tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64841788995477057922024-03-21T05:43:59.590-07:00A Special Class of SinnerHeathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-13087804526572817982013-03-25T15:17:00.000-07:002013-03-25T15:20:35.121-07:00I’ve Never Read Leviticus...It’s Too Boring<br />
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<span class="s1">If you’ve said these words or thought them, let’s talk. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">There’s no point in feeling guilted into bible reading. God doesn’t desire mere outward acts of devotion to try to make Him happy. He is already pleased with you because you are clothed in Christ. End of story. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Now you have some freedom, a bit of wiggle room. The bible is different if approached, not as a chore, but as a hang out sesh with a friend or a family member. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Here’s the deal, when you love someone, you try to get to know them and understand them. But the hard part of building that relationship is that their background is really different from yours, so you have to learn a bit about their background in order to really appreciate who they are and get to know them. And if you love them, it’s worth the effort. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The Old Testament was written to a group of folks thousands of years ago. Their context was a lot different than yours. The ‘boring’ books of the bible are actually really interesting if you understand a bit more about what is going on. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">As you make your way through Leviticus or Numbers or 1 Chronicles, just remember three words: context, context, context! </span></div>
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A helpful resource to make it through these books, especially if you never have, is the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Study-Bible-Crossway-Bibles/dp/1433502410/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364249477&sr=8-1&keywords=esv+study+bible" target="_blank">ESV Study Bible</a>. It is a handy tool to help bring context to all those genealogies and laws. </div>
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<span class="s1">These books were first delivered to a culture orally, instead of in written form. And the whole community gathered together to hear the word read. This changes the entire mode of communication. When you’re writing a speech, it will be different than when you’re writing a paper for your college class. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Remember school camps, when they called out all the schools present, all the kids would cheer when their school was called and you would wait until your school was called and then you’d cheer. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">What if that was all written down and you read it from page? It wouldn’t translate as well, would it. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">As you read through the genealogies, remember that. People were waiting to hear about how their ancestors played a roll in the story of God, they’d get really excited when they heard their grandpa’s name or their great-great-great-great-grandpa’s name. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">As for all the repetition in those books, remember that the scribes didn’t have <i>italics</i> or <b>bold</b> fonts to illustrate their point, the only way they could draw out an idea is by repeating it. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">These are just a couple of tips if you have tried, without success, to read through the bible, but have been discouraged by some of the literature. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">At the end of the day, the whole bible points to Jesus and teaches us about who He is and about who we are. The details about the animal sacrifices remind us that God is truly holy and that we really do need atonement. The instructions for the temple remind us of how magnificent God is and that now, we are the temples of the living God!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Like Paul told Timothy, “<i>all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness</i>” (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul wasn’t referring the the New Testament books, he was writing those at the time, he was referring to the Jewish Scriptures, our Old Testament.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">At the end of the day,<b> sometimes reading those hard-to-read books is an exercise in faith</b>. Sometimes, we just need to trust God that He wrote these for us to know Him better, even if we don’t feel like we’re getting to know Him better while reading them. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">You might just be surprised when and where you see God as you make your way through the Bible!</span></div>
Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-54972462521639068182013-03-21T16:04:00.002-07:002013-03-21T16:04:17.847-07:00Worldly Grief
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<span class="s1"><i>For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. - 2 Cor. 7:10</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>DISAPPOINTED IN YOURSELF?</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">What is your immediate reaction after you have sinned? Do you beat yourself up? Tell yourself that you’re better than that? Are you disappointed in yourself? Are you distraught because you never thought you would do such a thing? Are you afraid because others may find out? </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The problem with all of these reactions is that they stem from worldly grief, rather than godly grief. Read over that list again, it describes a person who thinks very highly of their own ability to walk in holiness. One might even say that the attitudes above are what Paul is talking when he asks the Galatians, “<i>Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh</i>” (Gal. 3:3)?</span></div>
