in the way that I should and therefore he doesn't have weight in my life. It seems one of the major sins of Western Christians, myself included, is the lack of the fear of God, and this realization has been utterly devastating to me. I want to weep as I read the Scriptures, cherish it with my life, study it with my whole heart, and live what it says, because its author is deserving of my fear.

Lord Jesus, I fear you because your wrath is real, your power beyond comprehension, and your presence overwhelming. Let your word have weight in my life!

We Must Open Our Eyes

2010-04-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

“He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16-17

I will be the first to admit to you that I love sci-fi and the Lord of The Rings. Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut are two of my favorite writers, and in Tolkien I find a rare brilliance that is unmatched in most other writers of his genre. I love reading stories of aliens who attack the world, or supernatural spheres that attack rocket ships, or wizards and ghost armies who go up against a great fiery eye. My imagination soars as I read them and find the supernatural completely believable and accessible in the context of fiction. However, there is another part of me that has a difficult time reconciling the presence of the supernatural within the context of non-fiction history. Wizards are great in fiction, but hold little weight in non-fiction. As I read through the Bible, the problem of the supernatural comes to the forefront. Things happen in the Bible, which is purported as a non-fiction book, that I naturally only accept in the medium of fiction. I think Elisha's servant had the same problem. When faced with the armies of the Syrians, he wasn't ready to accept Elisha's explanation that supernatural forces were there to fight for him. So Elisha asks God to show the supernatural in the natural world. As difficult as it is to accept, the supernatural isn't only a figment of imagination. There is a different dimension of the world that exists that we will likely never see, but is nonetheless real. I must admit, this is something that I need to struggle through in prayer, because as much as I like the idea of angels and demons battling and intervening constantly in the natural world, I have a difficult time fully accepting it as true. I want to believe its true because faith in their presence means a strengthening of courage when facing adversity in life. Opposition is less daunting knowing that the angels of heaven are fighting the battle alongside me. The enemy seems powerless knowing the God of the universe and his armies are fighting against them.

Lord Jesus, let what we can only see as fiction become facts that we find our strength in. Give us eyes to see your real presence in the natural world!

The God Who Whispers

2010-04-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

“And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”” 1 Kings 19:11-13

There were many times in the Israel's history when God needed to be fire, or an earthquake, or a mighty wind. Even for Elijah, a chapter earlier God showed up in a consuming fire and defeated the prophets of Baal. There is no mistake that God is a mighty and powerful God, capable of far greater destruction and force than any natural thing we know. But in this instant, when Elijah had lost all hope and passion, God chose instead of displaying his power and might, to comfort Elijah with a whisper. It was exactly what Elijah needed to be restored. What I love about this story is that it is a story that you can't just make up. It makes sense for God to show up in a fire, or an earthquake, or a hurricane, or a whirlwind, but to show up in a low whisper, there is seemingly no drama that it brings. Which is why this can't just be made up. No one, when they think about God, thinks of Him as a God who whispers. But God does speak in both the powerful and the subtle, he is both the conqueror and the comforter, the lion and the lamb. There are many times when I get to the end of my passion or patience, when I find myself increasingly cynical about life and ministry, and all I can think of is how much easier life would be if the fire of God's word weren't burning inside me. In those moments of darkness, I praise God that He is willing to whisper me back to a passionate devotion to him. I praise him that he not only conquered my sin, but comforts my weakness. Our God is a God who both shouts and whispers, and he knows which one we need.

Lord Jesus, meet us in or need and draw us gently back to the pastures of your grace. We long for you in our hopeless and tireless struggles and know that you will bring us comfort!

Cripples at the Table of the King

2010-03-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

“So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.” 2 Samuel 9:13

I don't know if everybody does this, but when I read through biblical stories I will always picture myself as the different people I'm reading. When reading about Moses, I picture myself with a long beard and dirty tunic holding two stone tablets, or I'll picture myself as David with a slingshot and five rocks. It's probably evidence of narcissism more than anything, but a part of it is the relatability of the biblical characters. These are real people who had real encounters with God, and we can see ourselves in them because, like us, they were human. In 2 Samuel 9, a not as well known character is introduced into the bible, Mephibosheth, who is the crippled son of King Saul, the only son left in his family. David wants to honor his friendship with Jonathan by finding anyone left in Saul's family and bringing him to his palace. Mephibosheth is the only one left, and he is crippled in both feet. When David brings him before his throne, Mephibosheth is shocked and doesn't know how to handle David's kindness. Nevertheless, David takes care of his family and Mephibosheth gets a permanent invitation to eat at the table of the king. Just imagine it, there is King David at the head of the table, all his beautiful wives, his sons and daughters, the mighty men of Israel, and then a cripple. If I were honest with myself, of all the biblical characters I relate to best, its Mephibosheth. Through Jesus, I have been invited permanently to sit at the table of the king, but there is nothing I have to offer him. I am a cripple that can add nothing to God, but he invites me anyways. What a wonderful king we serve that provides a spot at the table of his kingdom for a cripple like me!

Lord Jesus, thank you for your grace in inviting us to the table, despite our crippling disabilities. You are a majestic King who gives favor where no favor is due, and grace to those who don't deserve it!

Future Blindness

2010-03-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

“Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”” 1 Samuel 27:1

David needed a Delorean and a flux capacitor. After being pursued constantly by Saul for years, living in caves, always on the move, expecting to be killed at all times, David got to a point where he couldn't believe his life would be anything else. He resolved in his heart that Saul would eventually kill him so out of desperation he sought asylum in the hands of his enemies. David could have used time travel. If him and Doc Brown could go even two years into the future, he would see that his life was not meant for ruin but to be a great king. However David forgot his anointing, lost sight of the words God already gave him and fled in despair. There are so many times when we, like David, could use a time machine. We might be stuck in a dead end job, going through a difficult time with a spouse, a friend, a family member that just never seems to end, we might have a sickness or pain that won't go away, or be in the midst of any number of other struggles and sorrows. We may have waited patiently, trusted God fervently, prayed unceasingly, but still nothing happens. Many of us, like David, have had enough of waiting and have slipped into the violent abyss of despair. One of the most crippling and widespread disabilities amongst people is future blindness. None of us can see the future. And because of the lack of sight into our own personal future, we let our blindness cripple us in the present. But believers, we must not lose heart in the midst of pain. Although we may not know our own personal end, we may not understand the present sufferings that we find ourselves in, we do know that God will bring us into his kingdom. We do know that God is drawing people to himself for the glorification of himself, and that all things serve to that end. So we cannot lose heart.

Lord Jesus, be our vision in the midst of our blindness and help us to see your purposes and goodness in all circumstances.

Good Intentions Don't Matter

2010-03-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

"And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to listen than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22

The practice of worship can be a dangerous thing. I think there is a pervasive mentality that as long as we have good intentions in worshipping God, it doesn't really matter if how we worship lines up with his commandments. This is the, "It's the thought that counts," view of worshipping and serving God. Saul and the people of Israel had this. Although God commanded them to completely destroy the Amalekites, they thought it would be nice to instead take the best of their crops and flocks and sacrifice them to the Lord. When Samuel heard about this, he went and told Saul the kingdom is being taken away from him. In that dialogue, one of the most significant statements about worship in the whole Bible is made. God doesn't care about the sacrifice, the rituals, the offerings, the liturgy, or any of the religious acts of worship if obedience is compromised to accomplish it. Some examples: there is a glaring need of the poor in our immediate community and instead we use the resources God gave us to expand or enhance our already incredible facility. God commands us to take care of the poor, not have perfect clarity in our sound system. A cross or crucifix is set up in a worship service and instead of using it as an artistic image to point to a spiritual worship of God, we bow down before it and worship the object in front of us. God commands us not to make or worship images of himself. Worship music, sermons, books, or any other creative act of worship are made for the sake of business profit over the sake of growing the kingdom and expanding the glorification of God. God commands us to have no other gods before Him, including the greedy god of capitalism. The list can go on and on. All of these things are done with good intentions thinking that God wants whatever worship we give him as long as we mean well. But this is simply not true. Worshipping God, at its core, is being obedient to what he commands and submissive to his lordship. Worship without thought to obedience is dangerous, and we ought be more careful.

Lord Jesus, we repent of the way that we place the mode of our offerings before our obedience. Give us a passion for righteousness that guides us to right worship!

God's Silence

2010-03-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

“Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” 1 Samuel 3:1

The book of Judges ends on a bit of a rough note. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) Picking up from there, the book of 1 Samuel doesn't start off much better. It's hard to believe that in only a few generations, Israel had completely walked away from God and perverted the covenant made with them. They were not that far removed from the miracles done at the hand of Moses and Joshua, and were reminded of God's power through the numerous judges God sent to Israel to save them. But it didn't seem to matter. They did what was right in their own eyes, so much so that the very voice of God, the words which rang so sweet to Moses, that drove Joshua to victory, the very presence of God that made Israel distinct and revered amongst the nations, was gone. God didn't seem to want to speak to them. As Hannah, in her prayer spoke, “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.” (1 Samuel 2:5) There are times when God chooses not to speak for the sake of building faith. Those times are sweet silence and we should be joyful while suffering through them because God is doing more in his silence than he was in his speech. However, often times he is silent because we are not in a position to hear him. The only people in Israel at the time of 1 Samuel to hear God was a barren woman and a little child. Israel was in such sin and perversion God threw up his arms and decided to withhold his word. This is a scary place to be. If God is silent, both personally and in our communities, our churches, and our culture, then we need to take an honest look at our personal and communal sins. Are we a people God would want to talk to?

Lord Jesus, we repent of our straying hearts that make our ears not work with your voice. Remove all the hindrances that keep us from you and return your Spirit to our midst once again!

God's Impatience

2010-03-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

“So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.” Judges 10:16

The patience of God is abounding through Scriptures as he deals with both Israel and His church. God waits as we struggle through faith, as we turn away, as we repent. He is patient to not destroy us or disown us. In Judges, Israel turns away frequently and God is continually disciplining and then saving them. It seems if he were to grow impatient with anything, it would be of Israel's disobedience. But instead, God grows impatient in watching Israel suffer as a result of his discipline. This is powerful insight into the magnificent love of God. Regardless of what we have done, when we are called children of God, His heart breaks to see us suffer, even if the suffering is deserved. What joy we have in Christ, that our Lord grows impatient with our misery, for it is the impatience of God that leads to His action of salvation.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your unwavering love of your wavering children!

The Nature of Worship

2010-03-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

“As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.”” Judges 7:15

From the beginning of Gideon's story, it is apparent that he is a strong man. But despite his strength, he is hesitant to use it to do what God asks of him. Even after signs and miracles, success and victory over the Midianites, Gideon still has doubts about God's power to do what he says. Finally, after God tells him to go and listen to the enemy predict God's victory, Gideon gets it...and he worships. Worship is often times a word subjugated to a mere act of singing done on a Sunday morning. But with Gideon, worship was the moment he finally allowed his will, his skill, his talent, and his power to bow down to the lordship of Almighty God. Worshipping God should be nothing less for us. It is not the repetitious singing of songs or prayers or meditation or art or writing in itself. Worship is the response of complete submission and those other actions are predicated on that initial posture.

Lord Jesus, let us not belittle worship by making it anything but a complete submission to you!

Debtors to Grace

2010-03-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

“I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’” Joshua 24:13

The blessing of God is always a result of the grace of God, we never deserve God's blessing. After Israel received their inheritance, having driven out the inhabitants of the land, God reminds them to not get proud or entitled about the land they were now living in. They lived in cities they did not build and ate food they did not plant. How often do I look at the blessings God has bestowed on my life and forget who gave them to me. I look at my job and think I got that because of my education, background, and skill set. I think of my home and think this came about through a series of investments and choices that brought in enough money to qualify for a loan and make a down payment. I think of my family and claim that I was able to pursue and woo my wife into a relationship with me and through my wooing, we are now a family. All the blessings I have received, without explicitly acknowledging it, I count as a result of actions I did. Blessings seem to be thought of as my just desserts. I praise God he reminds all of us that we are merely poor men and debtors living in the mansion of the king. The food we eat is from the king's pantry, and the bed upon which we sleep is covered with noble linens. Israel was not a special nation. They were smaller than everyone else, stubborn, and a nation without a home. They were poor and lowly nomads and slaves. But God saw fit to give them cities and land, vineyards and pastures, cattle and fruit, and make them a nation greatly feared by other nations. I am no different. I was a man born into selfishness and pride, without discipline or love, an absolute slave to sin and helplessly bankrupt with regards to spiritual life. I was literally dead to all things that mattered and utterly incapable of doing anything about it. But God saw fit to save me, to give me a city and home I did not build, and vineyards I did not plant, and he did so out of grace. We cannot forget that we are debtors to grace and undeserving recipients of blessing.

Lord Jesus, I praise you for your grace and am in debt to your blessings. I praise you for you are a God of love unspeakable and riches everlasting!

Rest Will Come

2010-03-05T08:23:00.000-08:00

“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:23

The taking of the promised land by Joshua and the nation of Israel was a restless and painful process. Joshua acted quickly and pushed the nation constantly to drive out and wipe out the inhabitants of the land, as God had commanded him. There was a lot of killing and death, a lot of moving, striking tents and laying them down again, and the nation was tired. Even further, this is after the nation had wandered through the wilderness for forty years after being slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Rest was not something Israel had experienced once in their memorable past. Finally, in Joshua 11:23, one of the most significant statements in all of Israel's history is recorded. After all the wanderings, starting with Abraham, the slavery in Egypt, the wilderness wanderings, and the war in taking the land, Israel finally had rest. Everything they had longed for, spent years picturing, dreamed of at night, prophesied about, and worked for was finally there. The promise of land given in the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12 was finally theirs. They had land and they had rest. Right now, we believers are still waiting for that same rest. Some of us are still in the slavery of sin, some are wandering through the wilderness of religion, some are even on the soil of the promised land fighting and slaying the evil giants and inhabitants who have corrupted our very souls. But as long as we are alive on this earth, none of us have fully entered God's rest. We have the promise, we have the presence of God's Spirit in our midst, we have the eternal sacrifice of the Son, we have the guiding of the Father, but we are not home yet. Brothers and sisters, rest is coming! We may feel weary from the journey, discouraged by the time, disheartened by the foes, and beaten by giants, but let us be strong and courageous, for God is with us and he will bring us into his rest in heaven!

