The Cotton Patch

emotions on your wedding day..

2010-08-24T03:07:00.000-05:00

I am one of those guys who has been to more funnels than weddings in my life. Insert joke here_______. So it has never occurred to me how emotionally draining weddings are. Now I also understand that it was my own wedding and the greatest one of all time but still, a heads up would have been nice. So I began to try and evaluate why in the world the thing was so intense and I finally feel qualified to give a response.

Setting aside all of the hair, make-up, pictures, clothes, family friends, music, cake, decorations, rings, parties, honeymoon expectations weddings are still extremely emotional to the person who considers for one second what the whole thing is really about. For the audience (whether they chose to see it or not) a wedding is wonderful display of the gospel presented in the Bible. The bride and the groom standing before everyone covenanting their lives to the other, forgetting their past committing to providing a blessed future regardless of the other persons ability to uphold their end of the deal. The audience then gets a nice glimpse of how God uses the family to carry out his purposes as they depend on him and follow his ways. However, from the reverse the bride and the groom experience emotions from an entirely different vantage point.

I remember everything about my wedding day. I remember everything very vivid, but what I remember most vividly is watching my bride walk down the isle. I remember watching the last brides mate walk down to meet the rest, the music changing, the doors opening and seeing the most beautiful girl in the world walk right to me. As a Christian Christ died for my sins and promises me that one day I will be with him again. He has taken my sin and declared me righteous, even though I still sin when I see my savior face to face I will be as he is, pure, holy, clean, glorified. As I watch Alisa walk down the isle I was reminded of this promise. I was reminded that my past sin has been paid for by Christ himself on the cross and my future hope and purpose remains to be presented face to face with my savior. Oh what a privilege I do not deserve yet I have been given, not because of who I am or what I have done, but only because who Christ is and what he has accomplished on my behalf.

As I stood next to my bride, the most beautiful woman in the world, dressed graciously in white it was a vivid picture and reminder of the joy that awaits all believers who trust in Christ and get the chance to be presented before their savior blameless, pure, and glorified. Alisa my amazing wife choose to come out to one of our favorite songs "In Christ Alone"and that probably added much more emotion. However, one of the greatest lines in any Christian song of all time comes from that song

"and as he stands in victory
Sins curse has lost it grip on me,
for I am his and he is mine
bought with the precious blood of Christ."

No where is this reality more true than spouse on your wedding day.

Soli Deo GLoria

Poop on the Toilet..Pee on the Floor...Really?

2010-08-24T02:29:00.000-05:00

Blog tip web sites say that rule number one to bloggers who have not blogged in a while should never begin their next blog with.."so sorry it has been so long"...well I am no professional and I know it has been a while since I have had time to sit down and write some stuff but I have been kinda busy getting married and stuff. I am in one of those beginning stages of life where everything feels like its going to kill me before i have the chance to finish it. Oh wait thats not a stage of life...that is life. What is so great however is the fact that I am completely and utterly satisfied in the midst of all the turmoil. This is where I think I'm suppose to place a cliché Christian book store slogan and tell the world that no matter what life throws at me since I have God in my life I'm on cloud nine. I have news and finger gestures for people who say things like that.

The beauty of being a Christian is the ability to experience joy in hardship, not to avoid hardship altogether. I can honestly say my joyful noise that I offer the Lord is often filled with pain and not knowing what tomorrow will bring. There are a lot of newness to my life right now, 1) I have a wife whom is amazing, 2) i have changed Jobs, retiring from youth ministry and entering the world of Adult ministry. 3) I am paying more bills than I have money coming in to my bank account. 4) My truck is running worse than it ever has, 5) I miss my brother and sister dearly, 6) im haunted by the fact that not only was my father is not alive but no one from his side of the family came to the wedding. 7) Today Alisa and I let a kid use our bathroom (trying to be good neighbors) and the kid literally pooped on the toilet, not in the toilet but on the toilet (not kidding) and peed on the floor....

Yet I am completely satisfied and grateful for the life and the circumstances that God has placed me in. You see Christ commands us to follow him, we like to think of this as meaning following him in his blessed glorious life where everything works out there is always enough money in the bank, we never get sick and our neighborhood boys hit the toilet when the pee. However, if we look more closely when Jesus commands us to follow him he is calling us to partake in his suffering as well as his glory. The call is not to find joy when it is easy but to pursue joy when it seems all but impossible. There is not one hardship in my life that I would let go, because each one teaches me to depend on Christ in a different way. When we depend of Christ he sees us through (maybe not the way we would like him too) and allows us to experience joy in the troubles not avoid the troubles.

Focus is everything. Our focus as Christians is to magnify the kingdom of God by living according to that kingdom so that the dying world who has no hope will turn to Christ and find the peace that they long for. Christian don't avoid pain and trouble (don't go looking for it either) by writing it off saying that being a Christian entitles you to only a happy life, embrace the suffering that comes because in that suffering is the chance to depend on the God whom has ordained that suffering to come to pass for your good and his glory.

Soli DEo GLoria

Beginning with God..

2010-05-29T17:51:00.000-05:00

Beginning with God is what we as humans love and hate to do. We love to begin with God when we refer to the blessings in our life. We begin with God when we are grateful for events that have transpired to better our own individual lives frequently. I have noticed this trend between Christians and non-Christians alike. But what about during the bad times? Do we often stop and think in the hard times about how God could be the means of those as well?

Reading through the Prophet Micah one will come upon a very interesting section right off the bat of the book. Flipping through the book you can see that the prophet clearly indicates judgement that is coming on the people for their lack of obedience to the covenant God has given them. Yet he begins their indictment not with God's law or what he has required of his people, but just the facts about who God is. The reality of the situation is that God's character is the means by which he acts or does not act the way that he does. In short all things that God does is because of who he is. This is why it is so important to understand God in the way that he has revealed himself in Holy Scripture. As my favorite theology professor Doug Kelly says, "Proper theology (knowledge of God) produces a blessed life, improper theology produces a devastated life.
Soli Deo Gloria,

Will you Marry Me?

2010-04-30T01:29:00.000-05:00

Whether guys want to admit it or not, most of us dream of the day when we fall in love with a woman and ask her to marry us. We have been created for that covenant and we long for the day that it happens. Well for Alisa House and myself that day has finally come! I can't really describe the excitement and the joy that is to be had when these 4 four words are presented to the woman that God has hand picked for a man to spend the rest of his life with, but I will try.

I always have approached dating Alisa knowing that she and I could one day be married. As our relationship grew and stretched that became more and more apparent that she was not just a mere candidate, but the one. Most of the time when you ask the question to people who are married "how did you know", you get the answer "I just knew." I think that there is truth to this, but in my own life I know the reason why Alisa is the person for me, my answer to this question is "I literally can't see, nor do I desire life without Alisa House." Alisa is the one whom I want to serve, protect, honor, love, do ministry with until the day that I die. Alisa is the Proverbs 31 woman in the flesh, she is the Ephesians 5 Wife I will willingly give my life for, and she is Genesis 1 woman that God has given me to do ministry alongside me ushering his kingdom rule on earth as it is in Heaven. Even though I know all these things to be true, Wednesday when I got down on one knee and asked Alisa these four words (will you marry me) in short it was scary.

Im not even sure why it was scary, I knew that she felt the same way, and I knew what she was going to say, however it still was frightening and I think I know why. Augustine says, "I know the sins of people well, because I know the sins in my own life." When a guy proposes to that woman that he loves so much he is asking her to evaluated in her mind all his shortcomings and all his strengths and communicate her evaluation of those two things in one answer. If effect when you say "will you marry be" your really asking that person, even though I have flaws and seemingly unredemptive qualities about me, have I displayed enough redemptive devotion for you to want to enter into a life covenant, whereby we spend the rest of our lives together in sickness and in health. It is (was) the most humbling experience of my life even though I knew she was going to say yes.

I have much to learn approaching this union called marriage and I can't wait to begin my live with the love of my life Alisa House (Cotton). Jesus Christ is the creator of all things including Marriage. I am confidant that devotion to Christ will supply myself with the much needed Grace to produce a much needed purposeful marriage with Alisa because in and of my self we will get no where for I am a sinful man compelled to follow my own desires. I am able to love Alisa only because Christ has loved me first. Alisa and I are proud to stand among the saints and yell out from the top of our lungs, "O HOW HE LOVES US, HOW HE LOVES US SO.." only now we can do it holding hands.....
Soli Deo Gloria!!

Christ Centered Old Testament..

2010-04-24T23:32:00.000-05:00

It is very interesting to me how the church views the Old Testament. Lets face it the church at large finds the Old Testament to be a book of outdated rituals that helped the Israelites during their years, but now all information needed on the Christian life is to be found in the New Testament certainly not the Old Testament. It is far easier for a pastor to deliver a sermon on the book of Romans than to preach from the book of Obadiah. Don't get me wrong for the most part churches use the Old Testament when needed to prove their political persuasion like the death penalty. Or when we need to find an example of sexual purity it is easy to turn to the story of Joseph. However, is this the best way for the church of Jesus Christ to handle the content in the Old Testament?

The Old Testament is such a marvelous work that I feel it deserves as much treatment as any other book in the Bible. In fact whether we want to admit it or not the Old Testament is inspired by the same God as the New Testament. And does not not Paul tell Timothy that "all scripture" is useful for teaching, exhorting, reproofing and encouraging? So how does the Christian start to see the value and usefulness of the Old testament in 2010?

I would like to point out 1 brief ways the church can begin to get the most out of the Old Testament. The church is to read the Old Testament in light of Christ. The Bible is a book about God breaking into human history and setting up his kingdom (Waltke). The Old Testament sets the tone for that kingdom reality. However, that kingdom is not even begun to become a reality until the coming of Christ. The Old Testament is full of promises, blessings, curses, and benevolent prosperity all of which are fulfilled in the person and merit of Jesus Christ. If we are to see the full meaning of the Old Testament we have to train ourselves to view it through the lens of Christ. The Old Testament is asking the question, Who is going to save us and be our source of hope? The New Testament comes along side that with the answer to that question in a man named Jesus. But the claims of Jesus fall by the way side if there is no anticipation to who he is suppose to be and what he is suppose to fulfill.