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<b>DO YOU NEED GRACE?</b></div>
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<span class="s1">We are a people saved solely by grace. We needed God to save us because we couldn’t save ourselves. If this was the beginning of our faith, why do we abandon this mindset as we continue in our faith. The truth is, we need Christ to save us every second of every day. We are in constant need of His grace and His sanctifying power provided by the Spirit. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">If we are honest with ourselves, we are really far worse than we could ever believe, not far better. When we sin, we get an insight into how much in need of a Savior we are rather than into how poor of a savior we ended up being. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">If worldly grief is the wrong way to respond to sin, how are we supposed to respond to sin? What is godly grief? Paul provides some insight when he examines the fruit of godly grief in the lives of the Corinthians: “<i>For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter</i>” (2 Cor. 7:11).</span></div>
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<b>THE FRUIT OF GODLY GRIEF</b></div>
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<span class="s1">Godly grief yields godly fruit. When we sin, we are not letting ourselves down, as worldly grief makes you think, we are disobeying a God whose love we cannot even comprehend. Godly grief should be marked by grieving, rather than disappointment! By our sin, we have hurt and turned away from the One who has loved us the most and done the most for us! </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thus, godly grief leads to repentance. We are motivated, not by disappointment in ourselves, which can never lead to lasting repentance, but by love.<i> </i>When we dwell on the love of God Who has given all for us, our new hearts and our new nature desires to fall in line with His will, to agree with Him that our actions were wrong and to covenant with Him to change by His grace, by the power of His Holy Spirit Who is working within us! </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Godly grief is earnest, not wishy washy or emotionally unstable. It sees it’s goal and it’s prize and strives toward that. Godly grief longs for the heart of God, to walk in obedience to Him, to cherish Him and do what He has said is good, not to please Him, but because He is already pleased with us and loves us enough to tell us what is right and what is wrong. </span></div>
Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-73742126916127224522012-08-21T13:59:00.001-07:002012-08-21T13:59:40.122-07:00Redeemed, Reconciled, and Rejected!
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<span class="s1"><b>Redeemed, Reconciled, </b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>and Rejected!</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>The story of transformation in Paul’s concluding remarks in Colossians 4: 9-10, 14. </i></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Let’s be honest, how many of us actually read Paul’s concluding remarks at the end of the epistles? That’s what I thought. Paul is taking care of some family business two thousand years ago with people we don’t know, and we think it doesn’t matter to us. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Coupled with this, I think we are used to viewing New Testament characters as fairly static, for the most part. There isn’t as much story-telling or character development. But I want to suggest that, in Paul’s closing remarks, we get a picture of God working in the early church and we see that Jesus was transforming them as He is transforming us now!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Onesimus</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>...and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. (Col. 4:9)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Okay, so Paul tells the Colossians to greet Onesimus. Big deal right, he’s just another name. That is, until you read Philemon and realize that Onesimus’ name crops up there too. In fact, he is one of the primary characters in Philemon. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Onesimus was a lazy slave, pretty much good for nothing, “serving” his master, Philemon. Well, one day, he runs away to Rome. While he is there he runs into Paul and becomes a Christian! Paul writes to Philemon and tells him to accept Onesimus back.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Fast forward to the writing of Colossians and who appears but Onesimus himself. But this time, Paul isn’t making any apologies for him, he calls him a faithful and beloved brother! So Onesimus has been transformed from a lazy, good -for-nothing employee to a young man whom Paul finds helpful in his work of preaching and spreading the Gospel! We see a story of someone who was redeemed from death to life!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Mark</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him)... (Col. 4:10)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Now we are introduced to two new characters, the one that should stand out is Mark. If you have read the book of Acts, you will have seen his name come up there too, specifically in 15:37ff. Barnabas, Paul’s close companion who had travelled with him everywhere, wanted to bring Mark along with them on their missionary journey. Paul was against it because Mark had flaked out earlier and left them when times got hard. Barnabas and Paul disagreed about this so much, that they split and Barnabas took Mark with him and Paul took Silas with him. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In Colossians Paul seems to be suggesting that things between him and Mark are now on good terms and Mark, far from flaking out when things get tough, is actually in prison with Paul!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Now, fast forward to Paul’s second letter to Timothy and his praise for Mark grows, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11). Mark has been reconciled to Paul and was transformed to be an integral part of Paul’s team. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Demas</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. (Col. 4:14)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Along with encouragement, there is also warning. Demas was a part of Paul’s crew, he was hanging with him in jail and seemed, from every appearance, to be committed to the cause. Paul apparently thought so. But we read later on, “...Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (2 Tim. 4:10). </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Demas started out well, but he didn’t finish. He was even pretty involved with ministry, but he didn’t guard his heart and was lured away from Christ by the things of this world and succumbed to godliness.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">So there actually is a lot to learn from those concluding remarks of Paul’s. We aren’t just presented with meaningless names of faceless people, but Jesus shows us through the New Testament that He is working on people and transforming them into His image by the Holy Spirit. These lists should not bore us, they should encourage us and, like all of Scripture, help us to see King Jesus more clearly. </span></div>
Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-32673077396506592042011-07-29T14:31:00.000-07:002011-07-29T14:31:50.738-07:00A Relationship, Not an ExplanationNow in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">-Hebrew 2:8-9<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we go through life, whether we, or someone we know, will go through a very painful season. It is during these seasons that Christians and non-Christians alike will ask something similar to this question: “If God is good or if there is a God, why is He letting me go through this pain?” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The pain could be a disease or illness, the loss of a loved one, unemployment, or a myriad of other possibilities. No matter what the cause, the pain is there and we try to make sense of it or understand it, especially if we have faith in a God who is working all things to our good. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">During these times, it is easy to doubt that God is working all things to our good. We wonder if He cares or if He has the power we thought He did. Surely, if God is who He says He is and if He loves me like He claims to, He wouldn’t let me go through this pain!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This seems to be the exact scenario that the author of Hebrews describes in the text quoted above. The problem is, Scripture teaches us that all things are in subjection to Christ. Yet when we encounter difficulty and pain, we do not see all things in subjection to Christ because certain events seem to be counter to His will.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Death, sickness, tears, poverty, loneliness, etc. are all the result of a fallen world, a world that has rebelled against its ruler. These things that are in rebellion do run counter to the decreed will of God, those things which He has commanded. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our minds cannot fathom that a situation can be in subjection to a being as great as God and yet run counter to His decreed will. There is an element of mystery to this that we simply will not be able to understand while we are here on earth. It is as simple as that. We don’t know why God permits all the evil that exists in the world, especially as it affects His children, His church.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is into this mindset that the author of Hebrews, and ultimately the Holy Spirit, offers a resounding and comforting truth. Though we do not see or understand that everything is in subjection to Christ, we are able to see Christ. We see a Savior, by the eyes of faith, who has suffered and tasted death for all of us and has risen to rule in heaven.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Christ does not give us an explanation, He gives us a relationship! He gives Himself to us to trust in Him, that He truly is working all things for our good, and at times, that does involve pain and hardship (cf. Heb. 12:7-11). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Say a person gets brain cancer, like Matt Chandler, a pastor I greatly respect, recently did. He has the option of asking lots of questions, being frustrated by no answer, and building up bitterness towards his God. Or, he can respond in faith, learn that God does have a loving reason for this and will be with him throughout the entire process and teach Pastor Matt who He is and allow him to grow to be more and more like Christ through the process. This is, truly, how Matt Chandler did respond, and it sets an example for the rest of us to follow. Here is the video, I highly recommend watching it! <o:p></o:p></div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SMerKVKssQU" width="560"></iframe>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-28897374741325846382011-07-27T13:37:00.000-07:002011-07-27T13:37:45.096-07:00John Stott: A Pillar of Strength in Our AgeToday marks the death of one of the most influential leaders in Christianity. He had not only influenced Christianity at large, but he has also played a great role in my life. His theological precision and care, coupled with a pastoral heart which sought to winsomely win over souls for Christ have been a testament to what a Christian minister should be. I have benefited greatly from his various commentaries and other works both directly and indirectly, as almost every preacher I have sat under over the years has been influenced by John Stott.<br />