Lord Jesus, return soon and bring all the nations who are blessed through Israel into the blessing of the promise made to Abraham. Give us your rest!

The Initiative of Joshua

2010-03-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

“Joshua arose early in the morning and mustered the people and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.” Joshua 8:10

One of the themes in the book of Joshua is how much Israel's victory in taking the land over the Jordan was dependent upon Joshua's actions. I'm not saying that God suddenly took a step back and became a side character in Joshua. As is the case with every other book in the Bible, whether implicitly or explicitly, God is the main character who is driving all things. The observation is more in that the narrative of Joshua, from a syntactical perspective, hinges around actions Joshua takes. Frequently, the paragraph begins with Joshua did this, or Joshua stayed here, or Joshua got up early and then the rest of the story would follow. What I take from this is how great of a leader Joshua was and a significant element of his leadership. Joshua was a man who took initiative. Like his mentor Moses, Joshua didn't wait for the people to do things and then follow along. The story never goes, "And the people got up early to prepare to fight the city of Ai, and Joshua was with them." Joshua got up early, he drove the actions of the story by his own initiative. Although the point is subtle and the application is not some deep theological truth, it is very practical for those of us who are in ministry or leadership. It is often times easier to let things be, allow things to run their course, and stick around long enough to do our things and then move on. I know I fall into this trap often. But if we are wanting to exemplify strong biblical leadership, we can't afford to be idle. We can't afford to just sit back and let things happen all the time. We have to take initiative and take action. Even though it was God ultimately driving the Israelites into the land of Canaan and giving them victory, he accomplished his purposes through the strong leadership qualities of Joshua their leader. If God has given us the gift of leadership, or placed us in a position of significant influence, then we need to proactively lead.

Lord Jesus, remind us to be strong and courageous for you are with us. Help us to take initiative in leadership!

The Death of Moses

2010-03-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,” Deuteronomy 34:10

This morning as I read the end of Deuteronomy, I read with tears welling in my eyes, a sadness growing in my heart, and a profound soberness overcoming my soul. The death of Moses should strike all of us with sadness. Apart from Jesus, there is no man greater in Scripture. He was alone and betrayed, broken but strong, humble but confident, and spoke of God as I might speak about my wife or a childhood friend. No one had a more intimate relationship with God than did Moses and despite the great suffering he underwent at both the hands of the nation of Israel and the hands of God himself at times, he was a man who died with great joy in the knowledge of God His Rock. Because of unheard of amounts of homework this last week, I have been unable to write about the book of Deuteronomy. This is much to my own regret, for I haven't been moved by a book of the Bible in this way in a long time. Although there were many sections that stood out, countless lessons to be learned, what struck me most is the way Moses could speak on God's behalf, speak about His character and intentions, and the deep passion and love oozing out of every word Moses spoke about His God. The Moses I met in Deuteronomy was so different than the one I met at the beginning of Exodus. I was overcome by the profound change that occurred as a result of Moses knowing God. It made me long for it. I don't believe any of us could ever attain the intimacy with God Moses had, but I still want it. When others ask me what God is like, I don't want to merely list off theological quips or acronyms, I don't want to recite creeds or quotes, I don't to point to this book or that book, this verse or that verse, I just want to be able to pull them aside, have them sit down, and say, "Let me tell you all about my dear friend and Lord..." To know God, not to know about him, but to know him, to be in His presence, to watch his power intersect in our lives and in this world, to see his promises lived out and his discipline received, to shout with gladness with the joy of his presence, to KNOW God should be what we wake up for every morning, and spend our lives, our time, our money, and our energy attaining. Of all the other great things that could be said about Moses, the greatest thing, the last thing written about him, was that he knew God, face to face. I hope they can say the same of me when I go to meet my Jesus, my sweet friend and Savior, the Rock upon which I stand.

Lord Jesus, give us a knowledge of you that cuts through our academics and turns our entire souls into love with you. Let us know you!

Moses' Doxology

2010-02-21T04:37:00.000-08:00

““For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of.” Deuteronomy 4:32

The book of Deuteronomy could also be called the "The Last Will and Testament of Moses." After seeing the burning bush in the desert, the ten plagues in Egypt, the seas parted, water from the rock, mann from heaven, the cloud by day, and fire by night, Moses was a man who was absolutely transformed by the power of God's presence. Now he has come to the end of his life. God has already told him when and where he is going to die, so Moses speaks to the people one last time and tells them his hopes for them as they enter into the promised land and move forward without him. He begins by recounting all that God had done for the nation of Israel since Egypt and by chapter 4, Moses is overwhelmed with praise. He cries out, "Can you believe the God that we serve?! Is there any other god like him?!" To hear a man so in tune to the heart of God praise is a humbling and transforming thing. Today as we go to church or spend time with the family at home or whatever we are doing, let's take time out of our day to remember all that God has done in our life. I remember how I was a year ago, two years ago, five years ago. I remember the fear and anxiety Lauren and I had moving up to Dallas, the uncertainty of provisions. I remember looking at our feeble plans and timeline for our family. And then I think of how in every way, God has proven to provide more abundantly than we could ever deserve. He has given us a roof and food and joy and friendship. He has grown our marriage continually closer. He has given us a son to be born in the summer. The Lord God is a great God and there are no other gods beside Him! Oh what a wonderful God we serve!

Lord Jesus, help us to stop and remember the wonderful things you've done in our lives. We praise you because you are a God mighty and unique over all of creation!

You Can't Get Away With It

2010-02-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.” Numbers 32:23

If we sin, it will eventually come out. Too often we as believers fall victim to the lie that sin won't catch up to us. So we spend time managing and fighting against the obvious and outward sins, like drinking or open sexual perversion, but allow the secret sins of pride, of lust, of selfishness, and of malice rule in our hearts because we believe nobody will ever find out about them. God addresses this very issue with the tribes of Reuben and Gad in Numbers 32. Since both of those tribes were herding clans, they saw the area east of the Jordan and asked permission to settle there instead of across the Jordan in the land of the Canaanites. At first, God denied them the request because he thought it was unfair for them to abandon the other tribes in driving out the inhabitants of the land. So as a compromise, the tribes of Gad and Reuben asked if they still fought with the other tribes, could they still settle in the land of Gilead. God agreed but warned them that if they break the deal and don't keep their word, even if it is not initially obvious, their sin would eventually be found out. God's warning is significant, we can be positive that our sin will find us out. What is secret will not remain secret. History has proven over and over that this is true. Secret affairs in congress or churches all come to light eventually, hate manifest in our heart eventually comes to light in the way we begin treating others, marriages that seem great on the outside end up failing because of secret addictions. Sin is of the nature of being ultimately exposed so that it will destroy the thing it inhabits. So we need to stop being naive in believing that we can get away with secret sin...there is no such thing!

Lord Jesus convict us and lead us to repent those secret things that you will ultimately expose. Forgive us for all the horrible ways that we break your heart and your commandments.

The Cost of Sin

2010-02-18T06:08:00.000-08:00

“But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.” Numbers 26:64-65

There are two censuses taken in the Book of Numbers. The significance of the first is to show the fulfillment of God's promise of nationhood to Abraham. The second is to show the fulfillment of a different promise. Between the first census and the second census, the generation of men and women who were lead out of Egypt grumbled constantly, rebelled against Moses and God, and whored after foreign women. Because of their sins God made a promise: none of them, except for Caleb and Joshua, may enter into the promise land. At the close of the second census, I can only imagine the amazement of the Levites who conducted it. No one was left from the first generation. Because of their sins God killed them all or caused them to wander long enough for them to die, and the promise that was meant for them was given to their children. It seems as though when a generation of God's people sin on a whole scale level like they did, God has no problem withholding his promised blessing for later. In the same way, the cost of sin for God's people does not mean the abandonment of God's promise or relationship, but it can often times mean the withholding of blessing for us. God can withhold blessings for a number of reasons: discipline, faith testing, because-he's-God-and-He-wants-to, or because the sin present in our lives would tarnish and make void the blessing he wants to give us. We need to constantly be asking ourselves two questions. What sin is in my life that is keeping me from God's blessing? And what sin in our generation is keeping God from moving the way he wants to in our midst? The cost of sin is death and the withholding of blessing, so let us repent and turn back to God, so that we do not get passed over for the next generation.

Lord Jesus, we repent of our individual and corporate sins of idolatry, lust, greed, pride, and selfishness. Please do not pass us over and withhold your blessing from us!

Speak the Truth

2010-02-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

“Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.”” Numbers 22:38

Balaam was a prophet of God who was asked to speak a curse on the people of Israel by an enemy king. Although at first not very stellar in his obedience, so much so that his donkey had to speak to him, in the end Balaam proves to be a great example of a man who speaks the truth of God despite the outside pressures placed on him by his peers. Every single one of us will be faced with the same situation Balaam was faced with. We will be asked by a dear friend who doesn't believe if God would really send him to hell if he died tomorrow. We will be asked how the biblical statements about homosexuality could really have relevance in modern western culture. We will have our friendships and relationships with family members strained by the truth of God and its utter incapability to synthesize with our cultural values and religious ethos. When modern scholars attack over and over again the authority and credibility of God's word, we will have to answer them. As cultural spirituality continues in its path towards tolerance and relativism, we will have to defend the unique and exclusive message of the gospel. And when those times arrive, which they will for every single believer, we must speak the truth and not bow to pressures and whims of our culture. The gospel does not need to change to have relevance to those who don't believe, and we hurt the credibility of God when we change what he says to please the men around us.

Lord Jesus, give us courage to speak the truth no matter what and stand up for what you said in a culture that is contrary!

Moses' Mishap

2010-02-15T17:10:00.000-08:00

“And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”” Numbers 20:12

God's lordship and holiness is paramount and his zeal for his glory goes beyond all things, even his fervent love and dedication to his servant Moses. In Numbers 20, Moses makes a mistake that costs him entry into the promised land. It takes up such a short section in the book of Numbers, it is easy to gloss over and miss the significance. Moses, after Jesus, is easily my favorite character in the Bible. And it is hard to read through the Pentateuch and not develop a deep reverence and sympathy for this great man. He put up with an entire nation who most of the time was against him. He was a man betrayed by everyone close to him, who's closeness with God made him an alien to his own people. But in spite of all of that, time and time again, he proved faithful to God and sought him with passion and humility. Because of this, when God tells him he can't enter the promised land because he struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it, it seems rather unfair. If anybody was in a position to get a mulligan from God, it was Moses. But instead, the very land he longed for, the promise he had been assuring all the people of Israel with was snatched from his grasp. I struggle with this story. I even wrote a song about this story. I struggle with the thought of a God who can't look at all that Moses did and pardon that one mistake. Reprimand him yes, but make sure the punishment fits the crime. However, in struggling through this story, the powerful truth of God's zeal for his holiness hit me like a ton of bricks. Earlier God asked Moses to strike a rock and give Israel water, the second time he only asked him to speak to the rock. The first time you must strike the rock to get fountains of living water, the second time you must only call upon it. The lesson intended by God is obvious, and for reasons the Bible doesn't make clear, Moses disregards God's command and in the end ruins a beautiful illustration God had spent forty years developing. God cares about his holiness and Moses should know this. After God had spent years talking with Moses, unveiling his nature through the details of the Law, Moses should have known that God cares about the details, and when he disregards those details, he defamed the holiness of God. Moses was still a man dear to his heart, but his own holiness was dearer. We need to pay attention to this story because if Moses isn't exempt from the discipline of God, none of us are.

Lord Jesus, give us a passion for your holiness and an attention to the details of your word. Let us take your discipline with humility and accept your Lordship in all matters!

The Land of Giants

2010-02-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

"However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there." Numbers 13:28

There isn't one of us who would say that they don't desire to have perfect joy in the Lord, freedom from sin, and rest in his protection. If we have tasted the promise land of God's grace, our hearts are continually longing for it, yearning to taste the fruit of God's blessings and dwell in the power of His presence. Israel was so close to the land of their inheritance that they could send spies in. And the spies saw a land flowing with milk and honey. But they also saw a land filled with giants and fortified cities. So instead of losing everything to gain their kingdom promised to them, they became deeply afraid. Believer, much of our Christian life is spent camped in the wilderness outside of God's kingdom. We want to enter into the land he promised us, but we know to do that we must face the giants and fortified cities occupying the land. Some of us have giants of doubt and pride, others face fortified cities of abuse and addiction. Despite the longing of our heart to be with Jesus, we can't seem to get beyond the fear of facing our own giants. Just as Israel forgot the promise made to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, we often forget that Christ promised us life through him, victory over sin, and joy regardless of circumstance. So let us enter in trusting in his promise, that whatever giants are keeping us from his presence, God can and will overcome them.

Lord Jesus, give us strength in you to face all the things keeping us from your rest. We love you and want to enter into your peace!

Destruction of Jealousy

2010-02-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

"Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman." Numbers 12:1

I can't imagine the betrayal Moses must have felt by Aaron and Miriam speaking against him. Moses was a man with few allies in Israel, but when Aaron and Miriam turned against him, he became alone. God was the only one on his side. Part of being called to a position of leadership and God's blessing is other people's jealousy. Although Aaron and Miriam held a high position of power in Israel and with God, they became jealous of Moses' favored status and sought to undermine his influence by attacking his wife. There was no reason for them to not be grateful for God's gift to them, but instead they let their jealousy of Moses fester and it led them to betray him. At some point in time, all of us will find ourselves on one or both sides of this situation. With God's blessing and favor comes other people's jealousy. And with God's blessing being poured out to other people, the temptation to covet what they have and neglect what we have been given will always be before us. Ultimately, their jealousy led to Miriam's leprosy and being outcast of the camp for a week. But furthermore, it placed a riff between them and Moses that was probably insurmountable to fully overcome. What is interesting about this story is who is ultimately hurt by Aaron and Miriam's gossip is Aaron and Miriam. Although Moses was temporarily bruised by the betrayal of his friends, it was his friends who lost the most.

Lord Jesus, keep us from jealousy and coveting your blessing. Give us contentment in all that you do!

