Reflections of A Collegiate Christian

The Danger of Gossip

2007-06-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Paul writes to Timothy these words in 1 Timothy 5:13. "At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies talking about things not proper to mention." Paul is discussing widows in this section of 1 Timothy 5, and he associates idleness with gossip and gossip with inappropriateness. Romans 1 associates gossip as an effect of God's wrath of abandonment upon a people because of their persistence in sin.

Gossip is a terrible thing, and it should not be found within the blood-bought body of Christ. As if Scripture isn't enough to testify of this, my personal experience testifies of this as well. Over the past few weeks, much gossip has taken place among my Christian friends. The result has been a church that grows in disunity. There is awkwardness among the beloved. Tearing down of believers has been the result. Gossip is tearing my beloved, redeemed-by-Christ friends into enemies. What a deceptive and destructive devil Satan is.

My desire is the same as it always has been: to see believers grown more into the image of God daily. How does this happen when gossip abounds? The answer is focusing on God. When one seeks to first and foremost please God, one is going to understand the sinfulness of gossip. One is going to see the destruction that it brings. When one seeks to live holy and blamelessly for the Lord, the result is a desire to build up the church, to say things that uplift and edify the body. Selfish ambitions and the desire to know things about other people that are none of your business go away for there is no time for them when pleasing the Lord is your concern.

Brethren, let us love one another. Let us not destroy the very church Christ suffered and died for. Let the gossip stop, and let repentance take place so that the Lord may be glorified in us.

Perseverance of the Saints

2007-04-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

One of the more prevailing themes of Scripture that I have thought much about over the past two days has been the idea of the perseverance of the saints. Reading the introduction to Steve Lawson's "Foundations of Grace" along with Tom Nettles "By His Grace and For His Glory" has thoroughly laid out this idea for me. However, the Scriptures from John 13:36-38 really confronted me on this issue.

(36) Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later." (37) Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You. (38) Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.

In this passage, Jesus tells the disciples that He is going away to a place they cannot come yet. John 14:2 tells us that Jesus is going to the Father, to prepare a place for us. The reason they could not yet go with Him is because the place in Heaven wasn't yet prepared. The death, burial, and resurrection that allowed for the preparation had not yet happened. Even so, Jesus tells these disciples that they will one day go to this place. That is what Jesus says in verse 36.

In addition to telling the disciples that they would go to this place with the Father, Jesus called Simon Peter out. He told Simon that he would deny Him three times. His faith would fail, sin would be the reason, and denial would be the result. Jesus tells these words to Peter AFTER Jesus just told Peter that he would go to the place He prepares through His death, burial, and resurrection.

The point here is that Jesus called out Peter, after Peter had confessed Christ as the Son of the Living God, on future sin. Yet in this, Jesus still says that Peter will go to Heaven, to the Father, to the place prepared even though this sin would happen. The Scriptures remind me that I am called by the Father's grace and that the Father's grace will remain on me to the end as a part of the elect, even though I sometimes sin, all for the end result of His glory. As saints, we will persevere, just like Peter. The words of Christ remain true for us all. Praise be to God.

Experiencing God

2007-04-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Over the past 10 weeks, I have been leading a group of about 5 believers through Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God" study on a weekly basis. In all honesty, I believe that this study has gone well and has had many edifying effects on these Christians, myself included.
One of the great things that I have gleaned from this study is just how well the Scriptures work together in explaining themselves. I just want to share some of what the LORD has shown me through this study from John 14:23.
John 14:23 from the NASB says, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.'"
What we notice here is first of all that love and obedience are not the same. Love is not obedience. Love is not commandment-keeping. Love exists prior to obedience. Then, as a result of love, Jesus says that the person will keep His word in obedience. Love and obedience are related, but they are not synonomous. Obedience results from a previously existing love.
Secondly, Jesus says that if someone loves Him that this person will keep His word. Jesus doesn't say might or should or even could. He says will. So, if one does love Jesus, obedience must come. It isn't an option. It is a natural response that has to happen.
Thirdly, when this love for Him comes and results in obedience, Jesus tells us that we will experience God. He says that as a result of our loving obedience God the Father will love that person and God will live with that person. God's presence will be with that person. That person will be able to know God as Yahweh, Elohim, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Tsidkenu, redeemer, savior, etc. from personal experience as God dwells with him/her in his/her presence.
So all of this then sums up the key to knowing God's will and experiencing Him. It all goes back to love, which according to Jesus is the greatest commandment. If we love Christ, we will experience God. If we love Him, the love will result in obedience, which results in God's abiding presence. It's so simple. Love God, find Him the treasure, and we will know Him.
I love the Word of God.

Desiring God's Holiness: Reflections from the Desiring God Conference

2007-02-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

After attending the Desiring God conference February 5-7, I am compelled to confess that understanding the holiness of God is a deadly matter. This doctrine, God’s holiness, should not be trivialized or left only to the seminarians to understand; rather, it should be gripped by all peoples, especially the people of God. It is by far one of the most serious doctrines mentioned in the Scriptures, and it demands our attention.

Let us look at Leviticus 10:1-7. “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded to them to do. Then flames leaped from the LORD’s presence and burned them to death before the LORD. So Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said:

I will show My holiness
to those who are near Me,
and I will reveal My glory
before all the people.”

But Aaron remained silent. Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here and carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” So they came forward and carried them in their tunics outside the camp, as Moses had said.

Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair hang loose and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will become angry with the whole community. However, your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn over that tragedy when the LORD sent the fire. You must not go outside the entrance to the tent off the meeting or you will die, for the LORD’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.” [HCSB]

First of all, notice the problem presented in verse 1. Nadab and Abihu put unauthorized fire and unauthorized incense in their respective firepans and presented it before the LORD. God had neither commanded their offering, nor had God authorized their offering. And this was sinful. Their sin was their disobedience in their methodology of presenting the fire offering to God, rebellion against God’s ordained method if you will.
Now God’s response to this unauthorized offering is staggering. Look at verse 2. “Then flames leaped from the LORD’s presence and burned them to death before the LORD.” God killed them on the spot. God didn’t rebuke them. God didn’t chastise them. God didn’t tell them to do better next time. God destroyed these men on the grounds that their offering was sinful before Him. Their offering was vile in the sight of the Holy One. And because of this, God consumed these men.
And we see in verse 3 that Aaron remained silent. Aaron didn’t run around questioning God. He didn’t ask God why all this had happened. He didn’t question the judgment of God on his own sons. In the presence of the holiness of God, Aaron shut his mouth. When Aaron realized that the Almighty, Holy God was in his presence, Aaron had no response. There was absolutely nothing in his life worthy of being presented in the presence of the Holy One. He shut up.
Lastly, we see in verses 6 and 7 that the LORD told Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar not to tear their robes nor let their hair hang loose. Understand that tearing the robes and letting the hair hang loose was a sign of mourning. God told these men to not mourn over the death of Nadab and Abihu. Do not mourn over the judgment of sinners in the hands of a holy God for mourning over these men would represent sympathy with their vileness. These men were not worthy of being mourned.
If you don’t see that personal holiness and the holiness is God is of utmost importance, you are blind. This is a serious matter. It is a matter that brings death to all who do not adhere. God does not take sin lightly, especially among his people. Scripture is filled with many example of this same idea. Look at Uzzah who died because he touched the ark. Even the mud of the ground in its obedience to make mud when dirt and water are combined is more holy than man. Look at Ananias and Sapphira. God demands holiness and demands honor lest we die.
This is a very serious matter. May the church of today understand and meditate on the holiness of our God and the holiness that He demands of us lest we be like those in Scripture whom God destroyed. Church, understand that we serve Elohim, the unknowable God who is supreme to humanity for His holiness. God is holy. May we never forget.