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Great men set us an example to follow. They forge ahead of the mass of humanity and courageously go where others dare not. John Stott has done this in many ways as he defends and advances the cause of the Gospel in the world. He has left a great legacy for those of us who follow him. At this point, words fail me, I simply cannot describe the impact that he has had on my life.<br />
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In closing, one of the greatest marks of John Stott was his humility. In his day, he stirred quite a large controversy in an article he published. Though a committed evangelical his whole life, he did wrestle with the idea of hell. In his article, he confessed that he was not closed to the possibility of annihilationism, the view that there is no hell, that those who do not go to heaven simply cease to exist at the end. What was so remarkable about this article was the humility with which he approached the topic. He knew he was running against tradition, but he was honest with his the struggle that he was undergoing on this particular topic.<br />
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He was a great man, and I am encouraged by the fact that he has now received his reward. He is now in the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, a journey which he was started in his youth and continued on the rest of his life. John Stott truly has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-64764723266286878402011-03-25T13:38:00.000-07:002011-03-25T13:38:01.850-07:00Why is God Consumed with Himself?<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. -Is 42:8<br />
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There is a confession of the Christian faith that I have struggled with over the years. It has always been a nagging dissatisfaction in the back of my mind, a thought that I have never given much expression to, but which has nevertheless remained a firm fixture over the years. I do believe that I am not the only Christian that has had this question; indeed, I believe that many Christians either flat out reject the idea or, like myself, are quietly provoked by it. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The confession is this: God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, is consumed with His own glorification. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The sound of this statement is disturbing, but why? I believe that our disturbance lies in error on our behalf, rather than on God’s. In the Scriptures, God condescends to use anthropomorphizing terms to describe Himself. That is, to enable our getting to know Him better, He has used language to describe Himself in human terms though He is not a human. There are a plethora of examples in Scripture of this; the Psalms are ripe with them, as are the Prophets. Indeed, God does not only use anthropomorphic terms to describe Himself, He has taken on human nature to save us. But He is still not a human being. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As a caveat, I am not denying the divinity of Christ, what I am denying is that God shares the same status as human beings. He alone exists uncreated, in a class separate from every other thing in existence. Unlike any human, His power is limitless, His knowledge knows no end, and His existence has no origin or termination. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That said, our balking at the original statement comes, I believe, when we forget who God is. For any man or woman to have their personal glorification as the vision for their existence would be narcissism at its purest and a value which humanity would universally reject as taboo and loathsome. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yet God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is different. Consider this, who does a man or woman have to thank for their accomplishments? If they succeed in their job, if they raise their children well, if they reach any other goal in life, the thanks will lie somewhere outside themselves, if they are honest. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Take a persons career, for instance. To succeed in a career, one has to be trained to some degree by another. Circumstances must also be favorable and the right opportunities need to open up at the right times. In other words, success in a career is dependent on many variables external to the individual. There may be some measure of talent inherent in an individual that will make success in a career more likely, but that talent is not something they have bestowed on themselves. If we believe what the Bible does say, we must admit that God gives individuals the talents they have to succeed. Not only that, He also gives the training and the opportunities for success, through various mediums to be sure, but all these blessings originate from Him. So, a person has little to thank him or herself for when they succeed.