The God of Promise

2010-02-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

“These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550.” Numbers 2:32

If you are ever in the mood for some interesting reading, avoid censuses at all costs. There are few things more redundant than counting people and listing the results--which is exactly how the book of Numbers begins. God tells Moses to take a census of each of the tribes and record their numbers. Without any context for the book, Numbers could win the prize for most boring book in the Bible. There is list after list of people and clans and tribes and there doesn't seem to be any spiritual food hiding, just a list of names, important historically, but without spiritual consequence. However, I think there is a reason God wanted Moses to list the peoples and have a record of the nation of Israel. In Genesis 12, God calls Abram, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing." Almost 600 years before, there was only a man, called by God's divine election and given a promise of a great nation. Despite the unlikelihood of Abraham having any offspring, Abraham believed that God would make good on His promise. The book of Numbers is the proof for the world that God made good on the promise he made to Abraham. Within 600 years of the Abrahamic Covenant, a nation of over 600,000 people exists. The moment this dawned on me I was so humbled by the power of God's word and his nature manifest in the Pentateuch. God is a God who keeps his promises! Believers, God may seem distant at times, our lives seem unbearable, our hearts faint within us, but we have no reason to fear. God keeps his promises and He has promised us a place in heaven with him, he has promised new bodies and new minds, he has promised crowns of righteousness and eternity in the joy of His presence. And though we may not see it now, His promise will be kept.

Lord Jesus, we praise you for the promises you made and the promises you will keep! Thank you for the blessed assurance of your word!

Walking Among Us

2010-02-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

“And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Leviticus 26:12

God longs to walk among us as he did in Eden. As God gives his law he unveils briefly one of the deepest desires and yearnings of his heart, to walk once again amongst the people he created. Oh what a sweet thought! Just as a husband longs for his estranged wife, a parent waits for the return of their runaway son, a best friend looks forward to the next slumber party, God awaits the day he will be with the creation that he loves. He is the dad waiting to run to us and kill the fatted calf in celebration of our return. He is the shepherd seeking desperately for the one sheep who strayed from the fold. He is the groom praying fervently for the day he is united with his bride. God desires to walk among us, to talk to us, to laugh and enjoy the genius of his handiwork, to hold out his finger and watch as our hands wrap around it. God loves our presence and paid everything to get it back.

Lord Jesus, restore us in your salvation and walk among us as you did before the fall. Return God and bring about your kingdom!

Acceptable Sacrifice

2010-02-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

“And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.” Leviticus 22:29

Leviticus is a nightmare of a book for a non-details person. Every single sacrifice, every offense, the garments, the building structure, the diet, the feasts, and laws, everything is elaborated to account for every detail. At many times it seems as though God is being redundant. However, the book of Leviticus does have a powerful theme that makes the details significant. God wants his people to be holy, because He is holy. God gives Moses so many details about every process because its important the people get it right and be holy. God wants the sacrifices made by the people to be accepted. He doesn't want them to fail at being his people, so he leaves them detailed instructions. While reading this I grew very convicted of my own offerings to the Lord. Are the songs I lead, the bible studies I have, the prayers I pray, the service and tithe I give acceptable to God? The bible makes it clear that God isn't interested in any kind of worship, but in the kind of worship he has prescribed for his people. Chapters before, Aaron's sons are destroyed because they did not worship the Lord the way in which he commanded them. When I lead worship in a way that glorifies myself or lead with a heart of pride and arrogance, it is not acceptable. When I speak of God in such generalities as to not make him distinct amongst other gods, the offering is not acceptable. When I give or serve or sing or pray or do anything under the guise of worship that is not truly intended for the glory of God, it is not an acceptable offering. God wants us to give sacrifices that will be accepted.

Lord Jesus, examine our offerings and convict us of false worship. We want to give you the praise you desire and the offerings you will accept!

Do No Wrong

2010-02-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

““When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.” Leviticus 19:33

God is the God of the stranger. He delights in taking people who were once far off and bringing them near, and he asks his people to not do wrong to sojourners in our midst. I will not go as far as some in saying that we live in a Christian nation or that God favors America. We live in a depraved culture who's two gods are self and money and we exist in a church who for the most part has been lulled to sleep by the comforts of this world. However, I will say that the church in America has been put in a significant position to be able to bring justice and aid to the needy, poor, and oppressed of this world. Because of that ability God has granted America's church, there are sojourners among us. The mission field is all around us. It's in our fields, our hotels, our restaurants, our apartments, and the harvest is plentiful. As Christians, we need to ask ourselves the honest question of how we view the sojourners among us and if it aligns with God's heart for the stranger. If the poor are seeking the aid of the Christians of America, then we must do them no wrong. The oppressed may be enemies of the state, but they are desired by God to enter his kingdom. They may be illegal by the laws of America, but they are beloved by God. And the church answers to God! We as Christians are called by God to treat the sojourners with love and be a light to those who come to us seeking shelter, food, and help. The justice of God is contrary to the justice of man. So who do we fear more?

Lord Jesus, convict the American church of its sins of hatred and nationalism. Give us the strength to stand against injustice and love the sojourners among us!

For the Purpose of Holiness

2010-02-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

“For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”” Leviticus 11:45

The morality that is commanded by God is not arbitrary. While reading through the laws of defilement and purification and of dietary restrictions, I couldn't help but criticize the seemingly arbitrariness of all the laws. We now know that there are no health problems associated with eating pork or shellfish, or sanitation issues dealing with certain discharges, so we cannot find the purpose of God's dietary and defilement laws in health issues. So what is the reason God gives for the Laws he gives the nation of Israel? The law was given so that we might be holy just as God is holy. What this means is that moral laws don't necessarily need to make sense for them to be valid, because the holiness of God's people is sufficient enough reason for any commandment. With the New Covenant of Christ, there is no longer a need for dietary and defilement issues to set us apart as holy. However, the tendency today is still to see morality as arbitrary standards that don't make sense in our cultural climate. Waiting to live together until you're married does not follow with standards set by our culture. Working through a marriage and sticking with it even when it doesn't bring about your own happiness doesn't make sense in today's culture. Forgiving criminals that harm us, forgiving people in general doesn't fit in a culture built around self gratification. Christian morality, if followed completely is seemingly arbitrary to the standards of the world around us. And it is arbitrary if we forget that the purpose of morality is our holiness because God is holy. Brothers and sisters, we need to live moral lives, not to toot our own horns, not for the sake of piety, but for the sake of God's holiness and uniqueness in the world.

Lord Jesus, make us holy as you are holy and give us a passion for your uniqueness amongst the nations!

Sanctify the Lord

2010-02-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

“Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.” Leviticus 10:3

The words spoken by Moses to Aaron in the above verse must have been so difficult, but so profound, for Aaron to hear right after God kills his two sons for improper worship. Instead of words of condolences and sympathy, Moses cuts to the heart of the issue and reminds him of the grave responsibility of drawing near to God and serving him. No matter what, regardless of people's distance, God will be glorified by all the people. Paul in Philippians reiterates this sentiment that 'every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess, in heaven and earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord.' It is the inevitable end of all of mankind to one day glorify God, some joyfully, some fearfully. But for those who draw near to God, for those who serve him, who call themselves Christians, especially those who serve as ministers, there is a higher expectation. We are to sanctify God. Moses tells Aaron and speaks through the centuries to us that we cannot take lightly the commandments of God, the holiness of His name, and to treat his presence with fear and respect. We must remember his holiness and not act in a way that presents him as less holy to the world around us. Oh how often I would have been consumed by God's wrath and fire by my own desecration of his holiness, if not for the Son pleading before the throne on my behalf! We cannot forget that God is holy and must be treated in a way worthy of the glory due his name.

Lord Jesus, search our hearts and destroy in us everything that desecrates your temple. Help us to sanctify your name as we draw near to you and bring the nations to glorify your name!

The Blood of Forgiveness

2010-02-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

“Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.” Leviticus 4:34

With the style in which Leviticus is written, it's easy to miss the absolute bloody mess the system of sacrifices really was for the nation of Israel. Whether it is a sin offering or a guilt offering, the blood of bulls and rams and goat and lambs and pigeons is being spilled out and sprinkled all over the altar. I don't believe I have any true frame of reference for how bloody all of it would be. At first in reading of the sacrifices my eyes began to glaze over, as many eyes do, and I began to 'read without reading' as can sometimes happen when reading Leviticus. After about the fifth description of the various sin offerings, it struck me. This is gory stuff! And then I began thinking of the verse in Hebrews that says, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins." The Israelites knew the price of sin because they saw the gore and the blood sin caused avery single day. Today, however, the bloody consequence of sin is lost. If we only could see the pain and suffering our sin causes, how would we act differently. If we had to kill our dog or our cat every time we sinned, would it changed the way we lived and more importantly, would it change our understanding of what Christ's blood did for us? Christ's blood was shed, just like the bulls and the goats, so that our sins might be forgiven. Our sin has consequences!

Lord Jesus, let us see the blood shed our sin has incurred and lead us to the altar of repentance!

The Fat is the Lord's

2010-02-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

“And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD’s.” Leviticus 3:16

In our generation, fat is typically considered a bad thing. There are multi-billion dollar industries built around weight loss, healthy eating, and fat burning and the wealthy American is now typically seen as a fit man or woman. However, at the time of the giving of the Pentateuch and for most of history, fat and the ability for someone or something to have fat, was a sign of wealth and plenty. Rich people, until very recently, were typically known by their size. So when God tells Moses in Leviticus that all fat belongs to the Lord, the context is key for understanding the significance of that statement. First in a literal sense, the fat in the offering is not to be consumed by the people but to be burned. However, the nature of this rule says something deeper about God and the nature of sacrifice. If at the time, fat was considered the proof of excessive blessing, God's claim that all fat is the Lord's was referring to more than just the fat of the bulls in the offering. All the blessings and excess in our life belong to the Lord and should be offered up to his service. The modern fat is seen less in the fat of our body but in the fat of our paychecks, our belongings, our wealth and our blessings, and God says that those things belong to Him. Are we offering the blessings we have to the service of God? Does our fat belong to the Lord?

Lord Jesus, give us hearts that desire you more than things and give us the strength to offer you the excess we accrue and the blessings you bestow upon us.

Finish the Work

2010-01-31T05:49:00.000-08:00

“And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.” Exodus 40:33

There is not a doubt in my mind that after a year of leading the Israelites through the wilderness, meeting with God and pleading on their behalf, dealing with their bickering and backsliding, and bearing the weight of the nation on his shoulders, Moses was tired. Moses needed a vacation, he needed a sick day, a time of extended rest, or just needed to walk away and find a different job. But instead Moses finished the work. He could have put his two weeks in, handed over the reigns to Joshua and went into early retirement, but instead he finished the work. There is no doubt he wanted to be rid of the burden of his people, of the drain of his in ministry, but instead he finished the work. I know there are many times in the Christian life where we want to walk away. A ministry we're doing isn't taking off and pulling in the numbers we want, a friend we've been praying for just doesn't seem anymore interested in the gospel, a family member keeps sinking back into addiction, a strained marriage shows no signs of improvement, the nation overall, despite our money and best efforts, still seems to be falling more and more into atheism. Many of us are weary of the never ending needs of ministering to a fallen and lost world. We're nearing the fifteenth round and the towel we could throw seems so tempting. The comfort of a life unconcerned with the needs of others and our own sanctification whispers sweet nothings in our ears, seducing us away from the work we've been called to. Like Moses, God has called all believers to a life that we are incapable of living on our own. He has called us to suffering, to exile, to ridicule, and discomfort. He has called us to abandon worldly pleasures and seek the pleasures of God. He has called us to make disciples of a world that doesn't want to follow anybody. I know that the labor is hard, but dear brother and sister, we must finish the work. All the suffering in this world is worth the joy of the presence of God for eternity. So don't give up, don't listen to the whispers of comfort, don't bow to the need for breaks, for absence, and for quitting. Finish with strength the work God has called you to and do not let the devil win. Just as Jesus is faithful to complete the work he began in you, complete the work he began through you as well. Pray for each other, that we might all finish the labor, and collect the harvest of God's kingdom.

Lord Jesus, give us strength we don't have to accomplish the impossible calling to which you have called us!

Beware the Influence of People

2010-01-30T07:01:00.000-08:00

“So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”” Exodus 32:24

I was always amazed by how quickly Aaron complied with the people of Israel in building the golden calf. The people of Israel at that time were quick to forget God's wonders and allowed the pressures of the moment to often times change their behavior and make them stray, but not Aaron. Aaron was standing right next to Moses when God did the wonders in front of Pharaoh, he was walking beside Moses through the Red Sea, holding up Moses' arms when fighting the Amalekites. It is shocking that after all he went through he would abandon it at the behest of the people without any sign of hesitation or remorse. When questioned by Moses about it, Aaron tried washing his hands of the act and made it sound as though the creation of the idol was out of his control. Although it seems easy to quickly write Aaron off as a failure, let us not miss the valuable lesson. How many times have we as Christians heard clearly the commandments of God, experienced his amazing power in our lives, and then bowed to the whims of the people around us and acted contrary to God's words. This is especially significant for those of us in Christian leadership. How many of us will read clearly to love and care for the poor among us, to bring offerings of broken spirits, to speak with truth the word of God, and then allow the whims of our congregation to deter us from where God is clearly leading us. 'Let us use the money for a bigger building, a building more beautiful than all the other churches around us.''Try not to speak so much of hell and judgment, we don't want to offend or deter our members from coming.''Hire the best musicians for the worship service, their hearts don't matter.' We are all at some point in time, guilty of the same betrayal that Aaron was. God has called us to live radical and holy lives, to have churches concerned with the kingdom of God and not of man, to be joyfully righteous, to love our enemies, and to do all things for the glory of HIS name.

Lord Jesus, let us repent of the golden calves we are all complicit in building and return to the true worship of the living God!

Touch the Altar of the Lord

2010-01-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

“Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.” Exodus 29:37

The altar of the Lord was so holy that whatever touched it became holy as well. The presence of God is so transformative that even the altar consecrated to him has the power of making things holy. Later in Exodus, the Lord says, “There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.” (Exodus 29:43) Oh that we could draw near the presence of God and be sanctified by His glory! But as we try to draw near, our sin drives us further away from the his presence. It's interesting that to Israel, it was the altar that made things holy. The way in which God's presence and his glory sanctified his people was by means of the sacrifice made to him. Brothers and sisters, we will never be transformed by the sanctifying power of God's presence without touching the altar of God, and that altar is Christ. He is both the sacrifice and the altar upon which sin's are cleansed. Praise God that he has drawn near and brought his sanctifying glory, but let us not miss it because we fail to approach the altar of God! Jesus is the only path to holiness and God's presence in our lives.