For the Love of the Saints

2007-01-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 21, 2007 was a very memorable Sunday for me. I was in Washington D.C., and I attended Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Some people may recognize this church because of its pastor, Mark Dever. I walked into this old, old church building and was immediately greeted by a church intern named Kevin. We talked for twenty minutes off and on between introductions as he introduced me to many members of the church. What a blessing it was to be greeted by another brother and to be placed in a situation where you feel loved and at home.
In addition to meeting Kevin, I sat through an hour of discipleship training. A couple of things should be noted here. First of all, discipleship courses were offered in multiple areas and anyone within the church could attend. There was no singles class or college class. There was no marrieds class or youth group class. Each discipleship course was open to any member regardless of age unless of course the class was strictly for men or women. This is a unique concept. The idea was to promote unity without limiting it to age. What a wonderful concept. Secondly, the discipleship class was intense. I've never been to a church that goes through Systematic Theology (Grudem's version) as a discipleship class. We spoke for an hour on the works of the Spirit. There was such a distinctive maturity here that I have only experience on a seminary campus.
Now of all things that blew me away, the gathering of all the saints together was awesome. We sang about six hymns. And when I say hymns, I mean hymns that I've never heard before. And we sang with a piano and a guitar you could barely hear. There was no praise band. It definantly was not "cool" by today's standards. We also pray for no joke, twenty minutes, in the two hour service. The sermon was so edifying as well. Dr. Michael Lawrence preached from Matthew 25 about those who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ tells the parables of the virgins in which we see that the prepared will enter the kingdom. Christ also tells the parable of the talents in which we see the faithful will inherit the kingdom. Finally, Christ tells us the parable of the sheep and goats in which we see that the merciful will inherit the kingdom. What was so edifying to me was that in the last parable, the one with the sheep and the goats, Christ looks at us for what we do to His brothers, i.e. His disciples. Christ loves His Church. He loves His people. He died for us. He bought us with His blood. Therefore, as brethren bought with the blood of Christ, we should love one another as the ransomed simply because of Christ. It's all about loving the brethren and edifying the brethren.
When the preaching finished, there was a time of reflection in which the body prayed about how the Lord spoke to them that day. And they left the service challenging and praising God for what He had shown them that day.
After the service was over, I was invited to lunch with the college department. I met so many people. I even met a fellow from Franklin, KY, which is twenty minutes away from where I grew up. I was invited to hang out with the church interns all afternoon at their house. They gave me food. They gave me a place to stay that was warm. They even introduced me to Pastor Dever, which I must say was awesome yet oh so humbling. And they do this for all people who come to this church. They do so for the love of the saints.
Folks, this church was amazing. They exemplify a Biblical church body. I thank God for them and for their leaders who continue to direct the church in a very biblical way. I'm thankful for their strict membership policy. I'm thankful for their quickness to church discipline for through these I see a very serious and matured body of believers focused on God and on growing to be like Him. Note that the average age in this church is 29. I've never seen anything like this outside of a seminary. What a blessing the Lord has given me in worshipping with Captiol Hill Baptist Church this weekend.

Christmas Eve

2006-12-24T17:58:00.000-08:00

Worship
This morning, the pastor at my home church came with it this morning in one of the best Christmas messages I've ever heard. He spoke on Joseph, that guy who always seems to get left out when compared with Mary or Jesus or the wise men or anybody else involved in the story. The pastor called our attention to Joseph's character and how Joseph was a man of great character. He was compassionate in that in light of Deuteronomy 22, which says he could have had Mary stoned, he was going to quietly divorce her. Scripture called Joseph a righteous man. Prior to Christ, Joesph had found favor in God's eyes in order to be called righteous. Joseph was a stud. Pastor went on to talk about Joseph's call, which included the revelation of a person (Jesus), the revelation of a purpose (Christ to save people from sins), and the revelation of a plan (Joseph will name the baby Jesus). Lastly, Pastor spoke on Joseph's conduct of humble and obedient submissiveness. If men today could just be somewhat like Joesph amidst our time of crisis, as no doubt this was for Joseph, what work God would do in the church. I was blessed to be in the presence of Jehovah today.

Candlelight Service
On a sad note, I realized that of my graduating class at church only three of us are still involved at church. I was deeply saddened.

Funny
During our candlelight service this evening, a little girl said the funniest thing. The Pastor had just finished praying, so the sanctuary was quiet. And this little girl, maybe 4 years old, said, "Mommy. Time to go pee." The entire church heard this, and burst into laughter. It was really funny. Praise God for laughter.

A Dilemma

2006-11-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

As a Christian student at the University of Kentucky, it is my formeost desire to see the campus come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All the time I hear people say that there are thousands of people on UK's campus and few of them are Christians. Heck, I think I've even said it since I've heard it so much. But after this semester, I am confused.

All my friends graduated in the Spring 06 semester, and I decided to stick around another year to get a Master's degree. Sticking around has placed some very interesting people in my life, people I did not know prior to this year. Now meeting these people from day one left me thinking my new friends were lost. They cussed, they drank to get drunk, they partied, etc. Yet, after getting to know them better, they claim to be Christians. They talk about going to church. They talk about reading the Bible. And, they claim Christ is their Lord. However, no fruit is produced in their lives. And the more I talk to them, the more adamant I find them to claim Christ, yet no one seems to want to change to produce fruit.

Now, prior to this year, I would have just assumed these people were lost. I mean to live in complete rebellion with no fruit, only lip service, would tend to make me believe they were lost regardless of what their words are. But, the man I look up to the most has said several times that people can live in rebellion and still be saved. According to his interpretation of Hebrews 6, one can be saved and fall away and still go to Heaven. Their lives could be lived like the worldly, and because of their rebellion, God would kill them and bring them home since salvation is something we cannot lose (John 6).

So, that being said, how do I go about talking to these people. Do they need the gospel expained to them, or do they need to be held accountable? Does the Bible really say they can live like this and be saved, or does this prove them to be lost? It's difficult because I want them to know Christ, and I want them to be obedient to Him if they know Him. It's very difficult to talk to someone who may have a wrong understanding of who he/she really is in Christ.

I know for sure that out of this semester, there may be a lot more believers on this campus than I expected, believers extremely weak in their faith who need to be challenged and held accountable by the Church as they are out making decisions on their own in a sinful college world. So I challenge you who read this to talk to people and find out their situation. Maybe you could be the accountability partner and edifier they need to be drawn back to God. Invest.

