Do I Know my Neighbour?

As Christians learn to interact with the culture as us Joe Thorn as a good question

"Do you know the people, the local issues and struggles, the values, practices and interests of your neighbors? There will be no cultural engagement unless you are there, hanging out, interacting with the world outside of the church. Need a place to start? Introduce yourself to your neighbors and invite them over for dinner, read the local paper, participate in local events, let your voice be heard when appropriate, be a regular at local establishments."

As Mel and I have moved around in my exploring pastoral ministry and particularly in the last few years with Sovereign Grace, it has been very hard to get to know our neighbors and it has been hard inviting them over when we haven't had a house to invite them to. However, it has been a longing for both of us, that if Lord willing we would plant a church back in Ottawa, [or wherever we end up] the practice Thorn is talking about is something we want to do. Not only to engage the culture, but to by God's grace build the church.
But in the meantime I need to be creative and not allow the challenges to be excuses from this call to be salt and light to those God has placed me around.

So I leave the question for you today, do you know your neighbour?

Love and Good Deeds

Man, props to guys that do this every day and multiple times a day.

A truly Christian faith is that which produces good works; but all good works which it produces are by love [13]

If I love God [a truly Christian faith] I will be producing good works and this good works will be produced because I love God.

It can seem like circular reasoning but I need both sides.
The first is a check that if I love God, it will be evidenced through good works expressed towards others. My wife, my daughter, my family and my friends should see that I love God through my actions towards them.
The second half is a reminder and challenge that I don't do the good works to be seen by these people or for people to pat me on the back or impress them. Instead they should grow out of a love for God and a desire to honour and please Him.

Music

I was talking to someone today at school about my favorite concerts and I thought I would share then with you.

Tortoise [both times] - The first time I saw them with Isotope 217 and at the end of the show they all came out and played together. The second time they had the drum kit at the front of the stage and to see John McEntire drumming away was a sweet experience. Tortoise is an ambient free jazz band from Chicago, great chill and studying music. You can hear them hear http://thrilljockey.com/splash.html

Sunny Day Real Estate - I never thought I would get to see this band, but when they released the Rising Tide, Mel and I went to Montreal to see them. It was sort of a surreal experience being able to see some of my favorite songs of all time performed live. If you like "emo" or indie rock check them out.

Godspeed you Black Emperor - This band is a total experience. They set up a screen behind them to match what was going on musically. They would progressively layer old reel movies as instruments were added to each song. The second time I saw them, they played one song where the drummers [two of them] slowly built in the song towards the same beat.

My advice to you today, get out there and enjoy live music!

Loving God

"Without love, there can be no hearty submission to the will of God." [10]

Until I come to a place of loving God's ways I won't submit to Him or to His ways. And even as I come to Christ, I need the Holy Spirit and the Bible to help me understand and love God's ways and remind me that they are perfect, from a God who loves and worthy of surrendering my life to. I desire ease while God desires me to serve and put my wife and child's needs before my own. I want people to notice me, but God wants me to remember that the only person who I should be aware is watching is God. My ways lead to strife, hurt and destruction but God's will leads to a life increasing reflecting Jesus and eternal life. But, until I come to love God's ways and see them as perfect and beautiful, I will not surrender to them.
God help me to love you more that I might love your ways and surrender to them daily.

Humility before God

"A true Christian delights to have God exalted on his own abasement because he loves him." [7]
Humility towards God comes from thinking charitably towards Him, i.e. thinking the best about God. When I think the best about God in terms of how great and awesome He is, it should have the intended effect of humbling me because He is so much greater than me.

On that note, go and watch this sermon. This is a testimony of what being humble and humbled before God looks like http://www.marshillchurch.org/sermonseries/philippians/week_05.aspx
If you know who this man is, you will be profoundly affected by this sermon as I was.

Simple man, simple truths

I have tried to do too much with this blog in recent months and because of it, I've left it thinking it was too much to do. Recently, I was thinking about David Powlison's thoughts on preaching and counseling from his article Think Globally, Act Locally [The Journal of Biblical Counseling Fall 2003] and the new tag is a reflection of his thoughts.
In essence, the goal going forward will be to have one bit of truth and one bit of life. The one bit of truth will, for the next while come from Charity and Its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards because this book has had a profound effect on me.
Then I will aim to share one bit of life, something more lighthearted to give you a window to my life on a more practical level.