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the other hand, no one has trained God, no one has given Him opportunities, and no one has made Him with certain talents that will help Him succeed at being God. There is no one higher than God for God to thank. We delight in Him because He is the originator of the good in us. Logically, He can delight in Himself because He is the originator of the good that He is. He is consumed with the best thing that exists: Himself! <o:p></o:p></div>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-3501504362616115182011-02-18T15:19:00.001-08:002011-02-18T15:19:54.942-08:00Love as the Greatest MotivatorSo now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">-1 Cor. 13:13<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The other day I was reading 2 Samuel 23:15-16, “And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David.” As I finished this section, I asked myself: what would cause these three men to rick their lives to get David a cup of water? The only answer I could find was love. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Love is the ultimate and final motivator. Fear can only motivate to an extent, and a superficial extent at that. Fear does not inspire someone to go above and beyond to serve. Duty only motivates someone to do what is required; it does not provide motivation for the extraordinary. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Love motivated God to send Christ into the world, the defining supererogatory action of history. God had no duty to send Christ. Indeed, duty would have been fulfilled by the just judgment of all humanity, not the offer of salvation. Nor was God motivated by fear to accomplish the salvation of the world. Love accomplished this greatest act of history. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Likewise, love is the singular motivation in our relationship with God. A response to God purely out of duty neglects the accomplished work of Christ by producing the false notion that we can repay God the debt we owe Him by our dutiful works. Duty is also a poor motivator in times of trial and temptation when other options, sinful options, seem to provide far more. Yet love will triumph in these times to compel us to turn to Christ in love to live life like Him. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Naturally, all humans love something or someone other than God, the Bible uses the term idolatry to describe this; something else takes the place that God should have in our lives. Yet, as we surrender our lives to God, He does an amazing thing in our hearts. He turns our heart away from the idols that we love and changes us so that we love Him instead. As we grow in love for God, our love for idols decreases. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, the Apostle Paul reminds us that love is the greatest part of our relationship with God. Faith will last until we reach heaven when we will see the object of our faith. Hope will last until that hope has been realized. But love will last for the rest of eternity as we rest in the love of God forever. <o:p></o:p></div>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-15212016978664311772010-12-31T14:28:00.000-08:002010-12-31T14:28:54.225-08:00Faith as The Mode for Knowledge<div class="MsoNormal">…but the righteous shall live by faith. –Hab. 2:4<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I graduated from Seattle Pacific University just over a year and a half ago with a Bachelors degree in Philosophy. One thing I learned in the Philosophy program was how to develop an argument. I learned how to respond to those with whom I was arguing and how to win, either by pointing out faults in their arguments, or crafting better arguments myself. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This was an invaluable education and I have profited greatly from it, but I learned another lesson from this experience as well. As a Christian, I hold the unpopular view that Christianity is the only true religious system and that hell is real and lasts forever and all humans are going there unless they accept Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives and receive the benefits of His death, burial, and resurrection. As a Calvinist, I hold the unpopular and controversial view that God is in sovereign control of the entire course of history. These two views together account for many of the philosophical arguments I have engaged in over the past few years. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The lesson I have learned over the years is this: no matter how great the argument, no one is going to be convinced that God exists or that He is sovereign over every detail of history. There is simply no argument known to man that will convince anyone of these two truths. Yet the paradox is that they are true and must be known. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, if two of the greatest truth’s of life are unavailable via argumentation, yet everyone needs to know them, how can anyone learn them?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The answer is faith! “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Cor. 1:20-21). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The great truth’s of life are only accessible by faith, which is God’s gift to His people. One cannot know or accept His Providence except by faith. I know this on a personal level. I have not always held so strictly to the Reformed view of Providence and, when approached for the first time with the doctrine, violently rejected it. Yet the Lord did work in my own heart to convince me of the truthfulness of the doctrine both by the testimony of the Scriptures and of the Holy Spirit working in my own heart. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Though these truths are only available through the discernment of faith, they are not devoid of logic and reason. Indeed, I do believe that as one is revealed these truths, the reasonableness of them becomes apparent for the first time and they do seem far more reasonable than the other options. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Philosophically, the position described above is referred to as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fideism</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fide</i> being the Latin word for faith. It is not a blind leap, as many would argue. Rather, in my own experience I see it as a longer process whereby God, in His patience, has borne with my weakness and led me to the truth after a while of questioning. This seem to be the normal mode, though there are many cases where, in an instant, God has revealed the great truth’s of the Gospel to a person in a moment. This whole process is a wonderful display of God’s condescending to humanity to reveal Himself, the Creator and Sustainer of all. <o:p></o:p></div>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-89410852087812483812010-12-17T18:40:00.000-08:002010-12-17T18:40:34.311-08:00The Good FightFight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">-1 Tim. 6:12<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Growing up, I always thought that fighting the fight of the faith meant to white knuckle my way through temptation and try really hard to do good things. Recently, however, I am learning that the fight of the faith is not a fight for a morally better life; Christ has achieved the morally best life for us because we couldn’t. The fight, then, is for Christ.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Every battle has an antagonist and a cause. We fight against the antagonists and for the cause. In the faith, we fight every moment of every day against unbelief and we fight for Christ. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This formulation has always sounded vague and “churchy” to me, offering little practical help for the day-to-day life of the Christian. Yet I have been learning how essential this battle is. Every day I must fight against the unbelief, apathy and lethargy in my own heart, the hardness towards God that exists there, living a life of constant repentance.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The curious thing about all of this is that the strength and the desire to fight do not lie in me; they flow as gifts from God. He gives me the desire to fight and the strength to do so. The great preacher, John Piper, put this well in his sermon “<a href="http://desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/going-hard-after-the-holy-god">Going Hard After the Glory of God</a>” where he says, “The evidence that you have [God] is that you want more of him. Continued indifference to growth in grace is a sign of no grace.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I have been learning this lesson, about the importance of the Good Fight, I have also been learning how hard it actually is. This is not a one-time deal! We do not fight one battle and then rest for the remainder of our lives. The battle is not at our conversion, but every day after. Every day I have to wake up and seek God through prayer and the Scriptures, asking Him to draw me closer to Christ and to see His goodness. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Though hard, this fight is essential. We have all been made in God’s image and we have been made to be in relationship with Him. When we do not seek Him we are actually rebelling against our design. When we do seek Him we are living the way we were meant to live and will live lives that are more fulfilled; our lives will not necessarily be easier as a result, they will actually get harder. We will have to make hard decisions as we refuse to follow the world, to give into temptation, and to listen to Satan. In fact, it will be a battle every moment of every day. But we have a Savior who gives us strength and fights for us. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have learned a large part about fighting from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Thomas-Boston/dp/0851515282/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292639915&sr=1-1">The Memoirs of Thomas Boston</a>, the reflections of a 17<sup>th</sup> Century Scottish Presbyterian minister. Every page of his life is filled with the evidences of this battle. On a side note, this is why the practice of reading biographies of great Christians is so important. Through the testament of their lives they show us how the Truth of Scripture is lived our in every day life. Let us, then, surround ourselves with many seasoned veterans in this Good Fight as we push forward by God’s grace. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-45366214980432004712010-12-03T10:41:00.000-08:002010-12-03T10:41:21.223-08:00Two Men, Two HeadsFor if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. –Rom. 5:17<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have been thinking about headship a lot lately. Not in the sense of male headship and the relationship between men and women. No, I have been thinking about original sin and new birth.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In Genesis, Adam is responsible for the fall of mankind. He is, in a word, the representative of mankind. In my mind I imagine a triangle, at the top is Adam and the volume proceeding from him to form the rest of the triangle is the mass of humanity. All of humanity, every single person, is counted as being in Adam; this is the doctrine of original sin.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As the representative of humanity, when Adam sinned, the rest of humanity was considered to have joined in that sin, thus we are all guilty of original sin and death rules over us, since the wages of sin is death. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is a hard concept to grasp. Consider this, when President Bush declared war on Iraq, or when Congress declared war on Iraq, America declared war on Iraq. It was not these few men themselves declaring war on a nation, but an entire nation declaring war on a nation. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the same way, Adam stands as a representative for the entire human race, much like a king or a president or an emperor. In effect, what he did was declare war on God. Sin is an act of rebellion against God who has created all that exists, who loves His creation, who is almighty. In effect Adam, through his actions decided that he no longer wanted to be governed by God, but wanted to govern his own life. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We see this same characteristic in our own hearts; at least I know I do. So often I want what I think is best rather than trusting that what God has given me is the best. I am not innocent in this; we are not innocent in this. Our sinfulness is almost like a gene that we inherited from Adam that we still bear full responsibility for. We have all declared war on God and must now surrender.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So far the picture is bleak, but the Good News is this: Jesus Christ is the new Head! Just like Adam represented humanity, those who were born into his lineage; so too Christ represents those who are born into His lineage: Christians. This is not a physical birth, but a spiritual birth. In Adam we are dead to God but alive to sin, when we accept Christ and put our faith in Him as our Savior, our old self is put to death on the Cross with Christ and we are resurrected like Christ so that, in a very real but a very mysterious sense we no longer live, but Christ lives within us. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are also practical implications to this doctrine, it is a key argument against those who say that everyone goes to heaven. They would argue that, if Adam is the old head and Christ the new, then all those who were under Adam would come under the headship of Christ, but that is simply not the case. Adam is head over those who proceed from his lineage, that is, natural man born naturally. Christ is the Head over those who proceed from His lineage, spiritual man born spiritually. One must be born again to have Christ as Head and receive the benefits thereof. <o:p></o:p></div>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-57175702341760690172010-11-26T13:26:00.000-08:002010-11-26T13:26:14.142-08:00The Will of God"For this is the will of God, your sanctification…" -1 Thess. 4:3<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I have been giving a lot of thought to the will of God lately. Invariably, when anyone faces a big decision they have some way of reasoning through it to discern what choice to make. For the Christian, the mode is to turn to God and seek Him in the midst of the decision and to make a decision that will glorify Him.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">That said, I am not sure if seeking God’s will in the various decisions we make looks anything like we think it will. As I am faced with more and more decisions, I think that I am slowly but surely learning what it means to seek God in all of my decisions.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Too often that has meant waiting for some sign. Too often I think I expect the decision to fall in my lap and be made for me. But that is rarely how decisions are made and it is a lazy attitude to boot. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">It has become increasingly important for me to learn that God has already revealed His will for me, for the Christian, and for every person in His Book: the Bible. “[God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4). For everyone this means that God desires that all would come to place faith in Jesus Christ and be saved. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Scripture also teaches that God desires that Christians, including myself, be saved. I began this post with 1 Thess. 4: 3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” but the verse continues further, “…that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the gentiles who do not know God…” (vv.3-5). God desires that we who have placed our faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ would continue to be saved, that we would continue to grow in relationship Him and turn away from our sin in repentance and towards Christ in faith. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I have learned that knowing the will of God for my life means, first and foremost, knowing the Scriptures and what He reveals in them. I have learned several other lessons that have flowed from this first one.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">We know that God is a Trinitarian God and has made us in His image. Part of this means that as God has had an eternal community with Godhead, the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; He has made us to experience community as well. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Making decisions in the context of community as opposed to making decisions in the solitude of my own judgment is the next big takeaway. Talking to trusted friends who know me well and older guys who have gone through life helps me to make a better decision. I have found so much clarity to come from discussions with friends. Clarity has come as friends challenge me in a way that reveals my own heart and desires and reminds me of God’s overarching will for my life and the gifts and passions that He has given me uniquely. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">In closing, I suppose the best way to some up what I have learned is this: My big decisions are never made alone but by first looking to God’s revealed will in Scripture, always seeking Him in prayer, and walking through the decision in the community He has blessed me with.