Slavery

2006-06-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord spoke to me through Pastor Henard on Sunday June 25, 2006. The text was 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. This is the passage where Paul says, "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some."
It was verse 19 that kicked me square in the teeth. It says, "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them." Paul says, "I HAVE MADE MYSELF A SERVANT FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL." Even though I already knew this about Paul, the Lord showed me that this is where I need to be. Christianity is about knowing Christ, and it's about showing others Christ that they might be won from death into life. Paul says the cost is slavery. We've been freed from sin into slavery for people. Not only slavery, Paul is talking about a voluntary slavery for people because of the goodness of Christ. He CHOOSES AND WANTS to be a slave. Why? Because he knows Christ, period and amen.
This is where I, and every person that knows Christ, should be seeking to be. I have been freed from death into life. I have the greatest thing ever in Jesus Christ. Why am I too selfish to give it to others? Why can't I make it a point to seek others that they too may know Christ? I look at myself and see nothing but one who satisfies himself, yet Paul is talking about slavery from self to slavery for others. It's a challenge. It requires sacrifice. It requires cost. But, as believers, it should be a joy because we have Christ.
God, give your people willing hearts to be literal slaves to other people that some....that some may be saved for your glory.

My Struggle

2006-06-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Over the past year at Porter, one resounding theme has rang out in our college department teachings: love. Chase ended his stay with us by going through 1 Corinthians 13. Dustin picked up and went through Romans 12 last year. Over the summer, we've been in Mark 12 talking about loving God and loving others. I mean, we ought to know all there is to know about love by now.
But, I confess that my actions haven't necessarily matched up to what I know. I sat through Bible studies listening to every word taught. I know what the Bible says. But it's not enough just to know. We must act. We must be doers of the Word, and for my failure in that I repent.
I confess that I would rather spend time watching t.v. shows every Tuesday and Thursday nights. I confess that I would rather spend time hanging out with my usual friends on the weekends. I confess that I never really made an attempt at investing in a stranger's life. I confess I never took action when God told me to do something. Of that I repent.
See, God has shown me recently that being a Christian isn't easy. It's not necessarily fun. It's not all the time to be enjoyable. Heck, at times, it's not even something I want to do (See Christ in the garden for better understanding). What I have realized is that the Bible teaches that Christianity is hard. It requires long-suffering and patience. It requires sacrifice. Oh does it require sacrifice. Paul tells us that he often went sleepless nights for the sake of the brethren. He would work at night to provide for himself such that during the day he could minister. He went to jail, was tortured, was shipwrecked, was beaten, and eventually lost his life for Christ. Look at Christ. He was mocked, scorned, beaten, driven out of his hometown the first time He taught, and He was eventually crucified. Where is the fun in this? What about this seems easy? What makes this enjoyable?
And Christ asks no less from each one of us. In fact, He demands no less from us. One of my favorite passages in the entirity of Scripture is Luke 9:23. "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." This is the cost of discipleship. This is the cost of following Jesus. He means we should be willing to sacrifice and love to the point of death. We must deny our pride, our self, our sin, our everything to follow Christ.
But this is the struggle. Christ says to love one another. Love is in accordance with sacrifice. Christ asks us to follow Him by sacrificing for others. Will we give up those hours of t.v.? What about those hours with the usual friends? What about a little sleep? I know Paul often went sleepless. What about a meal? What about a little money that we think we need for ourselves that would be better used for ministry? What about your very being? Sacrifice isn't easy. It usually isn't what we want to do. I would rather chill with my friends on a Friday than hangout with some strangers who have nothing in common with me, but that's what Christ demands of us.
So I confess that I have failed, but I thank God for His grace that allows me to try again. And it is my prayer for my friends and myself that eventhough sacrifice may not be fun or easy or pleasing that we do it willfully because it pleases our Father. It pleases the One who died for us because He loved us. Let God find us faithful.

Biblical Discipleship

2006-05-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest when I say that I absolutely love it when people are held captive to the Scriptures and to God. I mean, what is more exciting than knowing the LORD and seeing Him work in yourself and in others? And this week, I've seen this twice with some of my dearest friends.
A few months ago, Hulk Hagan and I decided that we would meet together for discipleship, accountability, and prayer. About a month ago, he told me that he wanted to disciple another buddy of his and do a Bible study with him great commission (Biblical) style. Now his buddy got so excited that he invited a ton of his friends, lost and saved, to the Bible study to hear of Jesus, just like they did in the Bible. As a result, there were about 15 people at the Bible study, both lost and saved. My friends, that excites me cause that is biblical. We have to be reaching out to the lost and helping the saved. That what Christ did, and that, in a smaller but similiar fashion, is what Hagan is doing with this Bible study. Seeing Hagan become more like Christ in His thoughts, words, and actions makes me praise the Lord.
Secondly, I found out that two of our college ladies, Morgan and Tracy, decided they were going to have middle school girls over and do a sleepover Bible study. Again, the Lord is working in them and convicting them to invest their time in other people, highly impressionable middle school girls, that they could teach them about being a biblical woman in Christ. Instead of watching tv or being with their usual friends, they have decided to spend their time this weekend helping others grow to Christ, and that is sacrificial love that comes from the Lord. It excites me.
Man, the LORD is good, and he is so faithful. I'm so thankful for what He has done, and I'm so excited for what He's going to do through those that are held captive to Him and His word. Praise be to God alone.

Thieves and Sluts and Liars

2006-05-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

Last night I was talking with Hagan York, and we somehow came across a topic that led us to talking about the song "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew. We listened to the song, but the rest of the people we were hanging out with wanted to hear the song. So, I played the song for them too.

www.myspace.com/toddagnew

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Why do you look so much like the world?

Chorus:
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
do we pray to be blessed with the
Wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Chorus:

And who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes, curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him

Chorus:

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reached for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He’d prefer Beal St. to the stained glass crowd
But I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus
Can I be like You
I want to be like my Jesus

But, we never even finished the song. We got hung up on whether "sluts" was an appropriate word. My arguument was that it was fine. It describes prostitutes, whores, the unfaithful in general. Sure there is shock value, but it is not unbiblical. Others argued that they had total disrespect for Todd Agnew and this song now because he used the word "slut" in a Christian song. To each his own/her own I guess.
Let me tell you the real problem here. The real problem is that we had the wrong perspective. We focused on the insignificance of one word and missed the main point of the song. The song talks about our view of Jesus compared with what the Scripture says about Him. He spent time with the poor, tax collectors, dregs of society, and even the prostitutes because HE LOVED THEM. He humbled himself to live among the most sinful people. The challenge of this song is for us to attain that same mindset. Are we willing to love others? Are we willing to sacrifice as Jesus did? The true issue is being Christ-like when it's hard for us, not whether or not "sluts" is the best use of a word.
I fell asleeping thinking about this, and it hit me about 1230 this morning that I do this all the time. How many times has Christ spoken and I missed the point? How many times have I prided myself on theology thinking that theology is what is needed to reach lost people only to know that Christ tells us that love lets the world know we are Christians, not theology though theology isn't bad. How many times have I missed the point?