So come along for the new, more focused ride. Hope you enjoy

Amazing!

It's still sort of surreal that I have a daughter and now tomorrow I begin classes at Sovereign Grace Pastor's College.
God has blessed us beyond what I ever imagined

New life

It is hard to explain the joy I felt when Ellie joined us. The day of her birth, the doctor came in and asked who was going to announce the sex of the baby (because we didn't know going in) and I quickly volunteered. When she came out and I announced to everyone that it was a girl, I broke down into tears. It is hard to put into words the joy I felt in that moment at God's blessing through this wonderful gift of a daughter.

Well, here are some pictures from that day

Enjoy

Eleanor (Ellie) Rachel Martin

I can't put into words how amazing it feels to watch your first child be born!
More info to come with pics

The Beard and the Hair

I will start more regular post tomorrow. Things have been crazy the last couple of weeks. Here are the latest pics of the beard and hair a day early and three weeks late. Unfortunately after this pic I am going to trim it.

Hair Growth

Fridays, for fun I will post pics of my hair and beard growth. I should have started earlier, but here's week 3

Clinging to the Word - pt 2

The Message and 2 Timothy 1 adds to what I was saying earlier today about the message being plain,
"Since the appearance of our Savior, all through the work of Jesus.", life vindicated in a steady blaze of life, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of life, all through the work of Jesus."

Music overhaul

Mel and I were sitting on our bed in front of the computer last night and we came to the same thought, "We need a music overhaul!" We have both become so sick of the music we have on her I-Pod right now and we are looking for new artists to cleanse our ears.
Here's what we've got so far

The Besnard Lakes
The National

And I'm drawing a blank on the rest. But here's the deal, we would love suggestions on music to check out and preferably stuff we could get on I-Tunes. This is a short list of the stuff we are into


Mice Parade, Sunny Day Real Estate, Pinback, Digable Planets, Duke Ellington, Promise Ring, As Cities Burn, Norma Jean, Underoath, M.Ward, Jeremy Enigk, Mu-Ziq, Squarepusher, Luke Vibert, The Cure, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene

Let the suggestions begin

Clinging to the Word

Paul gave his prodigy Timothy some very wise counsel that we would do well to listen to today. Paul warned Timothy that a day was coming and I believe that day is here today where people would turn away from the truth and instead follow after teachers that would "tickle" their ears, telling them what they want to hear and follow after teachers that suit their own passions. These teachings Paul warned would be myths and false teachings that would lead people to be lovers of self, proud, arrogant among other things and yet would have the appearance of godliness.

And so what did Paul tell Timothy to do?

Cling to God's Word, the Scriptures breathed out by God and the simple, clear message that it brings of sinners in need of salvation through God in the flesh (Jesus) who died to pay the punishment we deserved for our sins and then rose from the dead to in fact prove that He was who He said He was. This message isn't hidden or in need of being deciphered to find some hidden meaning. Instead it is this simple message that Timothy (and we) must cling to, so as to avoid being led away by myths and teachings that aim to change this message or disregard it altogether.

Man they are Lifesavas!

A while back I wrote that I had been looking for a good Christian rap crew that I could get behind and nod my head to. Well, I think I've found them in Lifesavas! In an interview with Rhapsody there seems to be evidence of faith for some members of the group

http://www.plugonemag.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=145

And to my thoughts from before,
"So, my conclusion is not to abandon the message because there is no message with those "hits" and yet they stick in my head because of the beat. Ah, and there it is, if Christian rappers could craft the sick, dope, funky (whichever word you want to use)beats, then think of the power of that, because clear lyrics about the gospel would then be boppin' in people's heads. What a match that would be!"

I think Lifesavas are onto something. With Quannum Records and DJ Shadow on their side, matched with lyrics about everyday belief in God, it is a sweet, sweet sound.
So, good in fact that Pitchfork took notice,

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/43450-gutterfly

Listen and enjoy

The Foolish Cross

Ok, so it wasn't the next day...