The church today (at large) gets bogged down with unrealistic expectations of the nation of Israel and tend to loose the purpose of the Old Testament for today as being fulfilled in Christ. Let it be clear Israel is not the "holy land", it is the historical land whereby God initiated his breaking into human history to set up his kingdom. The church finds the meaning of the Old Testament through the lens of Christ because he is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. If we start here the Old Testament ceases to be a book of non-sense, but the very origins of the plan of God saving his people for his own glory establishing his kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.

Soli Deo Gloria,

What a Whore..

2010-04-16T06:52:00.000-05:00

Hosea is a tough Bible Book. It is not tough in the sense that it is super weighty theologically but it is tough due to the nature or the truth of the content. Normally when we hear this book taught we are lead to believe that the purpose of the book is just to show how crappy we are at following God, and this is true but I have come to think that the book is much more vast than how many pastors tend to preach it.

First off I'm pretty sure this is such a common conclusion because most Christians have never read Hosea for their own, and those that do tend to read it only read through the first 3 chapters. The First three chapters are where God goes and tells Hosea to marry the woman of Whoredom and name the kids. (I state it like this because I am not sure that she Gomer did not already have the kids before the marriage, but I will stay away from that) And since this is all that we read of this book I'm afraid we miss the point since there are 11 more Chapters.

Ironically enough the rest of the chapters are about the judgement to come on Israel and Judah with a chapter promising future restoration for the people and the land. And why the Judgement coming? Is it only because they "sucked' at following God? No, in fact they were good at worshiping God, but they also were very good at worshiping Baal the eastern fertility god. The key to Hosea is syncretism. The problem is not lack of devotion it is over devotion. God commands his people to serve him and him alone. The Covenant people were "whoreing" themselves out to other gods by worshiping them as well as the one true God YAWH. And it doesn't help their case that to worship Baal meant to involve yourself in cultic prostitution. In Short the covenant people wanted the best of both worlds, the blessings of YAWH and the preposed blessings of Baal.

Does this not sound so very familiar when we begin to evaluate our own lives? Do we not long for the blessing of God and at the same time chase after other things that promise to bring us blessings but never seem to deliver? . It is with much truth we can say prostitution is a great example of our own lives. We become acquainted with God and his goodness and we vow to never trespass his laws or ways, and before the end of the day we see something that looks momentarily better than God and so we gravitate towards that. We tend to have this strong inclination to "sell ourselves" to the highest bidder. So then we syncritize them so that we get the best of both worlds Whatever we can get the most pleasure, thats usually where we tend to give ourselves away. But does life have to be like this? Is syncretism the best answer?

Not in the least! Christ came so that he could give us life, and life to the fullest! Christ gives life that is so full there is no room for anything else and the crazy thing is you don't want want anything else. Christ is the greatest satisfaction to be had in this life and the next. Christ invites whores to come and gaze upon the cross because once they do they will end their madness, they will stop selling themeless to life's vain pleasures, and they with the rest of the church will pick up their own cross and follow after him. The offer of the gospel does not come without serious abundance of God's grace. Grace that can wash away even the blackest of sins and make them white as snow. Syncretism is not the answers to true fulfillment, bowing down before the feet of Jesus is. When I look back on my life before Christ I can't help but scream what a whore I was! But now he has enabled me to trust in him and I humbly proclaim what a savior!!

I think this is worth Reading...

2010-04-07T02:22:00.000-05:00

Teaching through Ecclesiastes with the youth on Wednesdays has probably been better for me than for them. I have taught through the book before, but never had I had this much fun with it. When I say fun what I mean is that the Lord is ripping my heart heart every time I open my dang Bible and reminding of how futile this life can be without having the proper perspective of God and his continual blessings that can await us in this life, when we live according to his precepts.

Tonight was probably the greatest study time I have had in a while. I am teaching Chapters 5-6 six tomorrow (you should come, adult or student, guy or girl, fat or skinny, black or white, like world of warcraft or don't like world of warcraft, I promise you will enjoy the lesson...well I think you will) and I noticed something that I am dying to write about in greater detail one day, but for now blog time will scratch my itch.

In Chapter 5 of Ecclesiastes Verses 8-9 Solomon talks about the evil that exist in the world around him and how it seems as if the rulers and those in authority are not contributing to the solution yet joining in the folly. Yet in verse 9 he adds that this is hierarchy of leadership is a good thing when the highest king is concerned with cultivated the fields. At first glance this seems as if these verses have little value, but just sit back and get ready!

We also read farther down in 5:19 and 6:1-5 that God gives wealth and resources to all people, yet the ability to enjoy the wealth (regardless of the amount) is a gift of God by the very power of God. I read this and thought to myself "this sounds a lot like another passage that I have read my entire life by Paul." So I began to compare Ephesians 2:1-10 to Ecclesiastes 5:19-6:1-5 and this is what I came up with.

Solomon is telling his reader that wealth in this life will never bring satisfaction, in fact satisfaction is not something that can even be sought after, but it must be realized in the allotment that God has given us and this is the "Gift of God". In other words Solomon (the author of Ecclesiastes) is telling us that satisfaction in this life can't be gain in accumulating more "things", but in really looking into the things that we already have and where they have come from. This points us to God, because he is the giver of all things. However, Paul takes this a step further In Ephesians 2:1-10.

Paul begins the chapter talking about the sinfulness of humanity and how we are estranged from God, and objects of his wrath by our very nature. However, the tide turns in verse 4 when he says that God rich in his mercy saved us from that wrath by giving us salvation through his Son Jesus Christ. After listing the benefits of our salvation that we now possess because of Christ work not our own, he repeats Solomon's phrase saying this is "the gift of God."(Referring to the salvation and benefits that we have received)

Paul takes what Solomon has written concerning the gift of God and put a face and a name to the message. Paul asserts that Solomon was correct, satisfaction in this life is not found by gaining more things, but satisfaction is realized in a person, and his name is Jesus Christ. He is the author of all good gifts and he gives gifts to man so that they will praise him as the benevolent God that he is, to the glory of his father. So what was Solomon talking about when he said that it is a blessing that the king cultivated the fields? I think paul answers this as well.

God is the God of order not Chaos. In Genesis God God brought arrangement and order to the newly created world in its state of disarray, Choas has come into the world through the sin of mankind, and now through Jesus' triumph on the cross God is once again bringing cosmic order to his world through the kingdom of God. This is why Solomon says blessed is the land whos king cultivates the fields, so how does Paul add to this? Understanding the "Gift of God" (Salvation through Jesus and our need of it) gives believers their true purpose in this world, which according to Paul is to walk in the good deeds that God has foreordained us to walk in. When believers walk in these good deeds, God uses them to reestablish his ideal order for this world through his kingdom. How does the supreme king cultivate his fields (the world)? He uses us!!! God working through and in us reestablishes his divine order of operations. When we walk in good deeds we bring God glory, by living according to the standard that he has for all humanity.

Is the Bible not the greatest thing in the world or what
Soli Deo Gloria!

I just Want Purpose in my Life...

2010-04-03T14:58:00.000-05:00

During this Eastern Weekend I am vividly reminded of many things that I am so thankful for in my life. Easter really is the crux of the Christian faith and life in many regards. It is the crux of the Christian faith because everything hinges on the truth of Jesus rising from the dead and him empower those who trust in that truth to live the way he wants us to live to the glory of his father. When is honestly the last time you considered the fact that Jesus really did rise from the dead? We hear this concept of Jesus rising from the dead all the time, especially around this time a year, but my fear is that we don't really dwell on the implications of this truth.

If Jesus rose from the dead simply put that means he is the first person to die and bring himself back from the dead. What makes this even more amazing is that he claimed that this would happen. Check out John 2:18-22. If Jesus claimed that he would die, and three days later be raised from the dead, and it actually happened, what else that Jesus said is actually going to happen? I think either way it is safe to say whatever Jesus says regarding life and who he is, we can trust based on his display of his awesome power.

Jesus also claims himself to be God. People tend to think very highly of Jesu, some even say that he was a very moral man, but is this enough to attribute to the one who foretold of his rising from the dead and actually doing it? Is it enough to dismiss the rest of Jesus words and claims and just write him off as a moral individual alone? Jesus claims to be the very means of salvation. Everyone (if we are honest) have a desire for future redemption. We have a deep longing for future rest and ultimate fulfillment. The truth is humans want hope. We experience so much turmoil and despair at the end of the day we long for something to give us purpose in this life that tends to drain us from our very core.

This hope that we long for is truly embodied in a person, and his name is Jesus. Jesus Christ claimed to the only son of God. He came to this earth and wrapped himself in human skin, lived a perfect life without sin. He foretold of his death and gave reason for why he had come to in the first place. He told those would listen with longing hearts his purpose for dying on the cross was to be a sacrifice for those who needed hope. He died in the place of those who would trust that he was who he claimed to be, namely the perfect, sinless, Son of God. In exchange those who believe in him (trust in him and his sacrifice) would have their sins forgiven them.

All debts are canceled at the cross, all despair and living in vain ends. Jesu Brings hope to the needy, he brings purpose to the proud, he brings salvation to those who long for redemption from their sins. Jesus wants us to come to him and he will give us true life. Jesus rising from the dead also empowers us to live a life that accords with the will of his father. Believers in Christ can live life for all its worth knowing that Jesus demonstrates the same power in their lives and his did rising himself from the grave.

Life is hard and it is easy to go carry on with reflecting on important matters such as the afterlife. However, every man will be accountable for what he does with the truth that Jesus indeed did rise from the dead, and he offers his his abundant resurrected life to those who want true purpose in theirs. Our response to Jesus ought not to be Hallelujah what a moral man, not Hallelujah what a crook, but Hallelujah what a savior!
Soli Deo Gloria!

Great Friday..

2010-04-02T05:49:00.000-05:00

Today historicaly is when we celebrate the death of our lord. There is so much to ponder on what we have come to know as good Friday. However, when we ponder the depth of today is it really good? On the one hand it is the greatest day ever to come, and ever will, when we think about the sacrifice that occurred assuring our salvation through Christ once we place our trust in him. Yet was it a good friday for Jesus himself?