The Luckiest

2006-05-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Monday the first of May was perhaps one of the greatest days of my life. One event happened that made me the luckiest person that day: I got to pray with and for Brother Jack Neal for one solid hour.
Most people probably have no clue who this wise old man is, but he is one of my heroes. I stand amazed to see his joy in the Lord each time I'm around him. I am blessed by his faithfulness to fight the good fight and run the race each day, even in old age. Most importantly, I know that I am ushered into the presence of God by Jesus Christ when this man prays. His prayers are so heart-felt, so passionate, so honest, and so powerful before the throne that I know God hears this man when he speaks. This man, though we barely know each other, encourages me tremendously each time I see him and each time he prays. I wish to have a prayer life and a relationship with God that this man has.
Because of his character and because of how the Lord blesses this wonderful man, I consider it a blessing, privilege, and honor to be able to beseech, entreat, intercede, and pray with him. For one hour, I knew that I was immersed in the full and glorious presence of our Lord. For that, I am the luckiest.

So I was studyin the Scriptures this morning

2006-04-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

So I was studyin the Scriptures this morning in Matthew. I was looking at the great commission, Matt. 28:18-20, because we are looking at evangelism this week in Bible study. I've studied this passage many times myself and have heard it preached many times, yet the Word of God still speaks a fresh word.
Here is the text: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; teaching them to obey all that I have commanded. And lo, I am with you always, till the end of the age."
All, not some or most, authority in existence belongs to Christ Jesus. He is the sovereign lord, and none have more power than Him. He tells us of His power and authority that we might be prepared to submit to Him and to His commands. Understanding that He is LORD prepares us for what He says next.
Understanding that Christ is Lord should give us willing hearts/prepared hearts to then "make disciples" as the command says. We replicate ourselves in others just as Christ has replicated Himself in us that Christ might be in them. We take action since "make" is an active verb, and we share the Scriptures. We teach others about Christ, and we edify those that already know Christ. Our actions, based on a loving and obedient heart, should point others to Christ.
After people come to know Christ, they are to be baptized and taught/matured in the faith. They are to be taught the whole counsel of God, and they are to be held accountable to it. They too must apply the great commission and make disciples.
Most of the previous stuff I had already thought about or known. It's the last part of verse 20 that taught me. Christ says, "and lo, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Christ, who has all of this authority, doesn't tell us to go out and try to make disciples on our own. He doesn't say, "Here is my command. Come back when you are finished." No! He says, "I am with you always." Our God, who is in total control, goes out with us. He gives us the grace, mercy, and strength needed. He doesn't expect us to make disciples on our own. He just wants us to have willing/obedient hearts to go, and He will be there to work things for His will.
Today, we look at sharing the gospel with a poor vision. We try to avoid it. We think that we will be dejected. We think people will make fun of us. We think that we don't know how. We make so many excuses for not sharing the gospel that it makes me sick. I confess, I often find myself doing this more than I should, so I write this primarily for myself. But look at the Scriptures. Jesus has all the power. No earthly or demonic forces can overcome. Not only that, He promises to go along side of us. He will be there. So why on earth do I not share the gospel more. It's because I don't trust enough in Christ's promises. My challenge for anyone who reads this is that you see this promise and command here in Matthew and hold Christ to His promises. I guarantee He will come through, just as He always has before. Not only that, I ask that you hold me accountable.
So I was studyin the Scriptures this morning, and it was good to be with God.

He Has Made Me Glad

2006-03-24T10:20:00.000-08:00

I AM EXCITED!!! God is amazing, and He is working. Let me tell you what God has done to get me excited. One thing that excites me is our new Wednesday night Bible studies. We're breaking down into smaller groups to dicuss the Word, and people like it. After our first week, all of the Porter people hung out and talked about the Scriptures. Everybody was talking about the Lord and not about goofy stuff. When people talk about God and search His word, that excites me. It tells me that God is growing them.
A second thing that excites me is the fact that God is answering my prayers all over the place. I have been praying for specific people at Porter since last semester asking God to grow them, asking God to have them step up as leaders, and asking God to give them a passion for Himself. God has done this. I can look at these people and give you lists of things I've prayed about for them that God has answered. I wish I had all of those requests written down. God is working in our midst. People are growing to God. People are excited about God. God's presence is in our midst. I literally weep tears of joy over all of this because God is getting His glory from us and is finding us acceptable to be used for His kingdom. Wow! As the song goes, "He has made me glad. He has made me glad. I will rejoice for He has made me glad."

Hatred!

2006-03-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

I work with a bunch of scientists who literally hate Christianity. Some of these guys think they are athiests. I hate to break it to them that atheism doesn't exist because they would have to know every single aspect in the universe to prove God doesn't exist. That just simply cannot be done by a limited human being. Anyways, some coworkers are agnostic, some are Hindu, and some I just don't have a clue about. Pray for these lost souls.
On Monday, I overheard two coworkers talking about religion. In fact, they were talking about Christianity. I wanted to join their conversation so badly. They would look at me when they were speaking because they know I am a Christian, but they wouldn't let me in their conversation. They would look away and quiet down when I walked by. That's not important anyways. What is important is their topic. Their topic was on why it is o.k. to kill conservative Christians. I don't remember much of what they said, but I do remember that. I was infuriated at their evil and hatred, but at the same time I was elated because the Lord promised that these things would come. I could see God upholding his promises.
That being said, a recent college graduate at the University of North Carolina had these same feelings towards the United States and Christianity. He had hatred. Read the following article to see how much animosity he had. This is unbelievable.

The driver of an SUV that plowed into a group of pedestrians at UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday told police it was retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to ABC News.
It happened around noon Friday in front of Lenoir Hall on the campus, in a common area known as the Pit. Paramedics took six people to UNC Hospitals. Five had been released by Friday evening and the sixth was not expected to be admitted.
Officials say none of the people were seriously injured. Three refused treatment at the scene.
Chapel Hill police say they arrested the suspect, Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, 23, of Chapel Hill, shortly after the incident. Several witnesses were able to give police the rented Jeep Cherokee's license plate number.
Police said they would charge Taheriazar, a psychology major who graduated from UNC last semester, with several counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
...Sources say Taheriazar told police he was seeking retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to ABC News justice correspondent Pierre Thomas. Taheriazar apparently told police he tried to rent the biggest SUV he could find to use in the attack.
By Friday afternoon, a police SWAT team had surrounded a Carrboro apartment complex where Taheriazar reportedly lived.
Taheriazar is a native of Iran and a December 2005 UNC graduate, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.
Bob Owens is updating the story.
Reader Ed C. from Raleigh e-mails:
Misleading lead sentence from ABC11: "The driver of an SUV that plowed into a group of pedestrians at UNC..."
Word "pedestrians" suggests that this event happened near traffic. Completely misleading.
"Pit" is sunken bricked area where students congregate. It is closely surrounded by buildings. There is no adjacent traffic. It can be accessed only via very small service access and not without carefully navigating to the pit area. There is noteven the remotest possibility that this was anything other than a deliberate vehicular assault. The students were not "pedestrians;" they were merelystudents at a popular campus gathering spot, almost a courtyard.

America get ready. The persecutions and the violence that is spread throughout the rest of the world is coming here more and more each day. Brethren, are you ready to stand for the Gospel?