The other side of what we learn and see in Romans is 1 Corinthians 1. There Paul says that the cross is foolish (moronic) to those who are lost. What we must wrestle with and understand because the Bible is clear, it is that until God opens someone's eyes to who Jesus really is, He, His life and death will remain foolish to them.
It is not in the philosophy of men, or academic knowledge or in anything of that nature that will allow people to come to an understanding of who Jesus is because until God does the work of lifting the veil from their eyes (2 Cor 4:3) Jesus just won't make sense.
God has revealed Himself in creation but the Bible is not simply about belief in God, it is the true story of God's redemptive history culmulating in Jesus.

My concern today is that there are people out there that are trying to make Jesus more accessable to people by changing the message of Christ or by changing who Jesus really was and is. And yet again Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians are clear that if Jesus is not God, if Jesus was not resurrected then the gospel is not powerful, in fact it is useless.

In saying all this, I am humbled that God would open my eyes to the gospel and echo the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15, "...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost." Praise be to God that He has lifted the veil from the eyes of this sinner so that I might behold His ultimate love in the purpose of the cross.

Foolishness and Reason

There have been many attacks in recent years of the belief in God, particularly attacking the belief in the God of the Bible. These attacks are not new and have been going on for centuries and God through His Word has a response to those who say that He is fake or irrelevant. Today we look we look at the first of two sections that help us understand what believe in God and Christ are all about.
Romans 1:18-32
Here we see that God is telling us through Paul that God and His invisibles qualities (omniscience, omnipotence, immanence and transcendance) can be clearly seen and the section goes on to say that it is not only that they are clearly seen, many people refuse to acknowledge these pointers. These verses tell us that they know God (verse 21) they didn't think it was worthwhile to retain this knowledge (verse 28) and they again know God's righteous decrees (verse 32). But instead of acknowledging the clear pointers of God around them, they suppress it and deny it.
The universe's clear makeup, the human eye and the conscience are three such pointers that people suppress. The planets' alignment is perfect and cannot have come about by accident. The irreducibly complex makeup of the eye points to an intelligent Designer. And finally, God's Law is put on the heart of every person. Every person in the world has a sense that murder is wrong, that theft is wrong and that is because God's Law is placed on their heart. These are but three simple pointers that Romans 1:18-32 people suppress. The result God tells us in Romans 1:30-32 is that they invent ways of denying God and approve of others that do the same.
Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's invinsible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men were without excuse."

Tomorrow, we look at the other side of the coin and the foolishness of the cross.

Christ and Culture - Transforming Culture

OK, I'm not going to deal with the weaker brother idea, but if you want my thoughts on that, fell free to ask.
I heard a preacher once (Greg Laurie) once talking about how when it comes to Christians and culture, what happens a lot of the time is that we just copy popular ideas (and often way too late) in an attempt to reach the culture. What ends up happening is that we end up producing a washed up lame imitation that only Christians find appealing.
But here's what we need to remember. As Christians, we have access to the most creative Artist ever.
This relates to a second portion of the blog that again I recommend to you http://theologica.blogspot.com/2007/05/willson-christ-and-culture-in-light-of.html

As Christians interact with culture these have been the approaches through the years

1. Christ against Culture.
2. Christ of Culture. Christ is revealed in every culture. Sort of a gnostic view. D.A Carson says that this is not even a Christian option. Reinhold Niehbur who developed these categories has allowed a gnostic view to be considered a legitimate option.
3. Christ over Culture. Roman Catholics, Thomists, Christian Right. The church takes charge of the culture.
4. Christ and Culture in Paradox. Lutheran. Christians are to be in the world, but no confidence the world can be transformed, so we overwhelm it with salt and light. But there's no clear definition of what you do once you're in the culture from a worldview standpoint.
5. Christ Transforming Culture. Augustinian, Calvinistic. We are to reshape the world, creating fields of discourse in every discipline.