The answer is two fold, yes and no. Good Friday or the day that Christ died was a bad day for Christ in that he suffered and bore the punishment of all the sins of those who would believe in him. Yet it was a good day indeed because he was gaining the only thing that he longed for most namely the church. We often think of Jesus sacrifice on the cross as being beneficial for us as individuals. This is true yet Christ had more in mind then individuals, he has in mind the church as a whole. Christ suffered and died so that the church would be his prize. He endured not just the wrath of humans, but the very wrath of his father for the sake of sanctifying his church.

The problem with most of our concepts of Easter is that they are to small. We tend to view Easter as a holiday when Christ died for our sins. This is 100 % true but we must remember that he did not just die for the sake of our personal sins but the sanctifying work of the church. We are able to worship as a church because our sins and guilt has been paid for on the cross of Calvary. Not because he had to, but because Jesus wanted to he died so that his church could live. Good Friday is not just a good day but a great day. A day that we cry out Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. And we remember the one who is and is to come again. He is not coming as he did the first time as a sheep led to the slaughter, no he is coming as a roaring lion devouring all those who continue to reject his perfect majesty. Hallelujah, what a savior!
Soli Deo Gloria,

When is it ok to Not Pursue God..

2010-03-29T00:06:00.000-05:00

One of my perpetual frustrations of ministry is the feeling as if the people that I am pouring my life into just don't care. I get the feeling that apathy runs very deep in the church culture today at large and why shouldn't it? Why should the church (especially here in America) feel as if we always need to hear more about the Bible or the truths of God when we have so many distractions around us that tend to devour our thoughts and our emotions all around us. Why should we strive to know the Bible better if we think that we already know everything that it has to say to us?

The truth is that there is loads of problems with this from every angle. There is so much for us to learn about the God of our salvation that their is no way that we could ever know it all. A preacher that I use to work for used to say, "It is a shame that we only have one lifetime to study the Word that God has given us to live by." There is a lot of truth to this statement. The problem is that we find ourselves filling our heart with arrogance and pride thinking that we don't have anything more to learn about the God that we say that we love so much.

Life is full of people and events that begin to take the primary focus of our attention. We allow our "first focus", and our full attention to be placed on things that we think matter so much but in the end they really don't. We give our full whole hearted attention to things like where to go to college, what job to work at, what clothes to wear the next day, what sports team to watch, what video games to play, where we are going to eat our next meal, who is going to come to our parties, who to vote for, which election to participate in, where to send our kids to school, what fraternity to join, what church we should attend, what new gadget we should buy from the mac store, and many other things, completely neglecting the purpose of this life.

I am not saying that these things in themselves are bad, but when they become our primary focus day by day we are ceasing to pursue the very being that we were created to pursue (namely Jesus Christ himself). We were created for one thing and one thing only and this is to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ for he is and what he has done (in that order).

So When is it ok to stop pursuing the Lord? NEVER and again I say NEVER. Jesus Christ is worthy of our pursuit even during the NCAA basketball tourney. Once again I am not saying that these things are bad in themselves, but when they take our attention away from Christ for 1 second they have taken us away from the reason that we exist.

The pursuit of God is not something that we do when we think it is appropriate, because the truth is, pursuing God is always appropriate. My prayer is that we will pursue God in season in and out of season.
Soli Deo Gloria,

I love rain..

2010-03-25T04:22:00.000-05:00

I never liked rain growing up because that usually meant that I could not play outside. However, now I am a little older and little fatter so outside play is not something that is any better than inside play. I think the reason that I love rain is, most of the time, it is accompanied by thunder and lightning. I don't know what it is about thunder but seriously is scares me. I know in my head that it is just a loud noise, but every time i hear it I feel as if I jump ten feet in the air.

Did you realize that it is God that controls the rains? I know that a lot of people know that in their head from Sunday school when they were 3 years old, but do we think of the implications of God being the actual being that causes it to rain when he wants it to? Isaiah 30:30 talks about the Lord's voice being as a majestic thunderstorm over all the earth. As I have been reflecting on this verse tonight and hear the thunder in my window I am reminded that when God speaks his voice is as majestic and powerful as thunder. The question that I am dealing with is, "why does thunder set me on edge yet it is so easy for me to ignore the voice of the living God?"

I can't help but feel small and inferior when the thunder claps around me. I can't help but have this feeling of desperation wanting to hide myself from the apparent trouble that the thunder brings. But the very voice of God that is so apparent in my life I write off as if I am the one calling the shots and not him. When God speaks to me I find myself not exalting him because he is majestic, no most of the time I find myself arguing with him because I view myself as majestic and him as my slave.

I am so glad that God has created thunder. Because in roar of the thunder I am reminded of the God who has created that thunder. I am reminded that he sustains that thunder. I am reminded that he commands the thunder at his beckon call. I am reminded that the same God that is Lord over the thunder, is Lord over my life. "God help me with my unbelief, Help me God to not ignore your voice when you call. God empower me to respond to you in the same awe and fear as I do the thunder that you control."
Soli Deo Gloria,

The Burden of Toil..

2010-03-24T02:29:00.000-05:00

I have been studying the book of Ecclesiastes for a new series that I have been teaching the youth at CEPC this month and it has been really stretching me. It is hard to take a book like Ecclesiastes on the surface level and teach it to a bunch of students. However, I have found that much of what the book has to offer the church today is just as crucial as the first Israelites that would have read it.

We all have questions that regard how to make the most out of this life that God has given us. We all fall prey to the idea that something (whatever that may be) will give us whatever we need to have ultimate bliss in this life. Solomon (I hold that Solomon wrote the book) test that theory to the max and comes to the conclusion that nothing in this life will ever give us the complete satisfaction that our hearts long to have. But then again in almost the same breath he adds that much joy is to be sought in the toils or works that we have been here to do. How can this be? Solomon in all his wisdom tells us how.

Toils in life whether they have what we call "good results" or bad results all flow from one author. One designer has designed the course of this world and all that is in it. If we begin to look at the toils of life for just being toils or a means in which we occupy our time until we die, we will never be satisfied in this life under the sun. However, if we look at the toils in light of the author of those toils then we see the true reasons and purposes for those toils. For example if I plant a tree for the sake of planting a tree I may have some fulfillment of what I have done, but this will be sort lasted. However, if I plant a tree knowing that God is the creator of trees, and God the true author of tree planting, then I have connected my "toil" with the true purpose of "tree planting". Tree planting for the sake of tree planting is mundane and will leave me feeling as if the "toil" was of no avail. When I plant the tree because I acknowledge that God is the creator of trees and he desires that I cultivate the world that I live in I have ceased to plant a tree for my own amusement, but began to promote God's will on earth as it is in heaven.

It is very important that we as the church understand that we don't live on this earth to toil for our own pleasure but we toil in the purposes of God. The only way to find value and meaning to this life is stop living life under the sun (without regard to anyone but ourselves) and start living life under the son (for the purposes of God under the Lordship of his son Jesu Christ).
Soli Deo Gloria,

Cashiers teach Great Lessons..

2010-03-22T21:43:00.000-05:00

I happen to be crazy about Diet Coke. I can't explain what it makes it so great it just is. It is very often that I stop by our local convenient store to grab a Diet Cola. Alisa and I have been crunching numbers lately and getting kinda depressed because we are learning how much money it really takes to get married and well survive. It is depressing because even with the possibility of myself working three jobs for the next year with school debt and other various expenses, I just don't know how we are going to do it.

With this on my mind I stopped at the local store to grab a diet coke before my last dungeon raid. (wow lingo, if you don't know what Im talking about I really can't help you lol) When I was paying for my drink that easily weighed 3 pounds I begin to talk to the cashier girl. For some reason what stated off my asking her about why they don't have the purple skittles, turned into her expressing to me that her husband just left her and the doctor report that she just got back told her that she has acute cancer in her bloodstream.

I prayed for her and with her and shared the glorious news of forgiveness of Christ that can be made available to her upon her repentance. I really didn't know what else to say, and Im glad that I didn't. God has ben showing me for a couple months now tons of hurting people and I think there is a reason for this. Most of the time the people that I have encountered have been in pain and hurting, but they all still had hope. Even though most of these people that I have encountered have not believed in Christ and really don't care about anything spiritual. However, they still are being provided for by God even though they reject who he is.

God being our creator is always showing his grace and mercy to his creations. To some he shows more than others, but at the end of the day no human can say God has done nothing for them. It may not be what you want, but God has done something. As I reflect today about last nights conversation (or early this morning I should say) I am encouraged by this God is faithful to us, even when we are faithless to him. As Alisa and I plan our future wedding and begin to worry about money in the bank and other various reasons for thinking a wedding is never going to happen, I am encouraged to remind myself how God is faithful. Since God is faithful with those who don't even believe how much more is he faithful to those who by his grace have called upon the name of his son for salvation. The key to frustration and doubt it to call upon the name of the Lord, for he is our only hope
Soli Deo Gloria,

The Gospel and the Hair Salon..

2010-03-21T02:33:00.000-05:00

My Daddy taught me that their are some places that men ought not go into, 1) bars, and 2) Hair salons. (Which I have now broken both request). He was a very "manly" man, the real John Wayne type and thought that Hair salons were for women and women alone. Well this is great logic to live by unless the girl that you plan on marrying has a mom that is a professional hair styler. I decided to surprise Alisa today and drop in to see her while she was getting her hair done at her mom's shop. It was a wonderful surprise to see the beautiful Alisa covered in orange thingies in her hair. I might add that even in the middle of getting her hair worked on, she is still the most beautiful girl in the world...

As I sat on the couch complaining about having to be away from ALisa next month for a couple weeks as she is in Israel a man sat down next to me. Like gentlemen we shock hands and began in conversation about work and others things. As I told him that I was a youth minister I was waiting with a smile for him to get up and move, but as providence would have it he became very interested in what I did everyday. As I began to explain to him the ends and the outs of my week I became very sensitive to the fact that this may was probably not a believer.