Obedience

2006-02-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

God is amazing! I am so excited right now, and all I can think about is God. No school, no job, no money, etc. can take away the joy that I have right now.
Earlier this week Dustin Coleman told me to read Ezekiel 2-3. I obliged, and I found out that the only thing that matters in the Christian life is living in obedience to the Lord by faith. Ezekiel was chosen by God to preach the Word to the Israelites, an unfaithful generation of Israelites mind you. God told Ezekiel that they will try to cut you down with their words. God told Ezekiel that they probably would not listen. I mean if they aren't going to listen to God, why would they listen to a man? God laid it out for Ezekiel. The Lord told him the results and the consequences, but God just asked for obedience from Ezekiel in a rebellious generation. He just wanted someone to say,"Yes Lord, I will do what you say."
Well, I was floored. I knew the same thing God asked of Ezekiel he asks of me. He just wants me to be obedient. So, I began to pray. I kept asking God what He wanted me to do, but it was futile. It was as if I could not pray. The next morning God told me, "Jon, I have told you many times what to do. Reach out in love to the brethren. Care for them. Disciple them. Edify them. Train them. Just be obedient."
Two days later, I got a test back. I almost failed it, but I knew the material. God told me that He was taking my pride and my idol away such that I might serve Him, and serve Him I will do.
God has spoken in my heart so loudly and precisely that it's all I can think about. My desire is to be obedient. My goal is to serve Him. My goal is to teach, reach out to, minister to, grow, disciple, and witness to as many people as possible while I am here. I say this all that you may be encouraged, and I say this such that you all may hold me accountable to my duties.

May His will be done. Amen.

Before The Throne of God Above

2005-11-05T00:22:00.000-08:00

I love hymns! They are a confession of who I am, and I relate so much to them and the words they say. I heard this hymn, Before the Throne of God Above, on a Celtic radio station, and I've been listening to it for 2 hours non-stop. By the way, this song is the jam, as Dustin would say. I don't know of many better. Take a look at the Scriptural truths found in it, especially in verse 2, and you will quickly see why this song is already one of my all-time favorites.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect spotless Righteousness
The great unchangeable I Am
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God

I bow before the cross of Christ
And marvel at this love divine
God's perfect Son was sacrificed
To make me righteous in God's eyes
This river's depths I cannot know
But I can glory in its flood
The Lord Most High has bowed down low
And poured on me His glorious love
And poured on me His glorious love

CCLI Song No. 2306412© 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship (Admin. by Integrity's Hosanna! Music)Charitie Lees Bancroft / Vikki Cook CCLI License No. 747245

My Pet Peeve

2005-10-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

After many many weeks away from the blogging world, I have finally got the chance to post a new topic. There were many thoughts I had about what this newest post would be about. I could post on the reason I haven't been able to write: school. Or, I could post on some sports topic, such as the White Sox winning the World Series. Or even better, I could post on something that really matters and has significant importance. I chose option 3.
I'll get straight to the point. My pet peeve involves people who claim to be Christians yet live in a world of sin. I despise it! I hate it! There is nothing that infuriates me more than this.
I was talking to my boss and a co-worker, who are not Christian but grew up in church, about politics. Somehow we ended up talking about church, and both said that they no longer attend church. In all reality, that didn't surprise me. I work in a place that has a lot to do with science, which means most people are evolutionists or agnostics or something like that. What did surprise me was the answer I got when I asked them why they no longer go to church. The answer was one word: HYPOCRITICALNESS. They read the Bible and could tell you what the Lord's commands are for His people. What they saw when they compared the Bible with the Church was a bunch of hypocrites. They saw their grandparents calling black people inappropriate names yet claiming to have the love of Christ residing in them. They saw church members drinking, cussing, lying, stealing, cheating, hating, gossipping, etc. while claiming to be slaves of the Father. They saw all this gross sin in the body of Christ, and they knew that the Bible doesn't prohibit that kind of behavior from believers. They understand that true Christians are to be conformed to be more like Christ daily. They understand that we should not be living in sin. They understand and expect holiness out of us. When we fail that, we fail them. We become a stumbling block to their salvation. We give them a reason to deny God. Why should they turn from their evil ways to the ways of the Bible if our God can't even change us? Why turn from sin yet be a part of it again under the guise of Christianity? They want no part in it! When people claim to be Christians yet live unholy lifestyles, those people lead nonbelievers even further away. Instead of drawing the lost to the Lord, they cause the lost to flee. That, my friends, is something that absolutely enrages me.
I was reading an article the other day on espn.com about a female basketball player named Sheryl Swoops who has "come out of the closet." I, quite frankly, didn't give a rip about anything in the article except this quote from the lesbian ball player. She says, " I'm content with who I am and who I'm with. Whether people think that's right, whether they think it's wrong, I don't care. We shouldn't and can't judge each other. I am a Christian." This woman says that she is content being homosexual. She says she is content living in sin, the sin being homosexuality. 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 point out that the Scripture calls it sin. She says she is content living in sin, yet she claims to be a Christian. How can this be? 1 John 1:6 says that if we say we have fellowship with Him, if we are belivers, yet walk in the darkness, we lie. If we say we are believers yet walk in darkness and sin, we are liars. Scripture calls us liars. WE CANNOT WALK IN SIN AND HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST!!! If that's not enough Biblical evidence, look at 1 John 2:4. "The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and doesn not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Continuing to verse 6, "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner He walked." Folks, the command is obvious. Christians are known by their holiness. This lady, or anybody else doing what she is doing, is deceiving herself and the world. That frustrates me.
My earest plea, challenge, cry, etc. to any of you that are belivers, strive with an earnest passion after holiness. Be willingly obedient to the commands of the Father because you love Him more than life. Don't be a stumbling block to the lost. They don't need anymore help to get away from God. Don't make evangelism harder for those of us trying to reach the world. For Christ's sake, BE HOLY.

1 Peter 1:13-16
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for You.

Love

2005-09-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

Since Dustin has been teaching at Porter, one thing I've learned to focus on is love. I've learned what love is and what it isn't. I've learned things I can do to love people more. I've began to pray that God would help me love for the sake of pointing people back to Him. Yet, this Monday I failed miserably.
You see, I had the opportunity to prove my love for a brother was without hypocracy, as put in Romans 12:9. I had the opportunity to show mercy with cheerfulness, not expecting anything in return from the person with whom the mercy would be shown. I had the opportunity to practice unblemished hospitality while helping a brother in need, yet I did not do it.
This brother was in need. He needed food. He needed a place to rest. He needed love. He needed things I could give to him, yet I failed him. You see, after many options were gone through as to how we would provide for him did I finally open myself up to him. Instead of instantly hearing his needs and loving him, I tried to put it off because it would cost me time, food, and trust. I had things to lose yet a brother to gain, but I first to chose the easy route instead of putting myself on the line for him. Finally, I took him in and loved on him, but it was delayed instead of instant.
This bothers me. How could I not forsake all for him? How could I not be willing to sacrifice 5 bucks of food, a shower, and a spot on my couch that nobody uses at night for a brother in Christ who needed help? Of all the things I've learned in the past few months, why could I not do them? Even though he was ministered to, I still sinned. And, that absolutely frustrates me. Why did I not love without hypocracy?