And number 5 I believe is the goal. Since we have access to the greatest Artist, we have the ability as Christians to develop things that are unique and beautiful. Christians should be the most innovative scientists, writers, musicians, etc. We need to be in every avenue creating things that are amazing as a demonstration of the creative power at work within us in the Holy Spirit. Practically, there are a few ways this has worked. Some might disagree with me on this one but in the whole hardcore/screamo music genre Christians have for years been leading the way. Artists like As Cities Burn, Means and Life in Your Way talk about real issues and yet bring hope and great music to the table. Many artists have been trying to copy what Underoath and others have been doing because it is something unique. Now, even if you don't like that music, the point is that they were out not to find some secular idea to copy, they were out to honor God and do something different. Instead of being a Christian version or knock off of something, if Christians could just go out and do awesome things resting in the power of the gospel as they do, it could be a wonderful way of opening the door to the gospel in so many venues. Again remembering that the goal is not about conforming to the patterns of this world, but instead being transformed by God and allowing Him to work through us to create things that point to the greatest Artist. We aren't against culture, withdrawing because Jesus calls us to be light in all sorts of dark places. We aren't Christ of culture because what we are portraying is something unique, Christ and Him crucified. We aren't Christ over culture, making everyone bow to our way of doing things because until hearts are opened to the gospel, transformation cannot happen. We are not in a paradox with culture because that is not resting in the power of the gospel to transform culture. Instead, we transform culture as we rest in God's power at work in us to create things that are beautiful and unique and in turn provide a picture of a marvelous, holy God to a dying world.

Tomorrow we interact with some ideas about the gospel allows us to interact with the culture around us as we remember the idea of common grace.

Christ and Culture - Living with the Culture

This is a post I noted from Justin Taylor's blog a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to post and comment on because it gets to the heart of some ideas that I have been wrestling with for years.
For the original thoughts go here and read it http://theologica.blogspot.com/2007/05/willson-christ-and-culture-in-light-of.html

Culture in the post is defined as
"a social environment in which we define the meaning of life (including the meaning of truth, goodness, and beauty) through the means of worship, beliefs, values, traditions, language, social and political organization, art, technology, and social customs."

And so as we think about culture, we have to be aware of two extremes: assimilation and withdrawal. You see there is a culture out there, that we have to realize is heavily influenced by Satan and so as a Christian, we have to filter everything that comes in your eyes, ears, hands and mind through a Christian worldview. What can happen though is that some will not filter ideas and wind up looking no different than the world. Others will throw their hands up in defeat saying that there is no winning and withdrawl from culture completely.

But you know what, neither of these extremes display the power of Christ. Assimilating doesn't show anyone that Christ is different and worth following and doesn't display the power of a changed life to a dying world. Withdrawing in defeat does not rest in the power of the gospel, trusting that Jesus has overcome the world and so as we rest in that power to relate to the culture around us.

So what do we do? Well, as we live in culture, we aim to reflect Christ through the way we live. Where the Bible is clear (ie sex outside of marriage, drukenness, profanity, etc) we submit to God's Word to guide us in displaying the life of Christ. But inevitably, people in this discussion will point to the "gray areas", areas where the Bible does not give clear instructions when we ask questions like, "Is it OK just to fast-forward the sex scene and watch the rest of the movie? Should I smoke a cigar with my unbelieving father? How tight is too tight? Can a Christian play poker? Can I have a beer with dinner? And so, a second post, which again I highly recommend to you, will help in this area. http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001494.cfm

When we ask those sorts of questions and any other "gray" questions we have in mind, these ideas can guide us

Imitate God
Distrust Your Heart
Think Biblically
Involve Others
Decide to worship

To give you a practical example of how all this works, I got a few tattoos. As I was thinking and praying about whether or not to do it. I tried to do these things. First, I went to God's Word to see if there was anything clear forbidding tattoos (which there isn't). But I didn't want to stop there, as a sinner, I have to distrust my heart and so I wanted to make sure this wasn't just about impressing people and doing something to be "cool". Next, I involved other Christians that I trust and finally decided I was going to worship God and trust that through these lessons, I could trust that God was leading me through this decision.
There have been other times where I haven't done so well when it comes to those lessons, but I did want to provide you with a practical example of how this can work.
As we live in this culture as Christians we have to be aware that our actions reflect God to others and so we need to learn to ask serious questions when it comes to relating to the culture around us and how it affects the way we live.
Christ wants us to be in the world not of the world and so I pray these thoughts have given you more food for thought as to what that means.