As we began to talk more and more about our daily work weeks, I began to insert specific language to begin conversation trying to get a feel for what he believed about this life and the next. He expressed to me that he had not been to church in a while and that he needed to go. Then he asked me my favorite question that anyone can ever ask me...what are the signs of a good church? I paused for a moment and really tried to think of the best way to side step the question for a moment and slip in a gospel presentation (knowing that is what he really needed. He didn't need any more reason to avoid churches, he needed a reason to plug into the ones that he was avoiding)

I began to tell him that a great church is one that 1) teaches the truth of the person of Christ (that he is God), 2) teaches the truth of humanity (that we are sinful), 3) That lives out this truth. As I told him I tries to elaborate as much as I could about his sinful condition (as well as my own) and our need Jesus to save us. At this point the hair dryers conveniently turned up very loud and more and more distractions began to emerge.

Im not sure what he took away from our conversation, but I know what I took away. It is very easy for us Christians to give away a "self help", or a one-two step solution to a sinner about how they can change their live by going to church. I'm not sure this is the response that we should be giving, in fact I know its not. The truth is people don't need any more reasons not to go to church they have plenty, what they need is a reminder of why they should be going. And that reminder is not because the church itself provides salvation or the church is where you go if you want to be perfect. Church is what people need because Church is the place where they can learn about the beauty of salvation through Christ alone. Christ alone provides salvation to any man that will turn to him and embrace his lordship. Christians, the world around us is looking for purpose, they are looking for value and they will only find it in Christ Jesus and his salvation that he offers through the cross.....share it with them...
Soli DEo Gloria,

My Family Loves the Lord..

2010-03-20T01:20:00.000-05:00

I have had the longest past couple weeks of my life. Don't get me
wrong I love writing papers, but I also love playing wow every once in while as well. I have been getting ready to graduate this May from the college of Biblical studies and for some reason I thought this would be a great time to go ahead and start Reformed Theological Seminary as well. Hence the papers..papers..papers..exam.

This week I had the chance to break away from the endless list of things to do and go away with my family (and very near future family Alisa) to the wonder land of Kerrville. My Mom had a few days off and she is a camping fool so we went up there this week for spring break. It was awesome to say the least. I love so much getting time to spend away from the house with my sister, mom, brother, and Alisa.

I couldn't help but think while we were there how wonderful God has been to my family the past couple years. Loosing my Dad summer 2008 is something that I don't really like to bring up or talk about, but it sometimes I can't help but think of him. Alisa and I on the ride up to Kerrville were listening to Old Country, Johnny Cash style, I just couldn't help but think of my ole pa. I don't really know why he didn't really like Mr. Cash, but he makes me think of him regardless.

As I went through the weekend enjoying my family I couldn't help but think of all the ways that God has been so faithful to my family. Even looking back on that summer in 2008 that sucked so bad God was so faithful to us. He has shown his mercy and his grace to us on account of his own goodness. Their is nothing that we can do but praise him for it. I have a great family because God enables us to bow down to his Lordship no matter the circumstances we are in. Praise be to the Almighty God who continues to be faithful to us, even when we doubt what he is doing.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Leadership is all about Vision..

2010-03-16T03:37:00.000-05:00

I have been working on this leadership paper now for awhile... It is my last paper for the college of Biblical studies before I graduate so I am trying to go out with a bang. So far it is 22 pages long (and its only half done) and I have revised it twice and I feel as if I could write 30 more pages easy. It has been fun to look back at all that I have learned about servant leadership and see how God has used what he has taught me throughout my time in the class.

One of the most compelling things that I have learned from this portion of my degree (the past 22 months) is that without vision as a leader you have nothing. Vision is the key to powerful influence. When I say Vision i am not speaking of a ecstatic dream from God himself, I am speaking of having the ability to notice problems and form quick captivating responses to those problems. Leaders get their influence from their vision. Where there is no vision there is no purpose and without purpose there is not life change. If a Leader is to change lives he is going to have to influence his followers with his vision for enacting the desired change.

In the church this plays out in a multitude of ways, but the concept remains true here as well. A lot of the time pastors and youth directors have "shoot from the hip" ministries. They have a general idea of what they are doing and the direction that they want to go in, but they have not sat down and thought through how to implement the most effective and certain ways to get there. In order for a ministry to be booming it has to know what the desired result for someone going through that ministry should be. There should be some type of goal for the end product of someone who has been involved in that ministry by the time they leave and go to college or move away from that church.

A proper and meaningful vision of a pastor or youth director gives a robust purpose to that particular ministry. People desire to follow passion and genuine community that strives after purpose. You can give people that in conducting your ministries according to a vision that is bigger than filling the calendar full of meaningless events and beginning to think of the big picture. Vision creates community and purpsose to every individual that is apart of it.
Soli DEo Gloria,

Life outside of the Garden..

2010-03-13T23:55:00.000-06:00

I often wonder what it would have been like to be in the Garden of Eden. I wonder what it would have been like to commune freely with God through a brand new creation. I have been looking at Genesis 4-5 for a while now preparing to teach at my buddies church this weekend. As I have looked at life outside the Garden of peaceful bliss I am reminded that one day I will inhabit a much greater garden filled with much more communing of God because of Christ alone.

It is hard to take ourselves back into the Old Testament a lot of the time. I think that most people don't go there because they think it has nothing to say to the church today. However, I strongly beg to differ. What is very important when we look at the Old Testament is that we understand the authors that are writing the books are not so concerned about accurate historical records as much as they are the theological importance of those actual historical events that took place.

For instance when we look at the book of Genesis, Moses the author is not only concerned with giving us information that shows us how and when the people "broke" out of Egypt, he is primarily concerned with using the historical account of the exodus to tell explain the blessing that awaits the people in communing with God again in the land that he has given them. Moses message is how much greater it is to go into the land that God has given us than to be in Egypt under bondage to Pharaoh.

We see this throughout his books. This is the theme that he uses to calm, and assure the people that their current wandering is not in vain for they are doing the right thing that God wants them to do. When we read this book we have to view it in this context as well as through the lens of Christ. Meaning thus, we are exiles away from the glory that was held in the Garden of Eden. We to are wondering through this life. However, instead of mana coming from heaven, and water coming forth from rocks, we have the bread of life that has come and given us sustenance in himself. We have the living water that upon our trusting in him we never thirst again. By his death and his resurrection he has paid our ransom securing our place in the future Garden where we will dwell with him forever.
Soli Deo Gloria,

Take care of the Widows..

2010-03-12T02:01:00.000-06:00

1 Timothy Chapter 5 deals with a subject that we overlook very often in our own lives. This book of 1st Timothy is a very amazing book. Written around the time that Nero was on the throne you could imagine what the Church was currently going through as they lived in the providences of the Roman Empire. However, as Paul points out not only is the church under the law of the Roman Kingdom, they are also under a much high authority. The church is under the authority of King Jesus and his kingdom.

The Book of 1st Timothy Paul writes to Pastor Timothy charging him make sure the church in Ephesus is conducting themselves according to the edicts of their supreme king, King Jesus. When we get to chapter 5 we notice that Paul gives commands for the widows to be taken care of. He even gives charges oh how to identify certain widows as being eligible for the services and attention of the church. Paul brings up something that I think many of us don't think about to often.

Paul brings up the point that if there are any members of a widows family that can take care of her, they (man/woman) they ought to. If they don't Paul goes so far to say that they are worse off than an unbeliever (5:8). If this is a command from the Lord, why are so many "Christians" so happy to be putting grandma in the nursing home? It seems as if God is saying here that the widow of your family is your responsibility. Yet many Christians cant wait to place their parents into these nursing homes.

Now I understand sometimes (maybe a lot more than I think) there are certain medical conditions that require 24 hour care and it is better for the elder widow that they go live in the nursing home. However for the most part why do we see more older people in the nursing homes that don't have any serious medical conditions? Paul is charging the church here that their responsibility to their parents s they get older and become widows is to take care of them. And this stands true today. We tend to forget the widows or push them off on others, but the truth is God is very concerned about them and their well being and he expects us to be as well.
Soli Deo Gloria,

Kingdom Living..

2010-03-09T19:12:00.000-06:00

I have grown up with such a ambiguous view of the kingdom of God. And I don't blame the churches that I went to I just think that the subject itself was not that important to them. It is not as if they didn't believe in the kingdom of God, but their view of the Kingdom was this far away place that really had no barring on there here and now. The kingdom was something that was coming in the future and didn't really impact how I lived my life now. Well, I guess it did have impact on the way that I was to share the gospel. Since the kingdom was coming in the future I needed to let as any people as I could know about the coming reign of Christ. One of the problems with this futuristic view of the kingdom is that Christ is reining now as we speak, therefore his kingdom to some extent is presently ruling over our lives.

One of the greatest implications that we pull this from is the way that Jesus teaches us to pray. "Thy will be done "on earth" as it is done in heaven. If we begin to honestly look at this facet of the Lords prayer we begin to see that Jesus wants his followers to pray that the will of Christ be done "on earth" as it currently is done in heaven. This can happen because to some extent the kingdom of God is already present here on earth. As the participants of the kingdom "do the will of God" his kingdom that is present one earth begins to resemble his heavenly kingdom more and more. Heaven is coming to earth in the end.

This realty impacts how I live my daily life Greatly! How I live my life helps or hinders the already present kingdom of God here on earth. Every Choice that I make either promotes the splendor of the kingdom or it denies the beauty and satisfaction of the kingdom. We live in a fallen and hopeless world and the only news that can encourage and provide hope is the glory of the Kingdom of God.
Soli Deo Gloria,

Another Geneva Moment..

2010-03-07T23:38:00.000-06:00

Teaching the Bible is very hard. There is so much that goes into it that people have no idea about. Preparation for Bible study probably the most crucial and most strenuous aspect of the venture. When one prepares to study the Bible, most of the time they have a selected audience in mind. For me it my youth that I have been ministering to for over a year now. I can honestly say that I love them with all of my heart and would give me life for their well being. The challenge that I have found is expressing that in my lessons and with my interactions with them.

Our staff meets Sunday morning to pray before the service. Typically we pray for the worship of our church as well as each other as we go off and minister to the various people in our church. Today one of the ministers that I highly respect and love as a male role model in my life prayed that for me that my teaching would not only be a good exegesis of the text but a great exegesis of our students that would sit in and listen to the lesson. This struct me in a very profound way.

One of the reasons Bible Study prep is so hard is because their is always so much to say about the text that is about to be studied however there is just not time to cover it all. Because of this pastors, Sunday school teachers and various ministers have to pray that God would allow them to cut what is not needed and keep what will impact their people the most. This no doubt is very difficult.