Lord Jesus, let touch your altar and be made holy by your presence. Transform our lives by your glory!

Missions and Worship

2010-01-28T06:41:00.000-08:00

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't." -John Piper in Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions

It's easy to forget the big picture when we spend most of our lives painting the details. I wonder how differently the Sistine Chapel would have looked had Michelangelo never climbed down from his scaffolding and looked at the ceiling as a whole. His art were masterpieces because each intricate detail worked together to create a beautiful and complete bigger picture. In much the same way, it is easy for us Christians to get so caught up in what role we play individually, that we neglect to see how what we do fits into the bigger picture. Without a proper understanding of the greater goal and mission of God, our gifts will become disproportionately important and end up adversely hurting the overall functioning of the church. Michelangelo's hand of God reaching out to man would get bigger than his head, or one of the cherubs would be twice the size of the one next to it, and thus ruin the beautiful proportions of his paintings. Playing our part and using the gifts God gave us is wonderful and right, but doing so outside of the context of God's greater purposes is dangerous.

So if that is true, then we must ask the question: What is the bigger picture of God's mission in the world? Piper puts it well and succinctly. The ultimate goal of the church is that all nations, every created thing, will worship God. When I say worship I don't mean the singing of songs in a church service or anything like that, although there will most likely be singing. What I mean by worship is the overwhelming reaction to the Lordship and majesty of God in our individual lives and over all the world. It is that moment when every knee bows and tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord, and those who have been called to be children of God will live in perfect joy forever, dancing and singing and laughing and loving the way were created to in the beginning. Whatever our role is in the church, whether it is missionary, evangelist, preacher, encourager, funder, worship leader, small group leader, food line cooker, any thing that we do, let us remember that we do all of those things so that one day every person on the globe might worship and delight in the glory of God!

Lord Jesus, we praise you for all that you've done and all that you're doing to bring about the glory of your name and the delight of your people in your glory!

God's Presence

2010-01-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” Exodus 25:8

It still amazes me that after all of the grumbling of man and the sin which tarnished our natures, God still had the desire to dwell in the midst of His people. After the fall in the garden, a separation occurred between God and man so that God could no longer dwell in the midst of His people directly. Instead of God abandoning his creation completely, he instead chose to propose a plan for a mediated dwelling amongst His people. I think he missed walking with his creation, talking with the creatures he made, but he knew he couldn't be in our presence without killing us. So it is by his grace that he gave us a sanctuary, a middle ground through which God can dwell within the midst of man without his direct glory killing us. What love the Father has for his creation that he would rather suffer the reflected nearness to his creation than starting over from scratch! And now our sanctuary is the temple of the Holy Spirit dwelling within the church, made holy by the blood of the Spotless Lamb of God. He has once again drawn near to His creation! Praise God for His gracious nearness and the means by which we may draw near to him!

Lord Jesus, we wait anxiously for the day we can stand before you once again, being made whole by your blood, without the mediation of priests and veils, complete and near in your direct presence. Let us worship you today!

Sojourners Among Us

2010-01-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

““You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 22:21

It is wrong to pick out laws from the Old Testament and apply them hook, line, and sinker to our current situations. Christ came and fulfilled the law and now we please God through faith in Christ not by a strict adherence to the law. If we use one Old Testament law to place a rule on us today, then we are bound to keep the whole law. We can't pick and choose. (The moral law, like the Ten Commandments, are different from the code laws and judicial ordinances presented in Exodus 21-23, I am talking about the latter.) Therefore, as much as I would like to take the verse above and apply it directly to the situation with undocumented immigrants, or just immigrants in general, I can't. However, the relevance of the law in the Old Testament is what it says about the nature of God, not what it says about how we live. So if this is what the Lord commanded about how Israel is supposed to treat sojourners among them, then what does it say about the heart of God towards sojourners? Later in the chapter, God says that his wrath will burn against the mistreated and that He is a God of compassion. I do not want to oversimplify the issue of undocumented workers and immigrants in the country. But what this verse says about God is that he expects his people to treat strangers in their midst with kindness and care, because we were all at one time just like them. I know this is a hot topic, and I'm not trying to oversimplify the complex. However, there are many of us who need to read this passage and examine the attitude that we take towards the sojourners among us. Whichever side of the debate were on, we can all agree that the Bible does not support hate and prejudice towards immigrants. As believers, we need to be kind and caring towards immigrants, regardless of their current legal status, because our God is a God of compassion and justice for the oppressed. America has a history of hatred and prejudice in the church, and it is an ugly sin of which we must repent!

Lord Jesus, convict us of our prejudice towards the sojourners and help us to see them with kindness and compassion!

Kingdom of Priests

2010-01-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

“And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:6a

God's calling on Israel was to be a nation of priests to the nations around them, set apart declaring the glory of God. Priests were responsible for examining and making sacrifices, declaring the word of God to the people around them, keeping the law of God, and maintaining the temple. Now I don't believe it is true that everything said to Israel can be applied to the church. However, in Romans Paul argues that the Gentiles have been grafted into the nation of Israel, to carry out the mission of Israel and bring Israel to repentance through jealousy. Therefore, the call for Israel to be a kingdom of priests is applicable to the church insofar as we are grafted into the covenant. On the one hand, the sacrifice has been made once and for all by Christ for all sins, so the need of the church to make sin sacrifices is not necessary. However, this does mean that part of the role of the church is examining the integrity of the offerings brought before God through worship, communion, and service. Further, it also means declaring the Word of God to those who will listen. In 1 John, we are told that those who love God keep his commandments, and in 1 Corinthians we read not to destroy the temple of God, which is the Holy Spirit dwelling within the church. So it is clear that God's call of Israel to be a kingdom of priests applies to the church as well. But for what purpose? The same reason God called Israel. So that through the holiness of the church, the nations might know God and worship Him. This is the reason we are saved! So let us live as priests to the nations, holy and righteous, declaring God's word for the praise of the glory of His grace!

Lord Jesus, make us holy to be your vessels on earth. Consecrate us as priests to the world and give us integrity in our offering to you!

We Are Not Indispensable

2010-01-24T18:46:00.000-08:00

“Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.” Exodus 18:17-18

We are not indispensable to God. I know that may come as a shock to many of us, that the God of the universe doesn't need us to accomplish his purposes, but it is true. When Jethro met Moses in the wilderness, he found his son-in-law guilty of the same issues so many ministers and Christians are today. Moses didn't trust the other men in the midst of Israel to do part of his job. There are so many times I will overload my plate, try to do the work of five men, because I truly believe that if I didn't do all the work, the work would never get done. It may seem at the time so noble. But the hard work is ultimately motivated not by faith, but by a lack of faith in God's ability to accomplish his will without me. Jethro's advice to Moses in Exodus 18 should bring a sigh of relief to those of us working to help build the kingdom of God. The advice is simple--delegate when you can. Don't try to do everything yourself because if you do, you wont last long. We are not indispensable to God. Let this sink in and calm our tired hearts. We are working for a God with infinite resources and the ability to transform anybody's life to serve his will.

Lord Jesus, help us to see the people God has placed around us and share the task of ministry. Give us the strength and the faith to trust you to accomplish your will!

God's Perfect Perspective

2010-01-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”” Exodus 13:17

It must have been frustrating for Israel to know how close they were to the land God promised them and see the direction God lead them. In their minds, it made no sense to detour toward the Red Sea then into the wilderness before entering the land of the Canaanites and the Philistines. From their perspective, God's leading seemed wasteful, inefficient, and contrary to the promise he made them. But God knew better. He knew had they entered the promise land right after leaving Egypt, the Israelites would not have had the faith in God to fight and conquer the land. This happens so often in our own histories. We are so close to something we feel God calling us to, whether it be a ministry opportunity, a new job, a family breakthrough, or any number of things, and then God leads us another way. It can be frustrating to be so near the promised land of our calling and then take a detour into the wilderness. During the times of wilderness wanderings, we must savor the truth of God's perfect perspective. Just as he knew the strength of the faith of Israel, he knows our own hearts better than we do. He knows if we will stand firm in our calling or run screaming for the hills. He knows what we need to face before his promise in our life is fulfilled. So for those who have entered the land of Canaan, stand firm in your faith and be worthy of the calling. And for those who God has led into the wilderness, stand firm in the hope of God's perfect perspective and learn well the lessons God is teaching.

Lord Jesus, let us hope in you in all circumstances, knowing that your perfect perspective and complete knowledge of things is trustworthy!

Judgment and Mercy

2010-01-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:12-13

In a single night, judgment and death came to the nation of Egypt. Imagine how horrible it must have been for the Egyptians. If I had been an Egyptian in the day of the final plague, I would have been dead. I am my father's first-born son. For the Egyptians, the night was filled with tears. For the Hebrews, however, the night of Passover was the greatest day in their history. The people of God were rejoicing while those whose hearts were hardened towards God were weeping. The good news of the message of Christ is seen perfectly in the salvation of Israel from Egypt. The nation of Israel received God's mercy by the slaying of a spotless lamb placed over the doorway of their home. Egypt was damned because their was no blood as the Lord passed over. For those who were covered by blood, God granted mercy. For those with no covering of blood, God granted judgment. Oh dear Christian, if we think the story of the salvation of Israel is merely a story of the past, then we are gravely wrong. Just as God passed over Egypt, Christ will come back again and pass over the earth. We don't know when he will come, but when he does, he will bring both mercy and judgment. And the ONLY people who will receive mercy are those whose hearts are covered by the blood of the Spotless Lamb!

Lord Jesus, cover us with your blood and grant us mercy as you pass over the world in judgment. Let your good news spread through the nations so their will be more rejoicing than weeping when you return!

How Quickly We Forget

2010-01-21T07:03:00.000-08:00

"It is very usual for God's people, when they have enjoyed a great deliverance, to find a little trouble too much for them." -Charles Spurgeon

It is amazing how quickly I forget the greatness of God's redemption and begin to complain about pettiness. God will frequently do amazing things in my life. Whether it's a job that I needed, a scholarship, a friend comes to know Christ, a successful church event, or just an amazing time in which I am moved by his overwhelming presence. It would seem after such things my confidence would grow, my faith expand, and my anxieties over difficulties dissipate. But, just as Spurgeon observes, the smallest thing--a small car repair, a bad grade, a harsh word from a boss or spouse--will just knock me out and sending me running to God in despair. Can he not calm the storms? Can he not split the sea? Did he not lay the foundations of the earth? Did he not suffer on the cross and then rise again from the dead? It seems the moment our eyes get even just a glimpse of the true glory of God, we walk away squinting and just see the small things as bigger. Oh what sin in us! What war! The glory of God should shrink all pettiness to nothing and overwhelm us, but our sinful hearts can't handle His glory. So we forget it quickly.

Lord Jesus, help us to remember the great things you have done. Make the things of this world nothing to us, so we can focus on your glory completely!

The Illusory Freedom of Man

2010-01-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

“But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” Exodus 9:16

It is difficult to read through the story of Moses and Pharaoh and still cling whole heartedly to the concept of man's free will. The story begins with Moses pleading with Pharaoh to let his people go and the hardness of Pharaoh's heart in refusing Moses' request. It seems like a typical story of good versus evil and man's free will set against each other. But as the story continues, the true protagonist of the drama steps forward. As the plagues unfold, God reveals more and more to Moses that it is God, not Pharaoh, who is hardening Pharaoh's heart so that God is able to show His power to Egypt and all the earth. In Exodus 9:16, God discloses his true intentions to Pharaoh. God put Pharaoh there, raised him up, for the sole purpose of his hardened heart, so that God's glory and power can be shown amongst the nations. Pharaoh's will seems to have had no place in the story. God raised him up to be his enemy. It would be too much to fully explore the depths and implications of what God's hardening of hearts and the creation of some people for honorable or dishonorable use (Romans 9) means to man's precious free will. But I must say, if God's will is supreme and his glory the purpose driving all his actions, it is difficult to see man's will as free in the sense we claim it be. I challenge us to chew on that today and see the beauty of God's purposes and in his control over the will of man.

Lord Jesus let us repent of our entitlement in placing our will as more powerful or of equal power as yours. Let us see your glory amongst the nations as the greatest purpose to which all of creation bows!

God is!

2010-01-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”” Exodus 3:14

God is the subject that needs no predicate and the subject upon which all of creation is predicated. God is. When God reveals his name to Moses, we get a glimpse into the all encompassing supremeness of God over creation. What an amazing moment! Moses in either a fit of great stupidity or great faith (or both) dares ask the God of the universe his name. And God responds with "I AM WHO I AM!" I can feel the same chills that Moses felt as he heard those words boom from the burning bush. In a single verb God revealed His character. This is the God of Jacob, and of Isaac, and of Abraham. This is the God who will redeem Israel from Egypt and the same God who stooped to save us by becoming a man, dying, and resurrecting. He is the same God we worship today and the same Spirit dwelling inside this church. He is the great, "I AM!" If this is the summary of His revealed character to man, we must ask the question of where he is in our lives. Is God just one of the many subjects that our lives are centered around? Is he fighting against our own "I am-ness?" Or does he serve his rightful place as the only supreme verb of being of which our entire lives center around? Does God reign supreme in our lives? We are fallen and broken and our flesh is at war with the sovereignty of God at all times. I pray however that we would fight daily to allow God to reign in our lives always, that His name, "I AM" would move us to worship him, and that our actions would reflect His sovereignty.

Lord Jesus, be supreme in our lives and break us from any and all rebellion in our own hearts!