Tomorrow I will follow up with some more key thoughts, especially as it relates to being a leader and remembering the weaker brother.

The Ducks just scored, that sucks!

What do you think?

If you do read this blog, I would love to hear from you and know how God has met you or what He has taught you through it. So, do let me know.

Devotion and summary

Went golfing today 60 on the front 9 and 49 on the back 9. The game is starting to come around.
Since I haven't posted in a couple of days, I will summarize Judges 10-18 and then post comments from today's devotions.
It is amazing to me how quick the Israelites are to turn away from God and worship other idols but before I sound condemning I am reminded that I am the same way. I set up all sorts of idols in my heart. This brings me to a place of being awestruck by God's mercy to Israel and me. In general, Judges and recent readings in the Psalms (Ps. 112) remind me that God blesses by His grace because we certainly don't earn these blessings.
The Psalms and today's reading (which I'll get to) portray God as being utterly unique and that grace is one mark of that holiness.
1 Corinthians is just such a great book about remembering the main thing and to not get sidetracked by following people, the world or our sin instead of Christ.

And now today's reading

Judges 19
A fresh reminder that our wickedness has consequences. I am glad, in fact humbled that these dire circumstances aren't always the result but it is a warning. Forgetting God cost Gibeah's concubine her life (rather gruesomely) and Ephraim's daughter and the horrific situation she went through.
Sin is horrible and this chapter highlights its results.

Psalm 116
God alone deserves our praise
The Lord preserves the simple (those who don't think too highly of themselves and try and figure everything out about God)

1 Corinthians 9
Surrender your rights and don't put a stumbling block in the way of the gospel. As we mature, we come to realize our freedoms in Christ and yet hopefully understand by the Spirit that our actions are being watched by other less mature Christians. It is a matter of laying down my life for God (cravings and desires that are not even wrong) for the gospel to bear fruit in others.

God wanted me to remember today that He called me when I was wicked, when I was off sinning horrifically in His sight and so the least I can do now is lay down my life (my rights) for Him.

May God bless you as you read His Word and are reminded of His living word today.

Summer music

If you have never heard the Sea and Cake's album the Fawn, go and do that now! Sam Prekop's sweet voice makes for some stellar summer tunes.

Devotional for today

I forgot to post for the 9th (it was a great time in the Word so let me know if you want me to post it) and then didn't read my Bible yesterday so here it is today.

Judges 9
What a mess! Abimelech leads Israel without trusting or talking to God and leads them into crazy wars and a bloody mess. It is a wonderful challenge taken to the extreme of what forgetting God and venturing out looks like and how wicked leaders can make a big mess.

Psalm 111 - Praise God for His sovereign (possessed of supreme power) and personal work
God's sovereign work in this psalm is highlighted by His creation and that amazingly, He causes us to remember His goodness and provision. The warning from the OT continually is that Israel (and we) need to remember what God has done in the past to encourage us in the present. And here we see the amazing truth that God helps those who love Him remember Him.
God's personal work in this psalm is simply redemption (111:9). This redemption is a promise, a covenant sealed in the blood of His Son.

Romans 16
I am consistently challenged by Paul's final greetings in his letters because in these simple greetings are words that reflect real care for people. May God continue to encourage and challenge me to love people like that, that they may know that I care and that God cares for them even more. Finally, in the simple doxology Paul reminds us that God wants to
1. Strengthen us in the gospel (v.25)
2. Help us obey Him (v.26)
3. Remind us that He is the only wise God as evidenced through Christ (v.27)

May you be encouraged by God's Word today and provoked to read it for yourself and discover the truths there that will guide you through each day.

Devotional for today

One thing I've decided for this blog is that I will post what God taught me/showed me from my reading in the one-year Bible plan. So, here goes.

Judges 4-5 /Psalm 108/Romans 11

Judges 4
The story of Deborah leading the Israelites out of bondage. The book of Judges is a cycle of Israel's disobedience and God's mercy. What is amazing to me is that God allowed / the Israelites put up with 20 years of opression and cruelty (4:3). It sure took them a long time to learn their lesson about what walking away from God looks like (aren't we so much like them)Here we learn to the shame of the men that there no righteous ones that God could use to lead them out of bondage so God used a woman.