As I look back on the time that I have had with the students at my church and look foreword to the remainder time that I have with them I pray that God will give me great insight in how to teach directly into the lives of the students in our ministry. Although teaching the Bible literally takes all that I have physically and emotionally there still is no great joy in the world that teaching the Holy word of God. Nothing gets me more excited or more pumped than teaching the Bible and seeing God use my feeble attempts of proclaiming his word to advance his kingdom. There is nothing better in the world. I pray that the Lord would allow me to continue to proclaim his word until the day that I die.

RC Sproul was asked a while back when he would stop teaching the Bible. His reply "When you pry the Bible from my cold dead fingers". Amen and I say Amen.
Soli DEo Gloria,

"The blood of the Martyrs"

2010-03-07T02:09:00.000-06:00

Martyrdom has always been a subject of interest for myself. I have always found it so interesting how people can be so sold out for what they believe to actually give up their lives when their beliefs get challenged. The question that always get asked when a person begins to think about this subject is "would I do the same." I think that this is a valuable question that one can ask themselves when dealing with this topic but the reality is that I'm affair most of us when trying to answer this question (myself included) lie through our teeth.

religion has inspired many martyrs. Many people everyday give their lives up for what they believe to people who do not believe the same way. Let me say from the onset that just because you give your life up for something does not mean that it is actually true. I could die believing that I can fly, but everyone knows that flying for a human is not possible. However the fact that someone gives their life up for something does tell us that at least that person believes pretty strongly that what he is dying for is true indeed.

This I feel is very important when we are looking at the New Testament. The New Testament is full of stories of people willing to give their lives for the truth thatChrist is God. The amazing part about this is that many of the people that are willing to be killed were eyewitnesses of Jesus' life themselves. Although dying for something does not make it true, we as humans are not going to die for something that we know is not true. One the most powerful testimonies in all of the Bible are the men and women in the Book of Acts that give their lives up for the cause of Christ. Or at least were willing to suffer major hardship on his behalf. This in itself does not mean that what CHrist claimed about himself (being the son of God) is true, but it does mean that they being eyewitnesses of his life and teachings certainly thought he was who he claimed to be.

As we try and evaluate what it would be like in our own lives to die for the cause of Christ many of us conclude beyond a shadow of a doubt that we would die given the chance. I think that the better and more responsible response should be I pray that the Lord would empower me to give my life for his cause. Whether we are given the chance of Martyrdom of not it is very important that the church heed Tertullians words close to our hearts. "The seed of the church is the blood of the Martyrs" May the Church never forget those who gave their lives so that we could have the opportunity to carry on the name of our lord and savior Jesus Christ with so much ease and freedom.

Faith without Repentance..?

2010-03-04T02:54:00.000-06:00

I understand wanting to be right. I understand wanting to live and breathe what the Bible says. I even understand trying to change the churches mindset on issues that seem as they get poorly taught by others through the centuries. What I don't understand is why some would insist that salvation is given freely without repentance.

Repentance is such a monumental aspect of salvation. All over the Bible we see men and women of the faith coming to the faith by the same process of repenting of their current condition and asking God to change them by applying his righteousness to them. We see this in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. However there are those out their that insist that salvation is granted not on the basis of repentance but only on the grace of God. And furthermore to include repentance into the salvation process is adding a work to salvation which is unbiblical and wrong.

Don't get me wrong I believe in sola Gratia so much I have it tattooed on my arm ( Grace Alone gives salvation) but to say this is apart from repentance is less than great theology. For how can the grace of God effect the sinner unto salvation if they offer no repentance. It would be helpful I presume to offer what repentance I am referring to. I am not saying that a person has to even be aware of all the sins in their life (For the moment, and I stress for the moment) However a proper understanding of who God is reveals to the sinner their current sinful disposition and inevitably causes them to respond to God in repentance granting them salvation. Sin is not just what we do it is who we are, and when God begins the work of salvation inside of us we respond in repentance knowing that our mere presence before him is inherently sinful.

This is why so often the call of salvation has gone out under the banner of "repentance". Salvation can in no way be given to someone who is not abhorred by their present sinful condition. Abraham turned from his way and followed after God when he called. Isaiah uttered the famous words "woe is me" when he was faced with the presence of the almighty God. John the Baptist preaches repentance before belonging to the kingdom of God. Jesus himself calls people to leave all they have and follow after him. John boldly tells us in his epistle that if we say we have no sin the truth is not in us and we are liars if we say we have no sin.

Repentance was the difference between Peter and Judas. Both betrayed Christ, both experienced the grace of God during the incarnation however Peter truly repented unto salvation where Judas did not. Salvation is free, But it cost us everything. Repentance as well as salvation as a whole is not a human work it is a divine work. Paul tells us that it is the spirit in us that gives us the ability to call upon God and ask for his repentance. Without repentance why in the world would a sinner need Christ? It is for freedom of sin that Christ has set us free. Repentance is God given and in no way can be taken out of the Ordo Salutis by any means.
Soli Deo GLoria!

MIssions Sunday..New Project...Same end Goal

2010-02-28T14:09:00.002-06:00

Today was missions Sunday and I would like to remind you of the various ways God has blessed our ministry here at the Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church Student Ministry Missions Sunday is not the only time that our church expresses our longing heart for the development of missions in our Church. Missions truly exist in the very fabric of who we are here at CEPC. Why are missions so important to us?

Missions are important to us because this is the call that our Lord and savior has given us. The reformed tradition at large has been bashed for many years by people claiming that out "soteriology" (Doctrine of salvation) does not allow for a powerful development of missions to occur. This is an ambiguous claim that has no merit coming from the lips of our fellow brethren. It is because of our extreme value and dependance of God "causing" others to be born again that stimulates our passion for missions. If God were not the one that opens the hearts and the minds of those who don't know him than there would be no power in missions. Since God is the power behind all salvation to all peoples we join in the effort of making his gospel know throughout the world.

The overall mindset of the student ministry here at CEPC is to train young men and women to develop lifestyles where they 1) know the message of the Gospel well enough to express it to people that need the hope that only Christ can offer. 2) To train the students to become burdened for those people around them that don't know the good news of the coming of Christ and how that can impact every area of their life. 3) And to Teach the students how to turn conversations from pretty much any subject into a spiritual topic opening up the possibility of sharing the gospel with the people that they encounter everyday.

God has blessed are students and are leaders in many different ways through are participation with his gospel message. We have seen many people come to Christ and be trained up in what it means to be a disciple of Christ. We also have meet many various needs inside our own church and local ministries throughout the Houston area showing the love of Christ validating his message of hope and restoration that he provides through his son Jesus CHrist alone.

In order to do this we train all year long and we train hard! Our Students study various matters all year that teach them to trust in Christ in every area of their lives and not just on Sundays. Our head youth director Rob Oliphant desires to add another element to our ministry this year and that is various small groups throughout the city. Our ministry has great training on the corporate level during the week and on SUndays but one way that we feel we need growth is in the area of small group community.

Here is where you can help! If you aspire to be used by the Lord God in a mighty way leading a small group investing in students lives during the week or on weekends here is you chance. If you are wanting to help train up kids in the ways of the Lord let us know. We could always use your gifts in talents according to what they are at whatever capacity that you are willing to lend them. Consider leading a small group this semester or this summer, I will have more info soon about this matter but if this interest you can email me at Minister4848@yahoo.com. Remember missions is not just something that we do during the summer for a week or two, missions is how we are called to lived our everyday life for our lord and savior Jesus Christ as we trust in him and rely on his Lordship alone.
Soli Deo Gloria,

What is the Bible About...?

2010-02-26T23:07:00.000-06:00

Its so easy to get extremely frustrated when reading the Bible. I mean there are so many pages and so many names it is very easy to get lost inside the sacred text. How is this problem over come? Can it even be over come? I definitely with resounding enthusiasm say yes! The secret to reading the Bible is training ourselves to understand the Big picture that it is portraying.

What is the Big picture of the Bible? The Bible is simply a book about God himself. It is a book where he reveals to humanity who he is and by doing so he reveals who we are in light of that truth. One could say that it is impossible to understand the true human condition apart from what God tells us in the Bible. For this fact we should esteem the Bible with the utmost regard. At the same time I never want to give the assumption that the Bible does not speak to the current affairs to human life because it does. However, when we take the Bible as only "proverbs" for good living we find that we are not subjecting ourselves to all that the Bible truly has to say.

God is the creator of heaven and earth and he rules over his creations with majesty and love. This idea is developed from the first book of the Bible (Genesis) to the last book (Revelation). The majesty of God is seen in his initial creation of the world. God creates the world as an extension of his heavenly kingdom. He then places people (Adam, and Eve) or priest into his extension whereby they are to cultivate and upkeep the newly formed world keeping the standards by which God has placed for them. When humanity fails to keep the standards that God has set before them, God then sends his own Son to carry out the standards that he has set. Thus Jesus (God's own son) makes possible for those who trust in him to have his "standard keeping" life credited to their account based on his work of keeping the standard perfectly.

The Bible is the constant unfolding of this truth. The truth is that the Bible can be confusing at times but when this tenet of redemption through Christ is kept focal the Bible begins to come together a lot easier than before. The Bible is a book not about man but about the holiness of God and how Jesus came to restore that holiness that man has profaned by falling into sin. What a great story! What an even greater God!
Soli Deo Gloria!

The Dog Park...and the Gospel

2010-02-25T17:37:00.000-06:00

My dog is one of the joys of my life...well kinda...sometimes. Today I was made very aware of how wonder the Dog PArk is. The Park for Dogs that we have here in Katy is an "off leash" Dog Park" (Bark Park). Its pretty much the best thing ever. Whats even better than your Dog being able to run free in the Park is without a doubt the people that you meet.

I met a man today at the Dog park that had a boxer dog that looked just like mine. After exchanging a few words he immediately asked me what I did for a living. (this is the point in my conversations that people usually end the conversation when they find out that I am in the ministry) So I told him I worked in youth ministry and left it at that. As we talked I began to see something inside this man that was very interested in the fact that I seem to know a little bit about God. I found him telling me many of his hurts and his fears. I found him trying to find comfort in any type of penance that he could offer me.