"And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails" 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

God, help me learn to love for your glory.

UK Football

2005-09-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

Today marks the opening day of the 2005 UK football season, and a pastor-friend of mine, who is a Tennessee fan, sent me a list of UK football jokes that I would like to share with you all. I admit that UK football isn't great, although that COULD change this year if the impression given at the UK/UL game is consistent, and I find some of these jokes to be humorusly true.

Q. What's the difference between the Kentucky Wildcats & the Taliban?
A. The Taliban has a running game.

Q. How do the Kentucky Wildcats count to 10?
A. 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, 0-6, 0-7, 0-8, 0-9, 0-10.

Q. What do the Kentucky Wildcats & Billy Graham have in common?
A. They both can make 60,000 people stand up & yell "Jesus Christ".

Q. How do you keep a Kentucky Wildcat out of your yard?
A. Put up goal posts.

Q. Where do you go in Kentucky in case of a tornado?
A. To the Commonwealth Stadium - they never get a touchdown there!

Q. What do you call a Kentucky Wildcat with a SEC Football Championshipring?
A. A thief

Q. What's the difference between the Kentucky Wildcats and a dollarbill?
A. You can still get four quarters out of a dollar

Q. How many Kentucky Wildcats does it take to win a SEC FootballChampionship?
A. Nobody knows and we may never find out!

Q. What do you call 47 people sitting around a TV watching the SECFootball Championship?A. The Kentucky Wildcats.

Q. What do the Kentucky Wildcats and possums have in common?
A. Both play dead at home and get killed on the road.

Q. How can you tell when the Kentucky Wildcats are going to run thefootball?
A. The back leaves the huddle with tears in his eyes.

A Plethoric Number of Comments

2005-06-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I learned this weekend that my best friend got married before I went to China. I knew he was engaged, but he up and got hitched without even letting me know. Considering the boy was practically a brother, I figured he would've at least called. What bothers me though is that my name is signed to his wedding certificate as a witness even though I was not there. If he asked me, that's one thing, but to sign my name to a document holding me accountable to his marriage without my approval out right ticks me off. I am, right now, flabbergasted at the amount of divorces there are in the church. I am disturbed how many people think divorce is o.k., when God says in Malachi 2:16, "I hate divorce." I just don't get it. Right now, I am leary of his decision. If, and I pray to God that this if never fufills, he gets a divorce, I am held accountable as a witness. My name says that I approved and made sure that the Lord had called them together. But, I haven't done either of the two. So, right now, I'm a little upset with that whole situation for the sake of the gospel.

On the other hand, I was encouraged tremendously by the middle school's report time at Porter last night. They are solid. Wow. They went on a mission trip to share the gospel in 7th and 8th grade. I never did that, well technically I did but not really, until college. I was encouraged by their faith and by their theology. They put on a skit dealing with calvanism as middle schoolers. I was impressed. They are a blessing to Porter, and God allowed me to worship and glorify Him last night even though I didn't get to here a highly anticipated sermon from Hebrews.

Lastly, let's go back to that skit I mentioned. Let me sumarize it. There were 3 characters: an unbeliever and 2 believers. The nonbeliever asked one of the believers why she believed in Jesus. So, that believer went and did research, for 7 months, about her beliefs. She was prepared to defend creationism, calvanism, and other intellectual arguments. Her friend, the other Christian, just answered the unbelievers question, and he became a believer right there. No in depth study, no man-centered argument, no nothing but the Word of God was needed.
That skit hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked at my life and the life of Porter college. When was the last time anyone from Porter led someone to Christ? When was the last time an unbeliever stepped through the doors of our college department? I can't remember it's been so long, and that is pathetic. When was the last time a discussion about calvanism/armenianism was brought up? When was the last time you heard someone argue about the highest form of worship?
When and where did we lose focus? I'm not saying that these "intellectual debates" aren't good, it's just that you will not hear them much out of the U.S. People outside of the U.S. do good to have part of a Bible, much less a chance to argue this stuff. We have let knowledge get in the way of heart. I know I have. I am guiltiest of them all. Two years ago I shared all the time. This past year I barely shared. I read and got smart, but nobody other than me was benefitted. Instead of using what little I knew to make Christ known on campus, I was busy bulding my internal bank of knowledge up so I could argue with someone. I have missed it. God spoke volumes to me last night. I need to stop worrying about books, except the Word, and I need to share. I need to be making disciples for His glory. I need to be about the people and not about myself. Wow. Praise God for opening the eyes of my utterly depraved and sinful heart to the realties of truth I've failed to do.

I'm done.

Above Reproach?

2005-06-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

In my studies over the past two years, I have really learned the importance of being above reproach. I have learned that people claiming to be Christians ought to practice holiness every fleeting second we are alive. We should stand up for the gospel we preach by being obedient in every single circumstance. I realize that even in my own life this isn't the case, so I do direct this at myself quite harshly. We need to be uncompromising in every situation for the sole purpose of glorifying Christ, the Savior. We even need to be uncompromising in the small things. With that being said, here is a true story about a pastor who was put into a rough situation. Read the story and tell me if he did the right thing. Knowing that he is a Christian, did his actions glorify God? What would you have done? After I read it, I realized I probably would have done the same thing as he did, but my conscience and heart convict me that it would be compromising to the gospel. How tough it is to be called of God. Here is the story.

Christian See Clemency for Alleged Wrongful Imprisonment of Pastor
Charisma News Service
Thousands of Christians nationwide have written letters expressing support for a Pentecostal pastor serving a 41- year sentence for a crime he said he was coerced into committing. Dino Gentile of Chatsworth, Calif., is seeking clemency from President Bush for his role in a 1998 bank robbery in Pensacola, Fla. The former pastor affiliated with the Apostolic World Christian Fellowship Inc., said he was forced to drive the getaway car at the threat of harm to his wife and two children in California. Gentile, 49, said he became involved in the robbery when Jeffrey Durham, now serving time for the robbery, asked if he could accompany Gentile on a cross-country evangelism and fundraising trip. By the time Durham revealed his plan to rob the Pensacola bank, Gentile trusted him. But as he sat outside in Durham's getaway car with a bomb on the seat behind him and a threat of death if he did not cooperate, Gentile said he was forced to make a decision. Durham was arrested for the robbery in 1998, and FBI agents later linked Gentile to the crime, charging him with aiding and abetting. He received 30 years for his alleged use of an automatic weapon, and 11 years for the abetting charge. Since then, friends, relatives, former parishioners and members of his 3.2 million- member denomination have written some 3,000 letters and faxes requesting clemency

Red Letters?

2005-06-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

During my personal Bible study this morning, I came across a question totally unrelated to my study in Romans. Why is it that the words of Christ are in red, if you have a red-lettered Bible, but the words of the Father or of the Spirit are not? Why do we isolate God the Son's words in red but not those of God the Father and God the Spirit when in fact they are all one. What God the Son speaks is the same for the Father and Spirit. What God the Father speaks is the same for the Son and the Spirit, and what God the Spirit speaks is the same for the Father and the Son. So, why aren't all of them in red? Why even have any in red? I know this is a silly question, but I honestly have no clue as to why this is. What do you guys think or, better yet, know?