Judges 5
Here we see the record of Deborah's and Barak's prophetic song reminding Israel of God's intervention, reminding them of why they were oppressed and finally that God lead them to victory (a lesson they and we need to be reminded of again and again, that God is the one bringing victory. We are so quick to take the credit and forget God)

Psalm 108
Simply put this psalm reminds us to exalt (magnifty, honour, praise) God for his faithfulness and steadfast love

Romans 11
This is a difficult chapter for many in understanding God's current relationship with the Israelites but I think one verse in the section can help us. In Romans 11:1 Paul pleads based on his example of being a Jew and yet coming to a place of belief in Jesus as Messiah. As a believer in reformed theology, I am reminded that when it comes to the Jews, the ones God has called from the beginning of time will come to that same belief that Paul came to.
I am also reminded in these verses that salvation is by grace (11:6) and so I'm reminded that I didn't deserve to be chosen and did nothing to earn my new righteous standing with God.

I hope these posts encourage you to read not just these posts but discover for yourself that God's Word is living and active and desires to speak to you each time you open it, to guide you and help you through each day.

Christians and rap

Today as I was running an errand I flipped on the radio to listen to the lunch time rap show on one of the Philly stations and then I got back to the office and was looking at an old Relevant (do I see a trend here) and noticed ads for new hip-hop albums from the Grits and others. These two situations reminded me of my struggle. When I was younger I loved rap, but as I was listening to the radio today I remembered how derogatory the lyrics were in all that rap I listened to when I was in high school and younger. But I'm equally aware of and I'm sorry to say this, but how bad much of Christian hip-hop or rap is. What comes to mind with this subject are words from Derek Webb to Christian artists reminding them that musicians are artists and some Christian musicians are only concerned with getting their message out and forget that there is music, and in rap a beat that accompanies those words. It is an art form and this is where most Christian rap drops the ball. They bring a strong message with a weak beat. You see this is what made Pete Rock and CL Smooth (a rap group from the 80's and 90's) so good. While I don't agree with religious views (being nominal Muslims) what made the rap good was a strong message from conviction with an amazing dj droppin' some funkay beats under those vocals. It is that match that makes a hit in my opinion. And Christians have the greatest message to share, about us moving from dark to light, from death to life. Man, if Christian rappers could spend the time on the music that they spend on the message, the hits would flow.
Now, to be fair I must say that on the other end of the spectrum is popular rap of the day that are only focused on the beat and evidently not the lyrics. Here is just a small list of hits in heavy rotation on the Philly rap stations

1. Put Some D's... (where I'm sorry most of the song I don't know what they are saying)
2. This is why I'm Hot (where the chorus is, "This is why I'm hot (3x) This is why you not, you ain't cause you not." Are you serious?)
3. Walk it Out (Where the chorus is Walk It Out again and again and again, it drives me nuts)

So, my conclusion is not to abandon the message because there is no message with those "hits" and yet they stick in my head because of the beat. Ah, and there it is, if Christian rappers could craft the sick, dope, funky (whichever word you want to use)beats, then think of the power of that, because clear lyrics about the gospel would then be boppin' in people's heads. What a match that would be!

That's my two cents, Audi 5000-G

Amen

I was reading an old Relevant Magazine yesterday and came across this quote

"The great Christian revolutions come not by the discovery of something that was not known before. They happen when somebody takes radically something that was always there.”

The magazine credits Philip Yancey but it originally came from H. Richard Niebuhr who Yancey quoted in one of my favorite books, "What's So Amazing about Grace?" If you have not read that book, GO AND READ IT!

That quote is as true today as when Niebuhr said it in the 50's. Many theologians today are out to discover some new truth, some new way of explaining or understanding God, but Yancey and others and really God are pleading with us not to set out to discover new things, but instead to re-discover old things. This is where revolution happens because when we radically re-discover the old, old story and it's implications on our lives, it is then that we have access to the greatest power the world has ever seen.

Here's to re-discovery, Cheers.