Courage through Fear

2010-01-18T04:52:00.000-08:00

“But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” Exodus 1:17

To stand up and refuse to obey Pharaoh was no small matter. The king of Egypt at the time of the Exodus was not just the king of Egypt, but in many ways the most powerful and feared man in all the world. It would seem that if someone were to fear and obey anyone on earth at that time, it would be Pharaoh. But when he commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill the sons of the Hebrews, the midwives refused because they feared something greater than Pharaoh. They didn't ask themselves what Pharaoh would do if they were disobedient. Instead, they asked what God would do if they killed the sons of His chosen nation. Because they feared God more than man, these humble midwives showed great courage. The fear of God seems to be a concept altogether lost on the present day Christian in the Western church. Who do we fear more, our boss asking us to constantly neglect our families for the sake of profit margins or the God who established our families as an instrument for His glory? Do we fear bankruptcy more than we fear God's calling to give generously to the poor? Do we fear rejection from our friends if we don't do this or that or do we fear the God who asks us to live righteously? Who do we fear more, man or God? I often times find myself reasoning that since I live under grace, the fear of God is no longer necessary. But that couldn't be further from the truth. In Hebrews it says, "For the Lord disciplines the ones he loves," (12:6) and in Hebrews 10:31 says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Saved or unsaved, God is more frightful than anything on this earth. We should have courage to face any man or thing on this earth, not because we have no fear, but because we fear God more.

Lord Jesus, let our lives read like the epitaph on Lord Lawrence's tomb, "He feared man so little, because he feared God so much."

God of Good and Evil

2010-01-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:20

There is nothing that exists on earth that is not under the dominion of God. This includes evil. I so often think that God is the God of good and Satan is the ruler of evil. There seems to be this pervasive understanding of good and evil as dualistic entities in constant conflict over dominion of the world. Although, there is a sense in which good and evil is in constant conflict, we do wrong to believe that each are equally powerful or that one is in God's power and the other in Satan's. At the end of Genesis, Joseph shows that God is over both. Even though his brothers did an evil thing to him, God used that evil for good and thus neutering the effect of evil intended by his brothers. What a difficult but amazing truth! All the schemes the devil may plan and all the lies the devil may tell have no power and will make no impact on God's plan for the world. When someone harms us, when we hurt others, when we lie, cheat, or steal, when we see the web of wickedness cast upon the earth, we can be sure that it's power is only illusion and God is already victorious!

Lord Jesus, be the God over all things and show us your dominion over evil!

God's Perfect Provision

2010-01-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

“So it was not you who sent me here, but God.” Genesis 45:8

Many of us right now are out of work or underemployed. There are many who have lost loved ones or have been punished unjustly and are looking at their lives asking, "Why?" It can be hard to remember God's provision in the midst of suffering. When we are crying in the wilderness, weeping in the prisons, and grieving in the exile of the cruelness of this life, I pray that we remember Joseph. He suffered most of his life so God could use Him to save Israel. Brothers and sisters, if we call ourselves Christ's, then we can be sure all suffering we face is a part of God's provision for his people and for the praise of his glory. Our Lord is just all the time. For those of us still waiting to see God in our suffering, I implore you to stay faithful, for our God is a God who provides perfectly. God is impossible to predict and it is often times only in hindsight that we see His hand in the middle of pain.

Lord Jesus let us not grow weary in trusting you. Give us the strength to see your provision in the midst of suffering!

The Difficulty of Reconciliation

2010-01-15T04:28:00.000-08:00

"Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there." Genesis 43:30

How many of us are living estranged from someone we used to be closed to? Perhaps we were wronged. It is possible that the betrayal done by a certain person can seem to be utterly unforgivable, that the only just response seems to be vengeance. It seems in Genesis that Joseph's initial intention was revenge when he saw his brothers bowing before him. They sold him into slavery. Because of his brothers, he became both a slave and eventually a prisoner in Egypt. They utterly betrayed family trust. And now they were in his power. He could do with them whatever he desired, and be justified in his vengeance. But in the midst of his plans, God grew his compassion for them, and it was that compassion that broke the wall of bitterness towards his brothers. He had to leave the room to weep he was so overwhelmed. There will never come a day when the people around us, whom we love, cease betraying our trust and letting us down. Nor will we ever stop harming others. Our flesh is in the chaos of evil and though the soul may be redeemed, the flesh is still at war. However, we can pray for compassion, just like Joseph had compassion on his brothers, and begin to break through the wall of our own bitterness and pain. Will there be tears? Probably. Will there be wavering? Almost certainly. But the compassion of God moving in us is powerful enough to forgive any wrongs and reconcile all gaps developed by the sin we inflict upon each other.

Lord Jesus, give us compassion and a path away from bitterness. Help us to forgive the hurts that we have endured and see your glory in reconciliation!

Freedom in Christ

2010-01-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

Freedom. This word should ring dear to our hearts. It is the most prized possession this country has and might very well be the only just cause this country would still stand united behind. It is the very thing that every human being in the world wants. Every revolution, every political rally, every caged cry, every great action has all been in the name of freedom. We as human beings hate being ruled over. The revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s, all have been a testament to American’s love and passion for freedom.

Christianity is freedom. When I came to Christ, for the first time in my life, I had the freedom to be what God originally created me to be, I was no longer a slave to sin , and had the freedom to choose what was right. The chains were loosed, the cage was opened and the newly found freedom that surrounded me was truly divine. I no longer had to fear the Law, I know longer had to be burdened by the demands of the Law placed on me. I was finally free. This is what happened to all of us when we came to Christ. We became free. Now, this does not give us license to do whatever we want. Our sinful nature was crucified and slowly our desires are changing so the idea of Christian license should be unheard of. But we are now to be led by the Spirit, and instead of relying on man made rules to solve the gray issues of life we can rely on our convictions by the Spirit. If you are led to go through Christian schooling, that is your choice, if you feel that secular music has a bad effect on you than you have the freedom to not listen to it, if you feel that you should never smoke tobacco or never let alcohol touch your lips then that is your prerogative. But if you ever try to impose those convictions upon your Christian brother or sister, you are an enemy to the cross of Christ. Christ has died so that we might be free and by making our fellow believers follow our own individual convictions we make Christ’s death a joke. The Law has no hold on a believer for we have already been justified by blood.

We impose rules on other believers because our rules give us a sense of security and superiority and serve to inflate our naturally self-righteous egos. By mastering our “rules” we can hold it over other people’s heads and use it to beat them to death. We seem to let real sin and problems fester in our church, but we adamantly oppose any transgression against our cultural Christian values. “My relationship with Christ is as deep as the shallow end of a kiddie-pool, but at least I’ve never tasted alcohol.”

Legalism plays right into Satan’s game. The devil allows us to ward off the toy army men while he flanks us with an armored tank division. A legalistic church is like a prison filled with innocent men.

Lord Jesus, help us to live lives of liberty, not legality. Show us how to be free in your Spirit!

With Us in the Prisons

2010-01-13T04:25:00.000-08:00

"But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison." Genesis 39:21

I often times believe that God only shows his steadfast love to me while things are going well. I will get the job I was wanting, or an unexpected gift, or something of the sorts and then I will look to God and say, "Finally you are showing your steadfast love!" Although we would all be right to praise God for those blessings, we would be wrong to think that those are the only indications of his love. The Lord was with Joseph and loving him while he was in the prison God put him in. How many of us feel imprisoned? Whether it be a prison of brick or a prison of fear, a jail cell of bars or of doubt, whether we are captive to others or captive to loss and depression, if we are with Christ we can be assured that God is with us and loves us deeply. When I think about the truth that God is with me in both the prisons and the prosperity in my life, I rejoice! Isn't it wonderful that no matter where we are God is with us and we can trust that God's plan for us is perfect, even if at the time it seems unjust?

Lord Jesus, give us the strength to seek your steadfast love in the prison. You are with us and in your presence we rejoice!

Struggles with God

2010-01-12T04:52:00.000-08:00

"Then he said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.'" Genesis 32:30

After Jacob spent all night wrestling with God, he is given a new name, Israel, which means "He strives with God". God wants us to wrestle with Him, to engage him, to seek him, even in anger. How many times have we read something in the Bible we don't like, or something happened in our lives that made us angry with God, and we just brushed it off and threw it under the rug? Brothers and sisters, we must not ignore our struggles with God because He is anxious to wrestle through them with us. The ways of God can seem unjust to our perspective. So let us ask why. Let us bring our difficulties before the Lord and not flee in fear that any controversy we have with God will offend him. To the one who struggled with Him, he gave a new name. We likewise, when we engage him, when we cast our sin and our anxieties and our fears and doubts upon him, when we stay up all night pleading and fighting with him, we are likewise given the name of Christ.

Lord Jesus, let us enter into your presence in our struggles and doubts. Give us the courage to engage you and wrestle with you through our problems!

Being in God's Presence

2010-01-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." Genesis 28:17

Every moment I spend in the presence of God is like walking unarmed into a den of hungry lions. In an instant God could end me, punish me, and devour me in his righteous and wrathful hunger. But He chooses not too. He stays the mouths of the lions and allows me into His presence unharmed by His mighty power. Even though God has chosen to withhold his judgment on us because of Christ, the proper attitude we should have when in the presence of God is fear that ends in worship. When Jacob saw the vision of God at Bethel, he was afraid and proclaimed the awesomeness of God. Sadly, I believe I have forgotten the lions mouth as I enter into His presence. He is the lamb, but he is also the lion. We are held and kept from utter destruction and violent ends by His unmerited favor and choice, and the string with which we are held above hell is strengthened only by his will and exists only because of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, let us never forget the mighty power and awe of being in your presence. Give us fear in your house, and let us worship you forever!

The Faith of Abraham

2010-01-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

"Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son." Genesis 22:10

How do I reconcile the love, justice, and morality of God with his command for Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac? Those of us reading the story understand that the command is merely a test and God has no intention of Abraham ever going through with it. However, Abraham did not have the luxury of that perspective. He had waited 100 years to have the son God promised him in his youth, and then after the miracle of Isaac's birth, God commands him to kill that same son! It might be easy for us to read this story and miss the profound statement and act of faith Abraham commits. It is easy for us to think that Abraham merely reasoned in his mind that God was only testing him. Or maybe Abraham was willing to go through the motions of obeying him but never had any real intentions of sacrificing Isaac. Unfortunately, I think the story is far more complicated and profound. Abraham raises the knife! I don't know any man in his right mind who would do so obediently what Abraham did. And that's the point. Abraham had a faith in the goodness and sovereignty of God that is unmatched in my life. He knew the Lord would provide the offering and he trusted that God would fulfill his promise despite the obvious absurdity of Isaac's sacrifice. How little faith we have in God's goodness. It is easy to trust God's promise when it fits into our lives, when it rationally follows from one thing or another. But when God's command seems absurd, are we willing to follow him anyways?Abraham was a man who walked with God and trusted him and knew the only thing more absurd than sacrificing his heir was to not listen to the commandments of God.

Lord Jesus give us a faith that is totally confident in your goodness, sovereignty, and power. Give us humility and perspective to trust in you, even when it seems absurd!

God of Wrath

2010-01-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

"Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." Genesis 19:24-25

There's a lie that exists in the church today. Without ever admitting it, many of us, including myself, believe that the God who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah has somehow changed into a different God who now loves and saves everyone. In the Bible, we are met with two seemingly irreconcilable characters of God. He is on the one hand the God of wrath who destroys entire cities--men, women, and children--because of their unrepentant disobedience. On the other hand, God is the God of love and forgiveness, who through His sacrifice has brought undeserving sinners into His kingdom. Many Christians when met with this problem will just ignore it. Others have even gone to such lengths as to say the God of the Old Testament is a different God than the one of the New Testament, or some variation of the two. However, the Bible makes it clear that God is wholly both. It is merely laziness on the part of the Church that perpetuates the lie that these two characters of God are irreconcilable. We live in a world of consequences and God's wrath is the only just response He has to sin. Because of this, the violence of the cross was the only possible propitiation to free God's love on all the world. The reconciliation between God's wrath and His love is the gospel. Sodom was an evil city. Just as it was then, those who live and die in unrepentant wickedness will meet the same fierce wrath of God met by Sodom. It is repentance, through the grace of God leading to faith, that satisfies God's wrath through Christ, and brings us into His kingdom.

Lord Jesus, let us not live in wickedness and kindle your wrath. We admit our sins and accept the offering of your Son as the payment for your wrath!

The God of Providence

2010-01-07T04:44:00.000-08:00

"What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence." -Charles Spurgeon

What a piercing and convicting observation! It seems no matter how much confidence I might put in God's power to save me from sin, I always wain in my confidence in His power to save me from starvation, sleeplessness, and want. His eye is on the sparrow. His care is for the lilies. Why am I convinced that His provision does not apply to my families physical needs? This last year, the theme of what God has done in our family is break down our comforts so we have to depend on him. He has either not given us the jobs we wanted and thought we needed or not given them when we wanted them. He has put a curse on both our vehicles (not really, but it sure has seemed like it). He has moved us away from our friends and put us in a position where we either have to run scared or rely on Him and Him alone for our provision, security, strength, and peace. It has in many ways been the hardest year either of us have experienced, but it has also been the best. We worship the God of providence and are wrapped up in his arms, like sheep in his pasture we are under the protection of his mighty staff. What a struggle faith can be and how quickly faithlessness can overcome me, in spite of God's perfect track record in faithfulness! His eye is on the sparrow. His care is for the lilies. His strength is for the weak. His kingdom is for the poor.

Lord Jesus let us never forget that you are the God of providence and our daily provision. Help us to put our trust in you!

Act Quickly on Faith

2010-01-06T05:57:00.000-08:00

"That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised." Genesis 17:26

How long should I wait to act on something I know God is calling me to do? When God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, Abraham didn't wait a year to act up on it, he didn't put it on a to do list, he didn't make it next year's New Year's resolution. That very day, Abraham circumcised himself and his whole family. This challenges me because I know how frequently I put off things God has laid on my heart. Whether it be a kind word to a neighbor, a phone call to an old friend, confession, a discipline that needs to be developed, no matter what it may be the greatest enemy of action is always the phrase, "I'll do it tomorrow." God does not call us to act on his words later, he expects it to be done right away.

Lord Jesus, let us have the discipline to act on your words and prodding immediately. Give us victory over laziness and procrastination!