<o:p></o:p></div>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-86837913096982088082010-11-14T20:04:00.000-08:002010-11-14T20:04:14.488-08:00The Gift<link href="file://localhost/Users/heathsa/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <link href="file://localhost/Users/heathsa/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_themedata.xml" rel="themeData"></link> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">"Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." –Luke 10:20<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I was preparing to write this week’s blog post, I was planning on writing about Missions, the subject I had been studying for the past two weeks. In fact, I had already started a draft and knew where I wanted to go with the body of the blog. Yet it would seem that God has other plans. As I have been reflecting on what I have been learning, one clear lesson has jumped out. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was praying and thanking God for the various gifts He has given me and it occurred to me that I was thanking Him for the very practical day-to-day things He provides, e.g. food, clothes, friends, shelter, etc. but not once did I thank Him for and rejoice in the fact that He had sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins in my place that I might inherit eternal life which He had prepared for me in eternity past, in short, I was not rejoicing that my name was written in heaven. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So what impact does this have, why does this matter? First, Christ, in the passage quoted above, commands and invites us to rejoice, not in the great things that He gives (at least, not primarily) but in the fact that we have salvation through Him and that, as a result, our names, my name, is written in heaven. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">How wonderful us this! That because Christ came down from heaven, leaving the riches of His Kingdom to enter into the poverty of this earth, to suffer and eventually die in my place for my sins because He Himself was the only perfect substitution for me and all others who place their faith in Him; because of this, I have eternal life!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Second, it has been a major oversight on my behalf that I do not rejoice in this daily. I fail to see how great my sin is and how much in need of a Savior I am. I fail to see how much it cost Christ to purchase my salvation, and I fail to see the joy that I now have as a result of being saved.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One thing that was revealed to me as I mediated on this is that, because I was thanking God for these temporary blessings and these only, my joy was based in these. I noticed today that my life has been devoid of the joy that it should have. This is because I am looking for things that are temporary to provide me joy, and, being that they are temporary, they can only provide me joy for a short time. Thus, when they cease to provide the joy I expect, I am rendered joyless.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yet, the salvation, which Christ has purchased, is eternal and my name is written in heaven, His home, where, when I die, I will go to enjoy eternity with Him and with all my brothers and sisters who have likewise trusted in Him. This joy is not temporary but eternal and is the only thing that can give true joy because it is not a thing, it is a person: Jesus Christ. He will never leave nor forsake any of His children, but is faithful to them forever. This is the gift I have been given; this is the reason I have for rejoicing!<o:p></o:p></div>Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484178899547705792.post-32689309488189781982010-11-06T18:12:00.000-07:002010-11-06T18:12:13.954-07:00Introductory RemarksI have resisted blogging for some time now, but I feel compelled to join the many who are blogging today. My goal with this blog is to work towards writing one blog per week, with a word count less than or equal to 600. My goal is to provide succinct summaries of different doctrines or ideas in a clear manner. I hope to improve my writing style as I blog and solidify the lessons that I am learning in my private study. I hope also to develop teaching abilities by teaching others what I myself am learning.<br />
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The title of my blog may seem odd, yet it has profound meaning for me. The quote is taken from the theologian B.B. Warfield. I found this quote in Louis Berkhof's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Louis-Berkhof/dp/0802838200/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289092308&sr=1-1">Systematic Theology</a></i>. The full quote is as follows: "[General Revelation] is addressed to all intelligent creatures, and is therefore accessible to all men; [Special Revelation] is addressed to a special class of sinners, to whom God would make known His salvation" (37). I find that this has a twofold application to the Christian. First, we are reminded that we are no different from non-Christians in the sense of our inherent worth. We are all created in God's image and are not superior to the non-Christian; an attitude which I believe plagues the Church at times. The second application is a reminder that we are in no way responsible for our salvation, as if we accomplished it. God, in His grace, revealed Himself to us and took the sole role in salvation such that we have only to respond in faith.<br />
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Thus I begin my blog. To any who are so kind to follow, I would encourage any feedback you would have to offer, whether positive or negative, whereby I may learn and grow in my ability to communicate effectively and graciously.<br />
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In Christ,<br />
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HeathHeathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10998190892072872032noreply@blogger.com3