In talked with this man for a while and tried to encourage him in his affairs as best as I could. I ended the conversation with telling him that I would love to speak with him again soon. You see here is a hurting man inside a Dog Park just literally looking for someone to listen to his hurts and problems. I can only imagine that this is more common than not. As Christians we are so quick to shove the Gospel or other dogmatic orthodox beliefs down peoples throats (Which the gospel is what the people need) we show complete lack of concern for the person that we are sharing the good news with. Christians let people know that you care about "them" until you go sharing the gospel on behalf of God. Unbelievers are hurting we have the answers to their pain and disappear which is only found in the Gospel of Jesus CHrist ALONE, but we convey this message with honor, respect and genuine love for the people that we are talking to.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Another Geneva Moment..

2010-02-25T04:07:00.000-06:00

It is always cool to be the teacher of a Good lesson and watch the people that you are teaching understand what is being communicated. It is another feeling altogether to be the teacher that teaches the bad lesson yet the people that are there listening still are influenced greatly. Tonight for me it was the later.

Just being honest here I love to teach but I hate dropping the ball. I love preparing for lessons but I hate not seeing them turn out like I would like them to. However, tonight I don't think that mattered. I don't think that mattered tonight because of how we decided to start the night off captivated the remainder of the night and dominantly became the focus.

We started this night off like we do most every other wednesday night, prayer, jokes, diet coke and lots of screaming. However, before hand my Boss Rob and I decided to show a the video of Indian Persecution before ramping the night away. If you have not watched the video I encourage you to find it on the internet and watch it. I told the students a brief warning that what they were about to watch was violent and disturbing but it is something that I feel we as Christians need to see to have a proper understanding of how the Christian life is lived out in other parts of the World. The response after viewing the video were astonishing. We have a group of students that love to voice their opinions when needed. They know lots of theology and have no problem spelling out the ordo Salutis. They will one day make fine lay members, deacons and elders. However, after watching the video of the christians in India being beaten for their faith they all were speechless.

Rob and I after word asked that we take 5 mins after the video and pray for the people in India that the Lord would provide strength and wisdom for the church their during this hard time. No one said a word. We sat their for literally 5-7 minutes of silence. The lesson that I was teaching that night was on "justification" during the duration of the lesson I kept referring back to Indian persecution and making the comment that the result of having a proper understanding of "justification" fuels these people to lay all that they have on the line for Christ. Justification was the banner on which the church lives out their daily lives there in India. They understand that they stand forgiven and made new by the almighty God that has created them and this encourages them to lay their lives down for the truth of the gospel everyday.

Our students had never seen anything like this before. Neither had I. However, even though I feel as if my lesson was a bomb due to lack of attention being paid during he study I can't help but feel as if it was tied to the deep conviction that was going through the minds of the students and myself after watching our brothers and sisters in India be killed before our eyes for the same truths that we have grown to love so dearly. No amount of money could buy this kind of reality check. No lesson could infuse this type of conviction. Tonight was a great night because I feel our students began to catch a glimpse of the larger vision of the church than just cokes and jokes. Pray for the people in India.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Rising Persecutions in India..

2010-02-24T04:01:00.004-06:00

At my Church we have Sunday a year that is devoted to mission and how our local body can get engaged in the surrounding areas around our church. I just saw this video from Justin Taylor's blog on current persecution going on in India. It is an incredible video, but please let me warm you it is real and it is rough. Watch prayerfully and discern. Parents please watch in your children are in the room you may want to take them out for a bit. Persecution in India

Let us join with our brothers and sisters in the name of Christ and pray for the people that are daily loosing their lives for the sake of the gospel. "The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the church"Tertullian

Soli Deo Gloria!

Faith in faith...

2010-02-24T03:12:00.000-06:00

I have been a Christian for about 10 years. Or at least I think 1o years. If I would have died before High school I really don't know what would have been my eternal resting place. What I am learning through what I am considering a major growth spurt in my Christian life is that I'm not sure that salvation can be pinpointed to a certain date and time for every single person that comes to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. I agree with all that I am that the requirements for such a conversion must be trust in Christ alone and his work, but I don't know if that necessitates me knowing an exact date and time of conversion. What if the reality of salvation is not a certain event in ones life but a journey by which God is teaching you to trust in him day by day?

Now don't get me wrong I affirm the Ordo Salutis along with best calvinist out there, but my concern is that we try so hard to pin point all the tenets of the process that we miss the beauty of the encounter altogether. The danger in doing this is risking trust in a certain event, or time and not in the God who capable alone of doing the work. This is what I mean if I am reflecting back on my salvation and my first question is "when" was I saved there is a problem with this. The problem is a serious lack of understanding that the same thing that saved me then is still presently saving me now! The event, the prayer, the person I was with matters little, what makes all the difference in he world is what am I trusting in today for my salvation. If my trust was valid then it is just as valid today so my question concerning my salvation needs no be where was I or what words did I use in my prayer..it needs to be what am I trusting in today to extinguish the guilt of my sins. Salvation is not given based on our faith in a previous experience from years earlier, salvation is granted by trusting in Christ today! Will you trust in Christ today for the forgiveness of your Sins?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Sola Scriptura Refutable?

2010-02-22T15:34:00.000-06:00

I read the other day this blog the other day that was bashing Steve Brown (RTS Professor) for his apparent usage of teaching of a Grace in the church class. Many of his reasons for not liking the class of Steve Brown I feel were very weak and simply a far stretch. However there was one guy who posted a comment on the blog stating that Sola Scriptura was refutable. Now I understand that not all Christians are as persuaded by the Reformed Tradition as I am (although I wish they were) I don't see how claiming Sola Scriptura is refutable is even slightly attainable for any evangelical conservative Christian.

Sola Scriptura is a Latin Phrase that means "The Scripture alone". It was the anthem of Martin Luther and the reason for the start of the Reformation in the 16th century. Martin along with other Chrisians felt that the catholic Church at large had missed the boat when it came to salvation and where it was to be found and how it is to be given. The answer that the catholic church was giving the people was salvation was produced in Christ by means of the sacraments as well as monetary endowments to the church itself. However, if you have read the Bible for more than 30 seconds you can tell that it has much more and much less to say about the topic of salvation that this! It has much more in the sense that the Bible places mucho grande importance on faith in Christ death and resurrection and trusting in that. It places much less in the sense that it communicates this is the only means of salvation possible.

There are no other means of salvation apart from the work of Christ on the cross. And this in itself needs nothing added to it! Martin Luther felt the weight of this truth contained in the Holy Scripture and decided to fight the catholic church on this issue or adding anything to or taking anything away from this divine truth. So the question becomes what is the Christians highest authority? The answer should be a no brainer, namely the Bible. The Bible is the final source of authority and the true revelation from God where he distinguishes what true reality. Christians feel free to reject Reformed Theology, reject it outright if you must, however embrace Sola Scriptura! Without Sola Scriptura the church has no legs to stand on. The Bible is the first and last authority and the way by which God communicates with his church. Again I plead with my brothers and sisters embrace Sola Scriptura!
Soli Deo Gloria,

In Anticipation of Future Marriage...

2010-02-21T00:22:00.000-06:00

There has been many eye popping jaw dropping moments in my Church history class on many different occasions. However, none as brought quick humility to me as looking deeper into the life of Tertullian. There are many things that he did and believed that I outrightly reject. Such as his view of the trinity, his view of modern need for prophetical gifts and so forth. However, one thing that I feel he nailed was how he viewed what a Biblical marriage should look like. Seeing the possibility of my marriage in the very near future one thing that I pray is that Alisa and I are able to love each other like Christ loves the church. However, I understand that is a great church phrase that we really have no clue what it means. I think Tertullian can really help us out with his amazing description of marriage.

"How beautiful, then, the marriage of two Christians, two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice. They are as brother and sister, both servants of the same Master. Nothing divides them, either in flesh or in spirit. They are, in very truth, two in one flesh; and where there is but one flesh there is also but one spirit. They pray together, they worship together, they fast together; instructing one another, encouraging one another, strengthening one another. Side by side they visit God's church and partake of God's Banquet; side by side they face difficulties and persecution, share their consolations. They have no secrets from one another; they never shun each other's company; they never bring sorrow to each other's hearts."- Tertullian

In an age where marriage is something that people like to jump into and then run out of it is encouraging to hear Tertullian calling us back to the fundamental beauty of what marriage proposes. My prayer is that the church would be a people that loves the institution of marriage as much as God does. My personal prayer is that as Alisa and I head this direction in our vision of future marriage we will keep these thoughts central. I pray that our future marriage will reveal the beauty of the institution of marriage and show the larger picture of the churches marriage to God himself.
Soli Deo Gloria!

I am a Christian...

2010-02-20T03:26:00.000-06:00

The idea of religious persecution is very foreign to us in the American Church. Yeah Yeah I know it's tough getting made fun of by people that are not Christians, and I know how difficult it is when our pastors go over their time making us miss the opening kickoff on football Sunday. Beside these "brutal" persecutions we really have it quite nice here being a Christian in US. This is both encourages me and worries me to death.

Have we ever considered what the early church really went through in the name of Christ? Can we even imagine a world where we are not able to gather on Sundays and praise our Lord as we please? This is what the early church had to go through. During the 1st to 4th century being a christian literally meant loosing all that you had including your life. When people confessed to being a Christian they were telling the world that they were willing to die for what they believed. The early church was hated by the Roman Government that it dwelled inside of. Rome hated the Christians for one main reason..the Christians were awkward. The Christians didn't offer sacrifices to the Emperors (or the caesars), they did not recognize any other deity other than a Jew named Christ. They also met in secret and talked about eating and drinking that Jesus guys blood and body (the Lord's Supper) and they frequently greeted one another with genuine love and concern unlike other normal people. Lastly Rome thought the Christians were weird because they were always pledging their allegiance to this kingdom that appeared to not exist anywhere but in the minds of the Christians. These things paved the way for Rome to begin to blame the Christians when trouble would arise.