How Great Is Our God!

2005-06-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

How great is our God! Sing with me how great is our God, and all will see how great, how great is our God.

These awesome lines have rang out from every part of my being since I first heard them at the Passion 05 conference back in January, and they just scream ever more from my soul day after day as I truly see the greatness of God.
The past two weeks of my life have been the two best. I have been to China, a place where God is excluded and where persecution follows if you claim to believe in Him. I have been to a place where darkness rules. I have been to the uttermost parts of the earth, and I have seen what it is like to be in a place that Satan could proudly call his sancturary. Still, through all of this, I have been in the presence of the Holy Lord and have seen His hand work miracles.
While in China, nine people professed Jesus as Lord. Praise God!! Nine people that were utterly lost had the Spirit lead them to repentance, and nine more people will join me in Heaven to worship God Almighty forever. But, I still plead for your prayers for these nine. You see, they will face persecution. I don't just mean a few harsh words. I mean physical punishment, even possible death, for calling upon the Lord! Let me give you an example.
I met a young man named Z. Z is a college student at one of the teacher's colleges in southern China and is a very smart young man. A few years ago, he was given permission to join the communist party of China, an opportunity that every poor Chinese person yearns to receive. Joining the communist party gives you prestiege, more money, and a better life. It elevates you to a higher state of life in a place where it is difficult to move up in the world. To turn down the communist party is like turning down a lot of money in America. You just don't do it.
Now Z had been visiting my friend in China, and he had been reading the Bible. Z was searching for truth. It just so happened that he was asked to join the communist party at the same time he was seeking. He went to talk to my friend about his choices. He either became an atheiest by joining the communist party to make his family proud, or he became a Christian. Z had hard choices to make.
My friend didn't see him for a while and was concerned when he missed his appointments. So, my friend sought him and found him. The reason my friend had not seen Z was because Z thought my friend wouldn't want to see him for his ugliness. You see, Z chose Christ over the communist party. He chose eternal life over death. Because he chose Christ, his father severly beat him. He beat him until he was bruised and bloody. He was whipped with a cane until he was senseless. He took more persecution with one whip than I have had my whole life. When he finally met my friend again, he told her, "I didn't think you would like me because I was ugly, but I just wanted to stand for Jesus."
Friends, pray for Z and the other believers. They have been going through severe interrogations, threatenings, and beatings for the cause of Christ for the past two years. Pray that they will be strong. Pray that they will continue to stand. Pray that they will continue to be unashamed of the gospel. Pray that those who have claimed to have entered into an eternal relationship will persevere with the rest no matter what the government does. Pray for their salvation and for their sanctification. Pray for them.
Yes, I saw the Lord. He showed me how easy I have life. He showed me that we don't have a clue about persecution in America, and He showed me that He is still sovreign over Satan and his threats. Oh how I wish I had the faith of Z. God showed me how much I still lack and what I need to do to grow closer to Him. God gave me a heart that yearns for these people and their salvation/sanctification. God showed me a people who truly believe, not because it is what everybody else believes but because Christ has given them hope. Yes, God spoke loudly and with conviction, and my only reply is

How great is our God? Sing with me how great is our God, and all will see how great, how great is our God. Name above all names, You are worthy of all praise. My heart will sing how great is our God!

Pray For Them

2005-05-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

In less than a week, I will be located right in the middle of a foreign country on the direct opposite side of the world where the very thing I am called to do there is mostly outlawed. I will be in a country where billions of people paint red around their door in hopes that evil spirits will "pass over" their homes when they come looking for souls to devour. I will be in a country where people put their hope in their dead, lifeless ancestors as a means to obtain satisfaction in life and in the afterlife. I will be in a spiritually lost place where they literally pray to unknown gods just like the greeks in Acts 17. All I ask is that you pray for them. Pray for open hearts and for souls seeking after that which we know is truth. Pray for them that they may see and know Jesus. Pray, that as soon as I step off that plane, for someone to see me and know I can bring to them eternal hope in Christ. Pray that I might be an effective servant, willing to be bold for the gospel, even if it may cost me. Pray that God might be magnified in me by my willingness to be obedient to Him and that He may be magnified in them as they choose to worship Him. Please pray that I might be like Paul in Acts 17 so that that they may hear and know truth in their lost, lost world. Pray earnestly for their salvation. Until I return to testify of the work of the Lord Jesus, pray.

The Fetal Position

2005-05-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

As I was driving to Lexington from Bowling Green yesterday, I had two hours to think about anything. For some reason I don't know, I ended up thinking about the fetal position. Of all things to think about, this is one that I would call random. Here is what I thought.
I've always wondered why we were created in the womb and formed into the fetal position. For those of you who have more than a high school freshman level of biology, I'm sure you could enlighten me. The position in itself isn't the most comfortable position, especially with your knees crammed up in your grille. It hurts my back, and it makes me go numb if I stay in it a long time. I just find it odd, because I prefer to have room so I can stretch out a bit.
But then I was thinking, "What if you were in the fetal position with your head facing downwards?" If you think about it, with your head facing the ground, your knees would be on the ground. You would be in the most humbling position and the most defenseless position you could possibly obtain. And that is exactly what the Lord deserves from us. He deserves our worship to the point where we are so humbled to be in His presence that we give up all rights to ourselves in order to be in His presence. He deserves the honor and respect of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When our hearts are humbled and when we kneel to humble oursevles in His presence, that is what we do.
I just found it extremely interesting that God formed us in the womb in a position that, when turned on our knees, will glorify Himself. We were created in a position used for the worship of our creator. Just something to think about.

Is the Thief in Heaven Without Baptism?

2005-05-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today, as I was talking theology with my Church of Christ buddy, he presented an interesting thought to me. You see, those in the Church of Christ denomination believe baptism is necessary for salvation. They will quote Acts 2:38 and Mark 16:16 saying that Scripture demands baptism for eternal life. I disagree with their interpretation, because the translation from Greek, which is how those books were written, to English is not perfect. When you go back to study the original texts, you will see that baptism is not necessary for salvation. I will leave that for you to check out.
In our discussion today, talking about baptism, I said that the thief on the cross was a perfect example that baptism is not necessary for salvation. The reason I said that was because I have always been taught he was in Heaven. I didn't know why I could say he was in Heaven, the fact was that I only said he was there because of my upbringing. See my previous post, and you should see how this discussion helped me to "check it out" for myself. His point to me was that we cannot be sure of this assumption. He told me that because the two theives died before Christ that His blood had not forgiven their sins, which means they were still under the old covenant. I thought for a minute, and I couldn't respond. So, I checked it out, and found the answer in John 19.
The answer is that Christ had died before the two theives, because their legs had to be broken in order for them to die so they wouldn't be hanging on the Sabbath. They didn't break Christ's legs, because He was already dead. All this leads to is another way to show and prove that it is a safe and Biblical truth that the theif is truly in Heaven, as if the proper studies of Acts and Mark aren't decisive enough and as if Christ's very words in Luke 23:42-43 don't seal the deal. Christ's atoning blood had been shed for them already. He was forgiven in the eyes of the Holy God because of the blood, and thus was allowed entrance into Heaven without baptism or works of any kind.