Arbitrarily Chosen

2010-01-05T06:03:00.000-08:00

"Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.'" Genesis 12:1

It is foolish for me to ever think that God chose me to be saved because of any quality that I possess, but I still do it. How many times have I allowed the wicked lie to creep into my mind that says, "Look at all I have to offer God, no wonder He chose to save me?" When God chose Abram, there was no previous indication or reason given for God's choosing. Abram was a name in a long list of names, and God arbitrarily singled out his name to bless the whole world through. He chose Abram to be holy, to go from 'country', 'kindred', and his 'father's house', to some place separate. But God didn't do so because Abram asked him. The best explanation I can come up with after reading the text as to why God chooses Abram out of all the other names is that God is God, and He chooses whom He pleases. There is a problem in us talking of salvation so frequently as the choice we made to follow Him. Did I choose Him? Yes. But only because He first chose me, and He did so arbitrarily. I have nothing to give God that He doesn't already possess and there is no quality about me that could have swayed God in His choosing. It is by His grace and mysterious pleasure that He chose me, and by His grace that I was able to choose Him. Let us never forget that we live in Him by grace, and that we are His by His choosing.

Lord Jesus, You and You alone are the Author of our salvation. Give us the humility to live constantly at Your divine mercy!

The Subtle Deception of Pride

2010-01-04T04:37:00.000-08:00

"Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'" Genesis 11:4

At first glance, nothing strikes me as particularly wrong about what the settlers at Babel were doing. They all had one language and decided to use their unity and see just what they could accomplish with their own hands. They found they could burn bricks and use mortar and build a building. They discovered that with large amounts of people, buildings can be tall and grandiose. So they set out to do just that out of fear that if they didn't make their mark on the world, they would be dispersed and forgotten. In our American culture, this story sounds strikingly similar to a lot of our rags to riches, manifest destiny type tales of the day. To carve out a name for ourselves, to use the resources at hand to do something great, to be remembered in posterity are all noble ventures in the eyes of the meritocratic, success-driven American. When God looked down on Babel, however, he did not find a moving story of human ingenuity, he didn't see a beautiful display of man's capability, he saw a group of people usurping His glory. God, not man, is the builder of great things, the mover of unshakable forces, and the author of all things majestic. The pride of man is so often disguised by "honest" ambition and human powers. I find myself daily looking at the talents God gave me, the resources he put in my life, and scheming as to how I can use it all to make a name for myself. Even though I tell myself it is ambition, I'm afraid, unless the end of my actions are for the glory of God alone, my actions serve the demon inside all of us called pride.

Lord Jesus let us abandon our ambitions and desires for a name set apart in history, so that all our talents, gifts, and resources can be used to build your name and reputation over all the earth!

We All Fall

2010-01-03T05:59:00.000-08:00

"Noah began to be a man of the soil and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent." Genesis 9:20-21

It always strikes me that after reading the four chapter account of Noah--hearing of the righteousness accredited to him by his faith in building the ark, the great patience of Noah, the covenant God makes with Noah concerning destruction of mankind--the last impression we are left with of Noah is him drunk and passed out naked in his tent. It is too often we idolize the great righteous men and women of our days as perfect and forget that even great men are far from perfect. Noah wasn't righteous because he did everything right all the time, he was righteous because of His faith. God's righteousness is different from man's righteousness, it is built by faith acting through works, not a strict adherence to social mores.

Let us praise God that righteousness comes by grace through faith and give us the grace to deal with each other in understanding and mercy!

The Primacy of Grace

2010-01-02T06:25:00.000-08:00

"And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." Genesis 3:21

Within the very same chapter in which man falls in the Bible, we also see the first example of God's grace. Despite the sorrow and pain God felt while walking through the garden and discovering His creation was ashamed, He also poured out his unmerited favor by clothing them to cover up their nakedness. God did not become a God of grace after Jesus, post New Testament, God has always been a God of grace. Oh what sweet and fulfilling truth to know that our God operates from a character of grace! Although His grace is not without His righteous judgment. The Lord is just and His wrath is poured out on all unrighteousness, but never in the Bible is His judgment not also coupled with His grace. As always, Adam and Eve were undeserving of God clothing them, but He did it anyways, not because of who they were, but because of who He is!

Lord Jesus, we are naked and ashamed because of our sin. Come clothe us with your grace and show your favor on us, so that we might walk in the garden with You again!

Evening into Morning

2010-01-01T06:51:00.000-08:00

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called the Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." Genesis 1:5

Too many times I have seen the repetition of evening into morning as a burden. Another day creeps forward and the work of Christian living seems nowhere nearer to a close and nowhere closer to the goal. I'm encouraged however when I see the way God views the passage of days. Before God created anything else in the world, he created day and night. Before the world we so adamantly protect, the creatures we preserve, and the people we elevate and glorify, God created Day and Night. As I was reading this morning in Genesis, it became apparent to me that God created day and night first so that, through the daily repetition of morning into evening, evening into morning, He could have a consistent reason to look back and delight in what had happened the previous day. The very first thing God created in this world was a mechanism to express consistent delight in His creation and handiwork. Evening has just passed into morning, a year to a new year, a decade to a new decade, and it is time for us to look back with delight in all that the Lord has done!

Let us praise Him for the constant reminder that every day is a day God created for His delight, so that we might also delight in Him!

The Distractions of Pettiness

2009-12-29T07:11:00.000-08:00

"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught: avoid them." Romans 16:17

The church need only be guilty of the sin of division and pettiness to be rendered ineffective. Satan knows this well and has in many ways succeeded in destroying the voracity of the Holy Spirit's power in the church by dividing it. The church family in many ways is a broken family riddled with a history of divorce. Doctrinal differences, cultural shifts, and extra-Scriptural dogma, instead of pushing the Church into a period of growth through prayer and discussion, usually end in a heated parting of ways. It grieves my heart to look into the history of the church and find it so fragmented to be almost unrecognizable. It's even worse to know that I don't need to look further than my own sinful tendencies to understand why the Church is the way it is. I entertain division and petty doctrines constantly. I fail to take the advice of Paul and avoid them. How will the church be God's holy temple if it is a temple divided? How will we be a reflection of God's redemptive glory if we are a fragmented mirror?

Lord Jesus, convict us of our pettiness and return us to a heart and mind united by your Spirit. Lord, let us avoid divisions!

The Necessity of Prayer

2009-12-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

"In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer." Psalm 109:4

It frightens me sometimes how often my response to difficulty and criticism is self-reliance. When my back is up against a wall, when I feel misunderstood, when the plan falls apart, I frequently look only into my own store room of gifts and talents to see what I can offer to fix the situation. It pains me to admit this because there is nowhere in scripture that reflects that philosophy. God does not help those who help themselves, he helps the helpless. He does not reward the healthy, he heals the sick. He does not elevate the working, he fixes the broken. My deepest desire would be to stop looking to myself to fix things and expect God to honor it. I want to have the same attitude of the Psalmist, to give myself to prayer in all circumstances. Prayer is the only godly response to the helplessness of life. As Charles Spurgeon wrote, "A prayerless soul is a Christless soul." Prayer is not merely an option for Christian living, it is the option for Christian living.

Lord Jesus, take away my selfish self-reliant soul and replace it with a soul who lives and dies by the power of prayer and communion with you!

Reflection From a Soon to be Dad

2009-12-19T07:49:00.000-08:00

On July 9th, 2010, I will become a dad.

It would be impossible to fully explain all the different thoughts, the joys and the doubts, the angst and peace, that go along with that truth. But I'm sure those who are dads can relate. It is the most terrifying and joyful thing to be expecting a first child.

About a month ago, Lauren and I went in for our first ultrasound. Up until that point, it wasn't real for either of us. We were so concerned about how to pay for things, whether we were ready, outright denying it, that the full weight of a baby forming in Lauren's womb hadn't hit either of us. And then we saw on the screen a tiny pulsating white spot. Our baby's heart was beating so fast and working so hard. At that moment all of the worries and fears that had risen inside us vanished, and we both fell in love with that tiny heart nestled inside Lauren's caring womb.

A week ago we got to hear the heart again. It's still beating proudly, anxiously waiting to scream it's way into our family. As I wrestle with all that's going on and the prospect of being a dad, something hit me that I don't think ever could've hit me without becoming a father. Jesus was once that little beating heart inside Mary's womb. Now I can't help but wonder how God the Father processed seeing his only Son, whom He had been with for eternity, developing from an embryo into a fetus, into a baby, into a child, and into a man. Did his heart leap the first time he looked into Mary's womb and saw his Son's first heartbeat? Did he take a picture of it and put the sonogram of it on his heavenly fridge for all the saints and angels to look at and cheer? Did he melt as he saw Jesus's hands form, his eyelids develop, his kicking legs grow? Did he jump when Mary jumped as Jesus moved and stretched? Even as an expectant father, I can't imagine the joy God took in watching His Son develop.

But as God peered down to see this baby form, I'm sure His joy was mixed with sorrow. The only reason His Son had to become a man in the first place was because the world sinned. Despite all the delight God might have taken in his Son's birth, the inevitable death and torture awaiting his Son couldn't have been far from his mind. What love and pain the Father must have felt in seeing his Son give up his heavenly body and become a man!

I have been so overwhelmed with delight witnessing our baby grow. But I likewise know that the precious beating heart inside Lauren right now will be born into a world of darkness and sin. I am so happy to be a dad, but I weep that our future child will suffer the world of sin. My only hope is that our child will be saved by the beating heart God was so pleased with 2000 years ago.

In thinking about all this, Christmas has taken on a new depth. It is a celebration. God became a man and was born to be the Lamb of God, the Savior, the Christ, Immanuel! But for me this year, it is a celebration rooted in sorrow because his birth was only necessary because of my wretchedness--his incarnation was due to a world of darkness and his purpose in birth was death.

This Christmas let us rejoice for salvation, but let us mourn it's necessity.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." John 3:17

The House Always Wins

2009-09-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

This is an article I wrote for my dad's blog on Family Matters website. I just thought I would share it with you guys here as well.

...

It was my first trip to a Casino. My friends and I had just turned 18, and in the ignorance and foolishness of youth, we were all eager to try those things that you had to be 18 to do...like legally gambling at a real casino. We drove out to the reservation with ten dollars in each of our pockets and the naïve hope that we could win big in each of our hearts. We decided that ten dollars was all we were spending and no matter what, once we were out, we were done.

Needless to say, we learned a valuable lesson that night: 10 dollars doesn't last long in a casino. Within a few minutes of scattering to the different traps the casino had to offer, we were back together minus both our money and our delusional hope for quick cash. We did have fun though. Likening it to spending 10 dollars at a movie theater, we decided it wasn't a waste of money...so we went back a few weeks later.

My second time at the casino was a very different experience. We all returned with the same plan, same ten dollars, and the same vain hope. But this time I didn't come away excited to go back.

Perhaps because of the novelty the first time, I hadn't really observed my surroundings. But as I walked around the quarter slots, and the dollar blackjack tables, I couldn't help but notice the tired and desperate eyes surrounding me.

I noticed the old women in cheap clothing putting quarter after quarter into slot machines with no reward. I saw broken, zombie-like men in ragged suits at the black jack table doubling down on money they couldn't afford to lose; their only sign of life being that greedy gleam in the corner of their eyes driving them to bet again.

When I left that night (losing my ten bucks again), I felt the mixture of pity and anger common to witnessing injustice and exploitation. My views of casinos certainly changed. Sure, no one is holding a gun to these people's head forcing them to come in and part with their money. Yet there is no doubt that casinos promote the myth that all worries can be gone with one roll of the die, one pull of the arm on the slot machine, or one flip of the right card.

In the end, the only people truly getting rich at casinos are the casinos. It's true what they say, “The house always wins”...and it made me very sad and angry to witness it.

After reading a recent article in the New York Times, I had the same feeling. The article, entitled “Believers Investing in the Gospel of Getting Rich”, was about the Southwest Believer's Convention in Fort Worth, TX. Started by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the Southwest Believer's Convention preaches the gospel of prosperity. If you sow the seed of your hard earned money in this well-dressed servant's ministry, and have enough faith, God will give you an abundant harvest - more than you can ask or think. If you invest enough in this preacher's vision, someday you can enjoy the cruises to Alaska, vacations to Hawaii, and a mansion like this servant of God. Who knows? God may even throw in a giant vault of money that you can go swimming in every morning - just like Scrooge McDuck. The prosperity gospel is a theology that turns God's blessing into the winning number on the roulette wheel and Jesus into a pit boss.

The article mentioned numerous individuals, some in debt upwards of $100,000 who travelled 1000 of miles to take their chances at this Christian Casino. While they were there they dropped tons of their money into the spiritual slot machine of prosperity preaching. Among the needs that these thousands of desperate followers were investing in was a Lear Jet for the preacher's ministry and big, new HD flat screen televisions for their offices - because if we've learned anything from the Apostle Paul it's that we need Lear Jets and flat screen TV's to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

After reading the article, I was tempted to drive down I-30 and shake every single person there asking them, “What are you thinking?!?!?!”

I didn't. But I really wanted to.

It's tempting to go off in anger about this, but I have to refrain. We live in a free country. People are free to delude others and even free to be deluded. And even though this kind of spiritual injustice and exploitation is easy to spot I'm hesitant to coldly come down harshly on the people who get sucked into it. That's because of the subtle way I frequently fall into the same trap.

It should come as no surprise that the economy is in a recession right now. Although my wife, Lauren, and I haven't lost money in the same way others have, we have nonetheless seen the results of the bleak economy on our own finances. I can't tell you how many times my prayers have gone something like, “God if only Lauren or I could have a better job, or if only my hourly wage could be a bit higher, then we could really serve you more effectively. Am I not tithing enough? Didn't you promise your blessings on those who follow you?”

Much to my shame, I have said those things to God. And in the process, I realize that I'm doing the same thing people at this convention were doing as they walked up to the altar and laid down what little money they had. I wasn't looking for God's blessing, I was longing for God's jackpot.

In John 4, Jesus meets a woman from Samaria at a well. After asking for a drink he tells her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10) I imagine the Samaritan woman's desperate eyes light up. Thoughts of never making the tiring trek to the well or lugging the heavy water pots on her shoulder race through her mind. She starts to salivate for the liquid payola she sees in the man sitting next to her. I can't help but see myself in that same situation leaning into Jesus pleading, “Give me this water so I won't be thirsty anymore!”

In the end, Jesus doesn't give her any water; he gives her himself.