In the early church it really meant something when a person said "I am a Christian". It spoke volumes to the way that they would be treated by their own government. It spoke volumes about how the people would treat their lives in general. Many Christians were hated by the romans so much for their devotion to Christ that the Roman people and their caesars would kill them or take away their property or whatever they had. 100's of Christians lost their lives for their devote faith in Christ because they were not willing to wavier based on who they knew Christ to be and the truth that he represents. Can we say the same for ourselves? Can we honestly say that in this era we have the same type of commitment to the lord that has saved us? Or have we become to worried about wearing the right Christian T-Shirts and saying the right Christian words, that we have forgotten that our faith and our God demands us to be different from the world that we live in. Just because we live in a country that does not kill us for believing in Christ does not mean that we need to lighten our commitment to him. We all under the name of Christ need to be willing to suffer for the sake of his name. If we are not willing to suffer for his name are we truly worthy to tell people "I am a Christian?'

Deep Friendships..

2010-02-19T07:21:00.001-06:00

I am convinced that when striving for genuine community one of the most important factors is the desire for deep friendships. While this may seem like a no brainer in abstract thinking the implications of this are huge. The truth is that most of us truly don't have many friends that we would consider "Deep Friends." What I mean by deep friends are friends that are aloud and encouraged to ask the hard questions in your life. Those friends that have no problem telling you what they think about your current life affairs. Those friends who love you enough to hurt your feelings when it is needed. Sure everyone has friends, but if we are honest how many "deep friends" do we have?

It is vital to the christian life that we develop these types of friends. So how does one embark on the journey of finding these type of friends? What does a deep friend even look like? Well for starters I will address what I think these friends look like. A deep friend is one that is constantly asking you the right questions. Great questions a lot of times are the key to great friendships. Im not talking about questions concerning everyday life but questions that we wont ask ourselves because we don't like the answers that we have to give. Questions like how are you really doing these days (and meaning it), or can I help you with anything (and meaning it), or even will you help me with this (and meaning it). True community is based on deep friendships where friends ask each other the hard questions. This is not to say that you can't have a deep friendship where you both enjoy talking about the olympics, but does your conversation ever go deeper than male figure skating? Do your friends ever ask about your life and how you are responding to certain situations? Secondly, "deep friends" are the people that you can go to get the truth of the matter not what you want to hear. The fact is we are not as great as we think that we are and we need others to tell us the truth when we are not in the right (which is often). We need people checking our motives in different areas of our lives all the time.

Third, "deep friends" encourage one another s walk with Christ. The Christian is not a solo act. It is a public declaration of allegiance to Christ as one body with many members or people. If we think that we can go through life as Christians by our selves we are fools! So where do we find these "deep friends"? Let me be honest with you finding deep friends is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It is nearly impossible because they don't have a certain physical hangout where they all gather. The secret to finding great "deep friend" is deciding that you want to be a "deep friend". When you start treating people the way that a "deep friend" would treat you then before you know it you will have people naturally gravitating toward you because they too want a "deep friend". People want a friend that they can rely on, a friend that will go through real life with them. We have enough fake people in the world today we really don't need anymore. At the end of the day the human heart cries out for true companionship that will go beyond the surface and strive hard to build the other person up. Finding a "deep friend"can not be done unless we decide first that we are going to be a "deep friend". At the end of the day my prayer is that our friendships like every other aspect of our lives bring honor and glory to our lord and savior Jesus Christ. True community has to have "deep friendships".
Soli Deo Gloria!

How does community begin..

2010-02-18T15:52:00.000-06:00

It is not very often that really think about how we operate on a daily basis. Most of us have very fast paced lives that demand that we focus on what our next step is rather than why we are taking it. If we were to slow down I think this may lead to our demise. Why is it that most humans keep themselves so busy with things that they are going to leave behind when they die? Everyone knows that life is just for a while so why do we focus our time and energy on things and relationships that will not last?

It was Blaise Pascal that told a story of how the sinfulness of man plays out on normal basis. Man knows deep down that his days are numbered. As time progresses the reality of this truth becomes more and more apparent. Instead of dealing with this reality humanity begins to suppress this truth. We begin to burry it inside and make the choice not to deal with it. We replace the cognitive awareness of death that is coming on us so fast for other things. Instead of contemplating death and the afterlife we decide to hang out at the bar, or we fill our lives with sports. This different things keep our minds far away from the reality that our day is coming when we will not be here on this earth anymore. These things in themselves are not bad, but the enjoyment of these can only truly be found in light of the reality that they are here for a moment and greater things are to come.

I think the first step that can bring us back to a proper understanding of these things is placing ourselves among a group a people that are concerned with a proper understanding and awareness that death is coming one day for all people. A community like this can only be found in the church. By the church I mean people who are fully devoted to Jesus Christ and his Lordship. It is not everyday that we find ourselves placing ourselves around people who actually contemplate the reality of death. Christians need to do this for the very reason that they are the only people in the world that actually have a voice on this subject. With out Christ there is no hope, no peace of mind, no prosperity to come. Christ through his life and death gives us the reason to bring up the subject of death. And he gives his church a podium to speak from concerning the issue. Let us stop hiding from the conversation of death. Let us stop replacing the idea of death with other things that will not have lasting effects when we leave this world. Let us find a community of people that are concerned about the after life ands engage with them as we seek to live lives that matter and bring praise and glory to the king of kings and the Lord of Lord namely Jesus Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Stronger by numbers..

2010-02-17T01:25:00.000-06:00

I use to think that being a Christian meant following certain rules, not having sex until I am married and going to church except when it rained (those were free pass days). And the truth is I feel as if my thoughts on the Christian life are pretty common. I heard Richard Pratt a couple months back say that the typical atheist and the typical Christian actually have a lot in common as far as what they want out of life in the end.

If you were to ask any moral atheist what would he like to accomplish during this life he would probably reply, "He would like to have a family, take care of his wife, make enough money to live off of during his working years to retire pulling the same income and pass away softly in his sleep at the ripe age of 80"

If you were to ask a Christian what he would like to accomplish he would probably reply that he would like, " To have a family, ake care of his wife, make enough money to live off of during his working years to retire pulling the same income and pass away softly in his sleep at the ripe age of 80," The truth is there is not much that separates the mindset of Christians and atheist these days when they think about what contribution they would like to leave behind as they pass into the next life. We are all about individual prosperity.

One of the reasons that this is a problem is because their is a serious lack of care about authentic community in the church today. Community is what holds the church together and it is seriously neglected today. I feel that the reason that the purpose of most Christians is a lacking in Biblical flavor is because they are not apart of a thriving Biblical community that is working hard after seeing the tenets of the Lord prayer come into reality. The Christian community at large neglects community for the idea that we are lone rangers in this life and this life is all about how we can seek out that rich retirement pulling the same income as when we worked.

The Christian life was never designed to operate like this. The Christian community thrives on groups namely local bodies of Christians striving on working toward one goal and seeing that goal come to fruition. In Order to play our part in the Christian life we have to understand that we can't be effective without our other brothers and sisters in Christ. Individual Christians are not the answer to a hopeless world, the church at large is the answer to the hopeless world. When we begin to understand this our goal of making the will of God known here on earth as it is in heaven a tangible objective to be grasped. Without extreme care about community individualism will continue to contaminate the Church as make us all less effective than we should be. It is only in true community that our purpose is made clear and hope is offered.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Here come the Prophets...

2010-02-15T20:54:00.000-06:00

Consider the prophets...

Mangy, rugged and practically insane yet one of the most dynamic aspects of redemptive history. If you have been to a church at any point you have heard at least one story from what is known as the prophetic portion of scripture. (By prophetic I mean the books that contain the accounts of the prophets of Israel) But have we really taken into account how these cool stories fit into the entire message of the Bible? It is very common for people to get so wrapped up in the stories of the prophets that they tend to quickly forget the message of the prophet and how that relates to the overall message of the Bible.

What was the role of the Prophet? The prophet's job is twofold.

1) The prophet relays the message of God to the people

2) The prophet call the people to repent and trust in the Lord with all their lives.

I'm pretty sure I grew up thinking that the prophets were like super heros and their main purpose was to show off that power throughout their books. As I have grown up a bit I have begun to understand the prophets are not just super heroes that show off their power throughout the Bible but in reality the prophets were normal men that God used to progress his message of redemption by his own power not theirs.

The prophets are not just fortune tellers, or soothsayers or necromancers telling the people the future. The prophets ministry as a whole is hearing the word of God relying that message to the people so that the people would repent and turn to God. Now a great portion of prophecy that we have seen come to pass has been stated by the prophets but we must not limit their role on their role as fortune tellers. As we begin to dig into the prophetical books I pray that we will take heed of their words and find out that their purpose is to relay the very message of God to the people SO THAT repentance becomes to focus of God's chosen people. Not very much different than ours eh??

Know your Roots...

2010-02-12T05:38:00.001-06:00

I remember when the Green Bay packer's were the best team in football. Now I am not a football analysis and you may disagree with my assessment but never the less I remember when they were a dominating force in the NFC. But since then what has happened? I mean they are no detroit lions, but they definitely are not the team that America cheered for in the late 90's when they sent home the Denver Bronco's without a superbowl ring. I think it is safe to conclude that since then the "studs" of the team have dismembered into their own various locations the caliber of play in Green Bay is not what it once was. However, there are as many cheese heads as there ever have been in Lambeau field every sunday.

In the same way with the original apostles dying off the early church was left with men that loved the lord but did not have the same "powerful"charisma as those who literally learned the faith from the feet of Jesus. this is not to say that the patristics (early church fathers) did a poor job in their part of continuing the practice of our faith but they were no Peter, or Paul. I bring this up not to say that their contribution in redemptive 9history was less important but to make us think if we truly understand how great and powerful the impact of the apostles really was.

A lot of the time I think that we undermine the ministry of the Apostles in the sense that we think what they accomplished was no big deal. We tend to think of their efforts as great contributions to the faith in the absences of Christ, but we fail to understand that were the frontline of the Church expansion process. The way that they handled the establishment of the church as well as how they combated divisions in the church was done better and more efficient than we could ever dream of doing. Their message that they taught was never unclear and the gospel that they preached changed them as well as the audience that heard. The Apostles truly represented our Lord bringing news of his holy reign throughout much of the eastern world. Their stories are not just vague boring myths that have been passed down from the centuries making there way into your church, but they are stories of how Go used his original disciples to change the course of history forever.