Jesus is under attack

I know it's a cliche statement but it's so true. One of the reasons that I wanted to start this blog was because the question Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:15, "But who do you say that I am?" (ESV) is still being asked by many today. Some teachers believe that the Jesus of the Bible and Jesus of history are two different people, that the gospels are figurative accounts of the life of someone who idealized the Christian life. This is sad because it is not Christianity. If Jesus is not God, then our sins are not fully and finally paid for because he was just a man, and one mere man cannot pay for every sin for all time. And if Jesus is not man, then He is no example to us and not the sympathetic high priest able to sympathize in our weaknesses and temptations. I do not say any of this arrogantly but confidently because I believe the Bible is God's unchanging Word to humans and believe Jesus when says He is the only way to heaven.
There are teachers out there, that say all this is figurative not literal. They teaching that when Jesus said He is the door to heaven He didn't really mean that literally. But Jesus said that a day was coming when what He said would be made plain to us and that day came when the Holy Spirit came to live in the hearts of those that believe in Him. (John 16:25). Paul tells us that God has made His way plain to us (Romans 1:19), there is not some hidden meaning that we are now discovering, the way of salvation by believing that Jesus was fully man and fully God and that He died on the cross to pay for our sins and that He rose from the dead overcoming the power of sin for those that believe in Him.

Friends, this is the gospel and this does not change.

Jesus is also under attack from a little box that was "discovered" recently. When I heard that this box could be the grave box of Jesus of Nazareth, there was a moment of unbelief in my heart, "What if it's true?" But then God whispered and reminded me of what Dr. Al Mohler told the world on CNN, the disciples wouldn't have died and been martyred for a lie. If they knew that Jesus didn't die on the cross, escaping it and living on or that He did die and did not rise from the dead, then when questioned and threatened with death they would have confessed that it was a lie. But they did die for what they believed because they knew that Jesus died brutally on that cross and that He rose from the dead and that is what compeled them to spread the gospel.

I don't say any of this in anger, instead it is sad to me that people are being led astray by lies about the Saviour. Emerging movements that are to be commended for reaching out to a new mindset are chipping away at the foundation, chipping away at the Rock, the chief Cornerstone.
And men with movie cameras are trying to make a boatload of cash through controversy at the expense of attacking Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter son who is the Saviour of the world.

Friends, Jesus is still asking who we think He is and the answer is the same one that God gave Peter in Matthew 16:16, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (ESV)

Welcome

This blog will serve many purposes over the next days, weeks, months and years. First, it will provide me an opportunity to spew out random observations about life, one that I will follow with momentarily. The second, perhaps more important purpose will be to share ideas and thoughts about God. I have a concern and a burden that Jesus is being attacked and it hurts my heart to think there are people out there being deceived about who God really is. Most of those blogs will be longer, so bear with me, but please do read along as God reveals Himself to all of us. A term comes to mind with this second purpose and that is "humble orthodoxy". My goal over the course of this blog is to embrace and explain what that means clearly because it is a conviction of mine, to make much of God and His one true gospel and yet do this with humility and in love, because it is love for others and them hearing this message of life that motivates me. So do read, and do comment and let's rediscover the old, old story again.
Tonight at our men's meeting, through a book, "Lost in the Middle" and through a friend's humble sharing of a struggle, I was reminded of the battle that rages in our hearts, in my heart with sin. We talked about regrets and how in our lives these regrets can lead us to do one of two things. One, we can put the blame elsewhere, thinking that everyone else is to blame for our troubles, our sins. Or, we can look inward at our own hearts, realizing their is a battle going on.
When we get angry at our wives or friends, we can often regret words or actions that come out from a moment of anger, and it is in that moment of regret that we can learn. We can say, "I'm just frustrated with life right now," or we can admit that we are angry, even angry at God and ask the God of the universe for help in overcoming anger, in helping us understand what the root cause of the anger is (pride, fear of man, etc) and even what lesson He is trying to teach us through this trial.
I am a sinner, but I am a sinner that knows that God is for me, that He will in HIs mercy show me my sin so that I can grow to look more like His Son, but He will also give me the power through His Holy Spirit to help me change.
Consider what God is saying to you right now. Are there regrets in your life? Know this, that God even uses our mistakes in His plan, but that He wants to teach us in those mistakes and He wants to help not make those mistakes again.
Thank you God for your love for us and thank you for a friend's humility in sharing to help me see this tonight.