In this we find the deception of the prosperity preaching that distills God's blessing down to a crap shoot. We find the folly in asking God for a better job, or a repaired economy, or good looks, or food that always fills, or water that always satisfies. God, indeed, wants to bless us; to give us an abundant life and living water so we never thirst again. He just doesn't give it to us the way we expect it. He gives us himself.

While processing all of this I can't help but feel that the loss of net worth, the imploded stock markets, the unemployment, and the quiet desperation creeping into our souls is, in fact, God's blessing on America. It's his way of coming down and gracefully shaking us into seeing how blessed we've been all along. He's saying, “I'm not actually talking about real water, or bread, or riches. I'm talking about myself. And I'm willing to diminish your access to those things to help you find me, know me and enjoy the truly abundantly life I have to offer.”

The problem with casinos is the same thing that's wrong with the health and wealth gospel. They both assume that our lives will be better if we just have more money and creature comforts. But in the end, "the house” - hose people controlling and peddling all these promises - are the only ones who really win.

With Christ it's different. The Bible says we have been built into Him, that our blessings spring from being part of the structure of the kingdom of God - with Christ as the cornerstone. (1 Peter 2:4-7; Ephesians 2:19-22) Instead of the house of God exploiting those that visit, God wants to build us into his house, giving us the richest blessing of all...himself. We believers are the house! And as I ponder the truth of all the riches I have in Christ, I can't help but grin and think, the house really does always win.

The God of Rain

2009-08-21T05:49:00.000-07:00

I was awoken at 3:30 this morning by crashes outside our bedroom window. Flashes of light bolted through and made shadows dance briefly on the wall, and then another crash. Our windows were shaking. I remember looking at the weather last night and knew there was a chance of rain. But this storm was on a different level. I imagined those National Geographic specials on storms and floods and pictured our house breaking as the floods tore it apart. I imagined us being that group of huddled people floating down the street, Lauren, me, and the dog all huddled into the center of the bed while lightning and rain and thunder displayed it's awesome and terrible might around us. I'm much more dramatic in the early morning. The storm, as intense as it was, was not National Geographic bad.

As Lauren rolled over for me to hold her, a different thought came into my mind. I started picturing the disciples in the middle of the sea when the storm hit. As Deadliest Catch has taught me, storms at sea are far more dangerous and frightening than ones on land. I imagined the disciples screaming at each other to cut the sails as Andrew and Peter grabbed anything they could to scoop water out. I imagined food and clothing being thrown off the side as John and James got knocked into the hull by a giant wave. I imagined a lot of swearing, and last thoughts and final regrets, and tears as they braced themselves for that final wave, that final bolt of lightning that would send them each into their end in the sea. And then I imagined Jesus sleeping, trying to rest from days of teaching and healing people. I always picture him sleeping on his side, but who knows, he may have been sprawled out in the back of the ship's cabin.

I realize this all sounds a little over the top, but like I said, I'm far more dramatic in the early morning hours. As I pictured the scene of the disciples in the boat in the middle of the storm with Jesus in the back sleeping, I remembered the outcome of the story. The winds and the waves obeyed him, he calmed the storm. As I layed holding my sleeping wife, I just repeated over and over, "The winds and the waves obey him. He calms the storms." Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. The storm surrounding us made our room light up as if there were 100 halogen lamps flashing and our windows shake as if elephants were wrestling in the room next to us. But with a word from God, the storm would cease. For the rest of the morning, as the storm intensified and waned, intensified and waned, I lay in terror and wonder at the awesome power of God. And I feared Him.

Gran Torino and the Cry for True Manliness

2009-08-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

So last night Lauren and I watched the movie Gran Torino. It was amazing!

Apart from being scared to death of Clint Eastwood, it opened my eyes to something about our culture. I found throughout the movie that it was strange that I liked Clint Eastwood's character. He was racist, bitter, irreligious, and an alcoholic, but somehow he ended up being one of the more respectable and strong heroes I'd seen in a movie in a long time. As I caught myself being sucked into the movie, I couldn't help but ask why I liked the character so much.

After watching the movie it's plain to so see why he was such a great protagonist. He had courage. He had no tolerance for bullies. He spoke things directly. In the end, he proved to be a great example of genuine manliness...which got me thinking...

I might be reading into the movie and the implications it has for society a little too much, but I think this movie shows an underlying desire by men to be real men. It is apparent that men being men is not the norm in this culture. Senators and other men in power are being seen more and more to betray their commitment to their family, their values, and their duties as a leader, for their own selfish pleasure. Men are becoming more content to sit at desks and get by then be extraordinary at what they do. Even men in ministry are often times more content to sit in meetings, stay in church and outsource the scary parts of ministry then lead by doing.

It seems like the culture we are living in is exactly the culture we can expect. Boys with no dads are now growing up to be men with no courage. And I think people are starting to realize it and miss having a man in the house.

Anyway, it was a great movie and it reminded of the importance of being a man in a culture full of cowards and bullies.

The Chaos of Beginning Greek

2009-06-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

So last Monday I began studying Greek at Dallas Theological Seminary. It has been a challenging and exciting week and a half. A lot of studying, a lot of flashcards, a lot of paradigms, declensions, and parsing. I will admit though, in spite of all of the craziness of Greek, it has been amazing to dive head first into the language of the New Testament. Dr. Daniel Wallace, one of the professors of Greek wrote an article on the importance of the study of the ancient languages. I want to share some of what he wrote:

"The Protestant Reformation never would have gotten off the ground unless Luther had a Greek New Testament in his hands and in his heart. And the history of Protestant seminaries is such that when schools lose the languages they lose their theological underpinnings. When professors are the only ones who know the text in the original, then they can tell their students anything they want without challenge. The great battle cry of the Reformation was "ad fontes"--back to the sources! And by this they meant the Greek and Hebrew texts."

I had never thought of the languages that way. The study of Greek and Hebrew is what protects the church from the whims of the language of culture.

I feel honored to be joining the rank of men who have protected the word of God and it's original intention. I just hope that future ministers will never view the languages as irrelevant.

The Forgotton Art of Holiness

2009-05-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

We're starting a new series at Fellowship Bible this upcoming week and were discussing it in the weekly worship meeting. The series is going through 1 Peter and is asking the question of how we should live as exiles in a land that is not our home. So...how should we live? With the great price Jesus paid for our salvation, how should we live?

I think my generation has done well in embracing salvation through grace. The book of Romans and Galatians have become a favorite and the message that we can come as we are to throne of Christ and be made whole again by His death and resurrection is our spiritual heartbeat. I am so glad we are exchanging salvation through legalism for grace and I hope it continues to permeate our spiritual paradigm.

However, something I've observed about my generation is that our spiritual journey often times stops at salvation through grace. It really isn't popular to talk about the process of becoming righteous after salvation. We've bought the lie that it's okay to stay the same sinner we were when Jesus first found us. It is true that Christ's forgiveness covers our sins, both past and future. But God's mercy does not justify our license to stay spiritual babies our whole life.

The book of 1 Peter addresses that very thing. Peter is pleading with the elect to live holy. Since our salvation is so great and the grace of God so grand, we shouldn't cheapen those things by not enduring suffering for the sake of holiness. The lack of holiness in my generation's spiritual journey is becoming pandemic, and it is frustrating. It frustrates me because I know just how much I cheapen the grace of God by my own license and I see how much our message of grace is being hurt by the lack of transformation that occurs after our salvation.

Salvation and transformation should never be compartmentalized into separate things. The art of holiness and the long process of brokenness, suffering, and faith that gets us there is what gives credibility to salvation.

The Boldness of the Apostles

2009-05-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

So recently I've been reading through the book of Acts and I'm amazed how bold the apostles were in the way they shared the gospel then. They were almost rude about it at times. When Stephen delivers his final sermon he closes with a fairly vindictive indictment of the Jews prosecuting him. This happens over and over again throughout the book of Acts. It made a lot of people mad, but it made the gospel very clear to those listening.

It has challenged me in the way I think of sharing the truth about Jesus. When I talk about Him and scriptural truth, I'm very often delicate in the way I talk about it. I don't want to offend or "turn people away" so I often tip toe around the sins of others and the full power of the truth. I wish I didn't do this and could have the boldness of the Apostles. It might get me in more trouble, but it also wouldn't water down the gospel.

The Anonymous Man's Second Coming

2009-05-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Man looked through his window.
street cars, street sounds, street smells,
a pitter-patter of rain

The Man stared through His window
why send me for this?

Abraham walks to the Mountain of God afraid

In the city, all are anonymous
rain unique and then crashing upon asphalt
evaporating invisibly into the sky

The Man scribbles into the wood
"Everyone was expecting me, but nobody noticed."

Abraham shivering raises the knife
But doesn't see the ram

The Man crashed through the window
street cars, street sounds, street smells
the pitter-patter of pain

In the sky he was finally noticed, but not for why He came

Abraham treks down the Mountain of God
a murdering man ashamed

A Few of My Favorites Right Now

2009-05-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's - As Tall as cliffs - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on ef="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo.

Horsefeathers

Horsefeathers perform live at Portia and Slim Moon's BBQ from Dave Allen on Vimeo.

Bon Iver

#93.2 - BON IVER - Flume
Uploaded by lablogotheque - Explore more music videos.

A Lot Can Happen in a Day...

2009-04-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

So this weekend my wife and I decided to build a rock bed in our back yard. It was a great way to start the day and a lot of fun. However, what we didn't know was that underneath our house, our main sewage drain was backing up with dirt and water as a result of root damage and line breaks. It's amazing how much can change in a day. That night we were up till 2 in the morning waiting for city workers to finish digging a ten foot hole in our front yard to the main sewage line to see if there was blockage on the city side. There wasn't. The following day, a dump truck, earth mover, jack hammer, four city workers, and a plumber were camped outside our house deducing our plumbing problems.

In the end, we got the news that our problems would range in the three thousand dollar range. A lot can happen in a day...

Although we are now weighing all of our options, getting second and third and fourth opinions, considering what part of the work we can do ourselves, the whole experience has turned out to be a subtle but great blessing from God. The news couldn't have come at a worse time. In a month I will be an unemployed student, school is expensive, Lauren's hours will be cut back, and, after our plumbing mishap, our emergency fund will be close to depleted. Oh...and our washing machine broke.

It's amazing how quickly God can strip the comforts and delusions of safety from us and make us cling to Him. After the initial shock of everything, my wife and I slowly began to realize that our panic and fear was contrary to what we believe about God and His love for us. That evening, feeling the weight of uncertainty crushing my chest, Proverbs 3:5 began to whisper in my ear.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."

I had memorized that verse in AWANA when I was five. But that evening it became more than just a sentence, it became the Spirit pleading with me to trust Him. It reminded me that my wife and I now have a wonderful opportunity to trust God without the distractions of financial comfort, to cling to each other without the predication of stability, and to put our hope completely in the will of God and His good grace towards those whom He has chosen.

So as strange as it sounds, I thank God for old pipes, a bad economy, and an unknown plan. Because of all those things, my wife and I can stop trusting in our budget and emergency fund to save us, and start trusting that our shepherd knows where He's leading us.

Ravi Zacharias and Post-Modernism

2009-04-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I took our dog to the dog park at White Rock Lake and brought a book I've been meaning to read for a while, Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias. I first heard Ravi Zacharias while driving from Arizona back to Texas after one of my breaks from school. My youth pastor and mentor Randy gave them to me with only the introduction that this man will change my life. I can still remember listening to his lectures about "Can Man Live Without God" while driving through the forests and plains of northern Arizona and New Mexico. The experience oddly enough, was one I don't think I'll ever forget. Listening to this brilliant yet humble man talk about how he came to know God and who Jesus was in the midst of all the other world religions was profound and life changing. At the time, it was something I really needed. College had posed a serious intellectual challenge to my faith and without thinkers like Ravi Zacharias and others, I could have very easily been swept up into the same pseudo-spiritual post-modern thinking that has paralyzed so many others of my generation.

So, of course I shouldn't have been surprised this afternoon when, within pages of the beginning, he challenged my soul once again. His book begins with a candid look at the true nature of post-modern thinking. As I prepare for full time ministry, I often times forget the particular challenges I will have to face doing ministry in the post-modern, technological, and information-overloaded world. The absolute claim of Christ as the only way to heaven has never been more distasteful to the metanarrative of a culture as it is today. I wanted to share with you what Ravi Zacharias wrote about post-modernism because it really encouraged me and reminded me of the difficult battle those in ministry have of teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Yet if the human spirit is to survive and every legitimate discipline to find fruitful expression, truth cannot be sacrificed at the altar of a pretended tolerance. All religions, plainly and simply, cannot be true. Some beliefs are false, and we know them to be false. So it does no good to put a halo on the notion of tolerance as if everything could be equally true. To deem all beliefs equally true is sheer nonsense for the simple reason that to deny that statement would also, then, be true. But if the denial of the statement is also true, then all religions are not true."

I'm excited to read more and be challenged more by this man's faith and brilliance. I'm sure I will be writing more about what I read in his book.

In Celebration of Freedom...

2009-04-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

A Post-Christian America?

2009-04-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

Apparently the recent findings of a survey have caused quite a stir in the evangelical community.

"According to the American Religious Identification Survey that got Mohler's attention, the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent."

This quote came from another article I saw in Newsweek about the effects this survey has had on America. Since this survey has come out, there has been an uproar about America becoming less Christian and more secular, mainly by Christians. I talked about my initial reaction to these finding's in a recent post. In the Newsweek article, Meacham talks about how many Christian conservatives are labeling the present as a post-Christian time. Of this he writes,

"Let's be clear: while the percentage of Christians may be shrinking, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated. Being less Christian does not necessarily mean that America is post-Christian. A third of Americans say they are born again; this figure, along with the decline of politically moderate-to liberal mainline Protestants, led the ARIS authors to note that "these trends … suggest a movement towards more conservative beliefs and particularly to a more 'evangelical' outlook among Christians." With rising numbers of Hispanic immigrants bolstering the Roman Catholic Church in America, and given the popularity of Pentecostalism, a rapidly growing Christian milieu in the United States and globally, there is no doubt that the nation remains vibrantly religious—far more so, for instance, than Europe."

I'm going to have to agree with Meacham on this. It is very much so an exaggeration to conclude that a 10% drop in religious affiliation, from 85% to 75%, signifies a post-Christian age.