Could Christ Have Come Off the Cross?

2005-05-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

All too often in our world today we hear a fact or a comment and assume it to be true irregardless of any research done to prove the statement's validity. I will not lie, so I confess I frequently find myself guilty of doing this very thing. The problem here is that some of the time those statements that appear to be true are in fact false, but because we assume them to be truth we end up spreading subtle lies.
This is not only a problem from a secular worldview in the fact that no one inherently wants to be told false information, but it is an enormous problem from my Christian worldview. You see, Satan works in many ways trying to get people to believe a false doctrine about God. Since Satan is the father of lies, we can safely assume that he will use any means possible to alter the truth of the Gospel. One of the ways he does this is by false teaching within the Church. Everywhere you look in the Bible you will see warnings to be aware of false teachers because they destroy the Body of Christ. Both 1 and 2 Timothy are examples. So, the question is how do we guard against false teaching. The answer is to verify every doctrine and word you are taught by "checking it out." We can not just assume everything taught to be truth, because that is exactly how Satan will subtly use his power to undermine the Church. We must be dilligent to seek out truth and not just another man's opinion.
This brings me now to my point. All too often in church I hear the statement, "Christ could have come off the cross. He chose to stay there because He loved us, but He could have called angels from Heaven to take Him off the cross." I believed this for a long time without verifying it , but after meditating on the Word and on this statement, I have come to disagree with it until someone can give me a Biblical explanation. Let me explain what I mean.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 states, "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. THIS IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD OUR SAVIOR, WHO DESIRES ALL MEN TO BE SAVED AND TO COME TO KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH," emphasis mine. Hebrews 13:8 states, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." What I want to point out here is that God the Father, and Jesus since He is God the Son, desires and longs for all men to be saved. That is part of God's nature. Not only does He want men to be saved, He is changeless meaning that He has always wanted men to be saved, He wants men to be saved today, and He will forever want man to be saved. This helps define God: one who always longs for man's salvation.
This also goes along well with 1 John 4:7-21, which tells of another part of God's changeless nature: namely, God's infinite love for man. In order for God to both love us and long for our salvation knowing that people are inherent sinners(Romans 3:23) that can not obtain salvation on our own, God had to act. The penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and the only way for us to live or to be saved was by the pouring of sinless blood that would defer God's wrath(Heb. 9:22). The ONLY way for spotless, perfect, sinless blood to be shed was for God Himself to come to earth, in the form of a man, and die, because there is no sinless blood on earth due to the sin nature mentioned in Romans 3:23. This is exactly what happend when Jesus Christ, the very essence of God the Father, came to earth and was crucified. He was the spotless blood that was acceptable to God the Father that would be a propitiation for our sins so that man could be saved. That is the epitomy of love, that Jesus would die for us just to see our salvation. Christ verified His very nature of love and longing to see man's salvation by dying for us.
But, could Christ have come off the cross? The answer I have is no. If Christ comes off the cross then man would have no way of being saved since the spotless blood only found in God would not have been shed for us. We would still be unforgiven, and we would never be saved. If Christ came off the cross, He would have denied His very nature of love and of longing for man's salvation. This means He would have denied to be God. He would have denied His very being. Christ had to stay on the cross to be God and could never call angels to take Him off lest He do the impossible and cease to be God. Because Christ is God, because He longs for man's salvation, beccause He is love, and because He is changless, Jesus Christ was forced by His own will and nature as God to stay on the cross, and He could not have come off the cross by any method and still be God or Savior. Praise be to God.

Biblical Papacy?

2005-04-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Today was an exciting day for the Catholic Church. All who have been following the news should know that there is a new pope, a new leader for the Catholic church. I, not being Catholic, am not overtly excited by this man since there is no Biblical text for having a pope and since the papacy in itself is idolatry, but I am optimistic none the less about the possibility of Benedict the Sixteenth to bring about a more conservative, more Biblical approach to the Catholic faith. Here are some political reasons why I like this man so far.
1. He claims Jesus as THE ONLY way to Heaven. See John 14:6 as a Biblical basis.
2. He claims abortion is a sin. See Exodus 20 as a Biblical basis.
3. He claims euthanasia as sin. Also see Exodus 20 as a Biblical basis.
4. He claims that pastors should be men only. See 1 Timothy Ch. 2 and 3 for Biblical basis
My stance should be obvious. If there is teaching on a subject from the Bible, the Bible has the ultimate, authoritative, and final say on the subject. The only thing I wish is for the people who represent Christ to be loyal to His teachings and not man's, to be persuaded by the Scriptures and not mere fallible opinion, and to be sold-out for the Gospel. I thank God for a more Biblical papacy, but I long to see Catholicism flee even further from its traditional false teachings and idolatry. Purely Biblical papacy...absolutely not! Getting closer...hopefully so!

The Christ Driven Life

2005-04-19T01:06:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday evening was a very powerful moment in my life. My brother in Christ, Justin, preached a sermon entitled "The Christ Driven Life," playing on the verbiage of Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life." The message was simple: a call to die. Not that I hadn't heard such messages preached before, but this message brough forth a simple reality that as Christians we truly are called to "come and die." What made this so powerful was the fact that God is calling me to places this summer where my life may be asked of me. Where I go, I may never come back if I preach the name of Jesus. Where I go, the glorious name of Jesus Christ is outlawed. Where I go, the name of Jesus Christ brings condemnation and possible death to those who proclaim it. Should this surprise me? I mean, isn't this the very call Christ asks of His children in Luke 9:23-27? Christ tells us to take up our cross daily, to look daily to an instrument whose only purpose was to kill people. Not only that, Matthew 5:11-12 states that in the same way the prophets of old were persecuted, so will we be persecuted. How Biblical then it is to say that the Christ driven life is truly a call to denial, suffering, and yes, even death. Oh how the thoughts of mine were perked when these words were preached, because they speak to remind me of the devotion I am to have to my Lord and my Savior. They remind me that whether by life or by death Christ is to be exalted in me. Yet, in all honesty, that isn't so in my life. I realize the call to death is of Christ, yet my faith is often so weak. I so often find myself in positions to share the wonderful gospel of Christ with lost friends, yet I become ashamed and back away. I often find myself needing to tell the campus of UK about the grace and mercy of Jesus, but I shy away. I find myself acting in disobedience to the one who died and rose again for me. How can I even come close to being prepared to physically die for Christ when I can barely die to my own pride and image? How can I wish to be faithful enough to live and die for the big things when I barely have enough faith for simple things? How can I strive for goals of maturity when I haven't finished those of infancy? How truly wretched I am.
This biblical view of faith, this view of death, this Christ Driven life should make us all think of our commitment to Christ. He bids us to come and die. He bids us be unashamed of Him. He asks nothing less than every fiber of our being for His worship, yet we too often give way too little. Today, it is my prayer to be able to truly say with Paul that to die is gain. It is my prayer to have faith in Christ to the extent that He may be glorified in my life so that I will glorify Him in my death. How I long for that faith. To God be the glory.