I'm also reading Donald Miller's book Searching for God Knows What and have found his examination of Religion very insightful into the current response of American Christians, and certainly my own responses, to the recent religious survey.

Donald Miller writes, "It is true people need Jesus, not religion. And yet at times I am concerned our most passionate missionary endeavors are more concerned with redeeming our identity as Christians within the {fallen culture} than with presenting Jesus to a world looking for a God." In an earlier chapter on Morality (a very good chapter) he writes:

"I assure you, once we leave the fight over our country's future and enter the spiritual battle for the hearts and souls of the lost, the church will fourish, and the kingdom of God will grow. God is not in the business of brokering for power over a nation; He is in the business of loving the unloved and pulling sheep out of crags and bushes."

So I guess the question I'm asking myself is why do I care if a survey says there are less people affiliated with churches in America now than ever before? When has that ever mattered to Jesus?

Something to think about...

Rethinking the Gospel

2009-04-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried to recreate a moment for a picture? Like that time your friend tripped down the stairs into the man walking on stilts or the time you opened up your big Christmas present when you were five or the first time you looked at your future wife and knew she was the one. Whenever these once in a lifetime moments happen, the camera never seems to work fast enough. So we try to reenact it, try to recreate it so that we can capture that memory on film forever, to show our friends and family and future children.

But the truth is, those pictures are never as good as the original moment. We always show those pictures and qualify it by saying, "You should've seen it in real life, this picture just doesn't do it justice." It's just a stale imitation of what it originally was.

Sometimes I think the way we present and think about the gospel is a lot like a reenacted picture. The story and picture we show our friends doesn't come close to the profound experience of it.

John 17:3 says, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Although I had read this verse before, the impact of what Jesus said had never really hit me. When I think of the gospel I always think of the Romans road, or the giant canyon with me on one side and God on the other and the cross being the only bridge across. But when I read this verse, I get the impression that there is something more to the gospel than just the facts.

Eternal life is knowing God, and Jesus whom He sent. Eternal life isn't knowing the facts or the belief systems. It's the difference between looking at a picture of the Grand Canyon and driving through northern Arizona to experience it for yourself.

I think this helps me to understand the lack of impact the gospel can have on people here in America. All I present to people most of the time is just a reenacted picture of the real thing. I'm not bringing them with me to meet God and see for themselves, I'm not showing them how it feels to be completely loved and redeemed and walking in the presence of the ever-mysterious, infinitely majestic, and joyfully frightening God.

And that's why much of the world responds to the gospel with, "Maybe if I had been there..."

A Charge to Worship Leaders

2009-04-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

As someone involved in worship leading, I'm always trying to better understand the role worship leaders play in the church. In my first year of college I did a lot of research on the role worship plays in the church and you can read about it by downloading the Worship Chapter of We Who Have Ears.

Sometimes I can't help but feel like the role of the worship leader in a church is not much more than the leader of pep-rally before a big game. Worship leaders are usually not expected to be involved in the scriptural shepherding of the congregation and generally do not have much pastoral connection with the congregation apart from the Sunday services.

I understand that each person in the church has their role and that the worship leader is not the same as the teaching pastor or pastor of counseling. At the same time, I think many worship leaders have forgotten that their first responsibility, like any other person in leadership in the church, is shepherding the congregation.

I know as a worship leader I have been guilty of putting the music planning and service flow before other responsibilities. Many times, I didn't even consider things like discipleship and scriptural shepherding as my responsibility. They were just added bonuses if I had time to get around to them.

The more I experience the church and the way it functions, I think that worship leaders, in an attempt to free them up to perfect the music and flow of the service, have been marginalized to a role that is much smaller than it was intended to be. Why aren't worship leaders active in discipling? Why aren't we active in teaching? Why aren't we active in counseling members of the congregation? Why aren't we expected to understand the Bible in a way most other pastors are expected to understand it?

I want to challenge my fellow worship leaders to see their role in a new and bigger light. We are not just band leaders and our main responsibility isn't to the music or the service flow or even the other band members, choir members, and orchestra members. Our main responsibility is to shepherd the flock and build the spiritual depth of our community.

Modern Day Indulgence: The Prayer Cross

2009-03-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

I just saw another commercial for the Prayer Cross, and I was once again outraged by it. Martin Luther renounced the selling of indulgences in his 95 Theses:

"The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men."

The Prayer Cross is a disgusting exploitation of Jesus that preys upon poor or lonely people searching for hope. They are wolves in sheep's clothing seducing the flock into buying a cheap piece of jewelery all the while promising peace and joy.

It is through Christ and Christ alone that people are saved and given hope. I hope this company shuts down, and I hope they can find Christ in the midst of their own lies.

"For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water."
Jeremiah 2:13

The Audacious Gospel of Jesus

2009-03-31T06:09:00.000-07:00

I am sometimes blown away at the lengths we go to make Jesus seem cool to everybody else.

But Jesus isn't trendy, not in the way we desperately want him to be. Every attempt our culture makes, including Christians, to portray Jesus as cool and acceptable plays down the truth that he is the only way to salvation.

In reading through John, it is unmistakable that Jesus claims to be the only way to the Father. Which, despite how true and necessary that claim is, is not a cool thing to say.

I wonder what would happen if we stopped putting our efforts into making Jesus cool, and just preached the audacious gospel that Jesus requires. We probably wouldn't be popular, Jesus probably would be hated by more people, but at least Jesus wouldn't be just another cool commodity on our multi-pathed spiritual journey.

The Calm Before the Storm

2009-03-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

I will begin my time at Dallas Theological Seminary on June 1st. I will start with Greek for the summer and then hit the fall semester with a pretty full load. I've been out of an academic setting for about two and a half years, and I'm pretty excited to get back into it. I'm one of those rare dorks that really likes school, and I can wait to smell the perfume of used textbooks mixed with coffee while I pour over a paper in the middle of the night.

As I prepare for this next stage in Lauren's and my life, it hits me that a lot is going to change in a few months. My time and priorities will have to be re-organized, my sleep patterns will shift, my work schedule will be revised, and my knowledge will hopefully be challenged and expanded deeply.

But there are a few things that I'm committed to keeping the same. And here they are:

1. I will maintain a growing love for my wife, no matter how tired I am, no matter how distracted I am with school. It is amazing how much love grows when you're married and making the marriage a priority. It's like everyday I get to find another reason to fall in love with Lauren, and I will stay committed to that.

2. No matter how academic a pursuit theology may be, my view of the Godhead will always be full of wonder and mystery. I think one of the greatest offenses we can commit towards God is approach thinking we understand Him. I know that studying at DTS will give me a lot of knowledge about the Bible and history and expository techniques, but I am committed to letting God become more mysterious the closer I get to Him.

3. I will not live outside of our means, including seminary. Right now we are in a position (through careful budgeting and saving) to afford seminary. But I don't want seminary to ever become more important than living financially responsible.

4. Date Lauren regularly.

I'm sure there are other things, but those are the ones I was musing over. I'm excited about the next phase, but during this calm before the storm, I feel it necessary to get my priorities straight.

Sigur Ros Take Away Show

2009-03-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Take Away Shows will suck you in if you are not careful. Here is Sigur Ros playing in a small Paris cafe. It's amazing!

Sigur Ros - Við spilum endalaust - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

The Keyboardless Computer

2009-03-23T15:28:00.001-07:00

My wife and I were in Houston this last weekend and were shown this video by our sister and brother in law. Very funny!

The Globalization of Community: When The Ends of the Earth Become Our Jerusalem

2009-03-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

I've been reading the book The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, and it has really gotten me thinking about the way globalization affects spiritual community and local community.

For example, it is typically taught that when the Great Commission talks about being witnesses in Jerusalem, it is talking about starting the great commission locally and then moving out from there. Up until recently, the question of 'what is local' has never been a problem. But with the growth of technology, specifically the rampant growth of "communities" via the internet, the lines of local and distant have blurred.

I often times feel more local with friends living on the other side of Dallas, or backpacking through Europe, or studying in South America, or fighting in Iraq, than I do with people living next door to me. Is this bad? Is the shifting of 'local' to transcend it's geo-political nature a bad thing? Or is it just an inevitable shift?

The hard part about this question and why I think it can cause controversy, is that we are still a world in transition. Although I might relate my local community more along the lines of those people I am connected with through technology, my next door neighbor may not.

This idea of 'local community' is a far more complex issue than can be addressed in a blog post, but I thought I would at least mention it. It seems like the ends of the earth have become our Jerusalem in many instances, and it will take sometime to sort the impact of that out.

Make Stuff, Sell Stuff, and Buy Stuff: America's True Legacy

2009-03-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

In a New York Times column by David Brooks, America is described as a Commercial Republic. Unfortunately, I have to agree. The Greeks are known for the arts and philosophy, the Romans are remembered for their government, army, and architecture, Great Britain epitomized imperialism, and America will be famous for their stuff.

"But if there is one thing we can be sure of, this pause will not last. The cultural DNA of the past 400 years will not be erased. The pendulum will swing hard. The gospel of success will recapture the imagination." Brooks in his article is trying to inspire us. He shows many examples of the American commercial spirit thriving in the midst of economic turmoil and even though the entrepreneurial spirit isn't all over the news, our zeitgeist is the pursuit of success, and it will return.

Like I said, unfortunately, I agree with him. Our country, and often times me included, is obsessed with wealth and stuff. The amount of stuff we buy, the amount of hours we work, the great lengths we go for a larger salary, a better home, a newer car, is all really really absurd. But it is unfortunately what makes America, America.

When I read this article, I couldn't help but remember Jesus's conversation with the rich young ruler. I believe that in some ways the cultural pulse of America approaches Jesus the same way he did. We walk up to Jesus and say, "Look, we have tried to do all the right things. We have Christian schools, freedom that allows us to worship whenever and wherever we want. We have moral laws, we even have In God We Trust written on government buildings and money. What do we need to do get into your kingdom?" Jesus looks back at us, "It's good that you do all that stuff, but if you want to enter my kingdom, you need to get rid of all your stuff, give it to the rest of the world that needs it, and then come follow me."

And then we walk away.

Sometimes I worry that America is and always will be that camel trying to walk through the eye of a needle. The very thing that drives America is the very thing that makes it so hard for us to truly follow Christ.

I'm certainly guilty of holding onto things when God is clearly telling me to give them away.

Anyway...it was an interesting article.

Why Do They Leave? (So long Ryan Adams)

2009-03-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to one of the many articles about Ryan Adams recent departure from music. He has influenced my approach and appreciation for music so much in the last few years, I can't help but feel sad about the announcement, but I understand.

Hopefully he will be back, but until then, I'll keep enjoying Heartbreaker and Love is Hell (my two favorites).

Here's to him...

Losing Ground: America's Religiouslessness

2009-03-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

I read an article on ABC news yesterday about America becoming less religious and Christian. When I first saw the article title I was a little disheartened. It is hard to see evidence that the church and Christian religion are losing ground in America.

The article states that in the last 18 years, the percentage of Americans who claim to be Christian went from 86 percent to 76 percent. Much of the ground lost was in mainstream Protestant denominations like Methodists and Baptists. Along with the loss, the percentage of people claiming to have no religion have doubled.

On the one hand, I am sad to hear these statistics. In spite of some of my reservations, I am happy to live in a country where Christians have the freedom to worship and form community. On the other hand, I am encouraged to think how God will work in the midst of religion's slow decline.

I believe one of the biggest hindrances of the gospel in America is the myth that most Americans are already Christians. Maybe the recent decline in religiousness is really just a step towards honesty about the true spiritual state in America. The article talks about people claiming a belief in God or a relationship with Jesus, but not associating with religion.

Whenever I hear things like this, I have to remember that God's plan and ambition doesn't worry about statistics, and that He is still fervently pursuing His lost sheep wandering through lonely fields. America is certainly growing less religious, but God is not growing less adamant about His purposes.

So don't fear the stats and decline. Success is not measured by the amount of people claiming to belong to a church or a religious sect. Our success already happened on the cross, and we just have to continue to further the kingdom of grace.

Wilco

2009-03-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of Wilco, as I am, and just want to be reinspired about playing and creating music, watch their documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart."

It's amazing, here are the opening credits:

The World off a String

2009-03-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

Reading the book of Job is like searching for buried treasures in a field full of treasures. Job has so much in it that speaks to me. This morning I was reading Job talk about the glory of God in the midst of his affliction. He says, "He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing." (Job 26:7)

Today, the fact that the Earth is hung on nothing probably wouldn't surprise anybody. We know from Science that the Earth is suspended in space by its orbit and gravitational relation to the sun and the other planets around it. At least that's what we think. To an alien, that explanation may sound as ridiculous as somebody holding the whole world up by a giant fishing line. Then again, a lot of things would probably sound strange to an alien.

My point is this: Job was caught up in the midst of God's wonder. Not knowing whether the earth was round or flat, big or small, close or far from the sun and the moon and the stars, Job looked around and saw that what was going on was supernatural. Even in the midst of His pain and agony and loss he couldn't help but look around and wonder at what God does.

I look at the stars and think those are giant masses of gas expanding and contracting millions and billions and kajillions of miles away. I look at the seasons and think of the earths orbit around the season and the tilt of it's axis. I look at a tree growing and think of the cells of the seed multiplying into a tree and photosynthesis keeping it healthy. And as I think about myself thinking these things, I'm suddenly sick to my stomach.

I forget who tells the Earth to spin, who put gravity in it's place and proportioned it perfectly to make the universe function the way it does. I forgot who expands and contracts the stars and holds the universe in space. I forgot who tells the birds to fly south or north or who told the tiny seed that it was going to grow up to be an oak tree. I forgot that when I actually allow my wonder of the world around me to happen, Science explains very little of the ultimate how's of the world and tells nothing of the why's.

God hangs the earth on nothing...and that doesn't shake me to the core. I hate that I settle for science over wonder. It's like settling for water and vitamin supplements over the juiciest steak, the creamiest mashed potatoes, the most flavorful beer, and the richest chocolate I could ever taste. Science is just part of the great lie Satan has used to keep us from looking up, looking around, looking at eachother, and looking at ourselves and saying in sheer amazement, "Oh God! What have you done?!"

The greatness of God's majesty is just one of the things we keep forgetting. And for the Church here in America to be restored, it's something that we need to remember.