If we look at the ministries of the apostles and the lives that they impacted by the power of the message that they proclaimed we find out fast nothing ever has been replicated to that magnitude since. The dawn of the gospel message was fearlessly brought by these men to a hostile world that was always trying to cut them off. I love Church history especially reformation history. However, I have to be honest the reformation in all its glory can't touch the powerful development of the gospel and the impact it had on the world like we see in the ministries of the disciples of Christ. And being even more honest what makes the reformation and other great awakenings so great is that they are all movements getting the church at large to go back to how the apostles operated during the onset of that 1st century.

One of my fears of the church today is that we don't know enough about that glorious time in the first century. I think if most Christians were honest they would admit that they have never ever read the book of Acts for themselves. This is not right. How are we suppose to continue the legacy of Christ if we don't have an idea of his own followers did? Or are we so arrogant that we think we do things so great that the impact that the apostles had on the easter world are outdated and not applicable to us today? My prayer is that we would understand that we come from a long line of Christ followers who have lived and share the truth of Christ well. If we are to carry the torch should we not at least concern ourselves with the men and women who happened to do it the best? Think about it.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Have you ever wondered..?

2010-02-11T07:29:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to be apart of the early church? One of the downfalls of the church in America is that with our ipods and iphones we tend to forget to consider what church in the first century must have been like. I suppose that it would have been a lot different than our churches today. Even though the times have changed, the methods have changed it still helps our churches a great deal to look back frequently at the birth of the church and how it functioned then opposed to now.

I am taking my first class from RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary) this semester in Church History. (You have no idea how great it is to be back in a Bible class) One thing that I often think about is the church during the time of the reformation. I am inspired and in awe of the men that God used to literally change the world during that time. If I had a time machine one of the things that I wish I could go back to would be the school in Geneva that John Calvin started for the people. I have often wondered what it would be like if I could sit in his class as he taught the word of God with such passion his savior and compassion for his people.

On a small scale I feel like I got to experience that last night in our weekly Bible study that we do for our students on Wednesdays. I have been teaching through the westminster confession of faith this semester and it has been amazing I feel for them as well as myself. Last night was probably one of my favorite nights because we happen to be dealing with one of my favorite topics. The chapter that we were covering was chapter 10 entitled "of Effectual Calling." Effectual Calling can be summarized by "the act of God to redeem his people, calling them to himself and enabling them to respond to the gospel securing their salvation by imparting Jesus righteousness to them." It is a great blog subject so I wont go any deeper than that for now.

It was soooooo cool to see the kids faces as I taught this complex subject. Like I said this is one of my favorite topics so I tend to throw it into whatever I am teaching but tonight was different. It was different in the sense that I feel like I saw some lights go off in the students eyes like never before. It is one thing to understand that you are a Christian because it fits logically for you in your mind, or because you said a prayer and the pastor patted you on the head. However, there is a new joy in trying to understand what exactly has brought about our redemption. It is another hope that rises when we see for ourselves what all goes into a persons salvation. I feel this is what Calvin experienced in teaching the scriptures to his people. I am not saying that I am as good a teacher as Calvin or anyone else from the reformation at all. But what I saw tonight was amazing simply because all we did was look at how majestic and complex the plan and the action of salvation truly is. A plan of salvation so great can only come from the truly great God. Praise God for providing redemption for his people!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Harsh Grace...Can that Be?

2010-02-09T19:49:00.000-06:00

The Reformed community gets a bad wrap for a lot of things all the time. It use to bother me a great deal, but now I sit back and think to myself "Are these people thinking through the accusations that they are making?" The biggest and oldest complaint to the Reformed community is that we are mean calvinist. We are elitist pigs, or we have no heart. While I have to admit this describes perfectly my life as an early calvinist I must say once one gets over the cognitive arrogant mindset that they are chosen cause Romans 9 says God Chooses people, and really begin pondering the implications of the doctrines of grace it breaks every bone of pride that you have in your body. People get so caught up in the argument that they loose sight of the beauty that comes out of the reality that God handcrafts his church to enjoy his salvation forever with him. What room is there for arrogance in that, you had nothing to do with it!

Is it not the doctrine of Grace that truly provides God's love the most coherent and majestic? Think about it, none deserve salvation, all humans have defiled the holiness of God and wished that he would die so that we could be God! Yet....in our most defiant moment against out creator Christ died for us. Does not Romans 5 indicate that "while we were yet still sinners.....Christ died for us." The doctrines of grace provide the best explanation for this and many other verses. While humanity was rebelling against their creator he still chose to reveal himself to some when no one deserved it. And God reveals himself to all types of people not just people that are smarter than others and can choose him. Not just people who live in America and are blessed with bountiful resources containing the gospel printed on it. No God rich in his mercy to show the world how glorious and majestic he is chose to choose a people for himself. A kingdom of Priest that will forever rule with him.

The doctrines of Grace are not mean, they are not rude, they are not wrong. They are the means by which God builds his church. This is the way that God has always done it and this is the way that he will continue to do it till the day that Jesus comes back. All we can say is praise the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord, for he alone is worthy of our Praise!
Soli Deo Gloria,

Accused...

2010-02-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

There really are lot of blessings that I have experienced in my life. There is no way that I could ever count the ways that God has been good to me, because the list would be endless. However, there is always this little voice inside of me telling me that I am not worthy of the grace of my God. That voice brings to remembrance all the pain and agony that I have caused myself and others. That voice is always telling me what a fool I am in and how I deserve no divine benevolence from the gracious God almighty. And you know what..in the words of "Shane and Shane" that voice, the devil; he is right......

My life is a gross opposition to that which could be considered holy and just. It makes no sense that a perfect and holy God would by his own merit and freedom chose me to be a vessel of his mercy. It makes no sense, but like Paul says the wisdom of God seems as foolishness to man. Man does not understand what God has in store for those that he loves. One thing is for sure, I have never done anything that would make me worthy of the blessings and hope that Christ has given me so freely, however has done it anyway. He as given me the greatest blessing of all which is himself. He has enabled me to come before the throne of Grace and worship him as I have been created to do. My prayer for the church and myself is that we begin to ponder the implications of this truth. "We love God because he first loved us." We by our own sin separated ourselves from God, but God rich in mercy through Christ has brought us once far off now very near.

When the devil reminds us of our lack of righteous acts we can always agree with him in his accusation. The truth is we will never have enough righteous acts. This is why we the church trust not in our own righteous acts , but only in the righteous acts of Jesus Christ. It is only the righteous acts of Christ that can provide salvation for sinners. So while Satan accuses the church for the less than righteous acts that we commit, intercedes on our behalf as his children.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Missional living..

2010-02-06T04:01:00.001-06:00

I think one of the greatest tragedies of the recent protestant church has been the decline of the missional mindset among the local congregation. By missional mindset what I do not mean is we have stopped sending out missionaries into remote parts of the world, but what I do mean is that we have stopped thinking of ourselves as local missionaries. To be missional minded means that we the people of God, his royal priesthood, live our daily lives always thinking of how we can communicate the gospel that we "love" with those around us that don't know or have ever heard the gospel. To live missionally minded means doing intentional gospel promoting things around unbelievers for the purpose of sharing our current blessing of Christ with a hopeless world.

For many of us this is this is a brand new idea of Christianity. Although If we were to glance at the New Testament we would find this type of behavior frequently happening in and around Christians. So what has happened? Why has the call of the believer changed from living missionally ourselves to making sure that we give our money to professional missionaries so they can go 10,000 miles away and share their faith with those people? Well the call has not changed, therefore we must get back doing missional living as we should.

What does missional living look like? What does it mean to be intentional in my conversations with unbelievers? Such great questions like these and others surround the idea of missional living. While they are good questions there are also good answers for them. First it is very important for us to understand that when Christ called us to join his team, when he placed us into his kingdom he didn't just take hell away from us he gave us a new identity with a new purpose. That new purpose is worshiping God on earth as he is worshiped in heaven (Matthew 6). This is accomplished by his church being very intentional about this mission. This mention should drive our thoughts and our desires. This should be effecting every area of our lives. We should pick out or clothes based on what is going to give God the most glory spreading the worship of him on this earth. What music should I listen to so that his name is made great here like it is in heaven. How should I manage my time, so that God's named is praised on earth as it is in heaven by what I devote my self too. (Feeling slightly guilty for playing World of Warcraft for 4 hours tonight now)

Th beauty of living misionally with here where we are at is it gives no believer precedence over another. A lot of times we think that if we are not in full time ministry than we are excluded from that purpose of making God's name great here on this earth as it is in heaven. This is simply not the case nor will it ever be an excuse worth saying. The beauty of the mission that Jesus has given us (to make his father's name great) is that the mission itself transcends whatever occupation that you have! It doesn't matter what you do for a living whether you are a Doctor,Teacher, Plumber, King, Dentist, Architect, or homeless we all have the same mission. In fact God wants those occupations inside his kingdom because he uses all those to reach different people that others can't reach. God uses us right where we are for his purposes.

Knowing this purpose is half the battle, the other half is then being very intentional with how we go about it. Know that your call in life is to share the glory of Christ with those who don't know him because this is how the kingdom of God advances in this world and this is how God will be worshiped here as he is in heaven. Being intentional can take on many forms. It looks different for every Christian. Maybe you need to ask a coworker out for lunch, or over to your house for a dinner. Maybe you need to take 5 mins out of your day and ask someone who you know is hurting how their day is. Maybe you have a friend that is struggling with money and you know you could spare some. Give it to them go without your starbucks for a week, or your world of warcraft monthly subscription for a month. Whatever you decide to do do it with the intention of sharing the glory of Christ with them so that they may repent and turn to Christ. This is how the gospel works by us sharing it! When we do share the gospel we can reset assure that God is advancing his kingdom and we are fulfilling our purpose of sharing the glory of God here on earth as it is in heaven. Is this your intention as a believer? Are you living a missional life where you are?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Too Harsh..?

2010-02-03T19:43:00.000-06:00

There are some things in the Christian faith that really are just plain hard to understand. And if they are not hard to understand that means we haven't put enough time into thinking about the things the Bible is communicating. I grew up in a very conservative evangelical Christian church that loved the Lord yet refused to deal with the hard concepts of the Bible. I think they refused to deal with them because the implications of them doing so would possibly lead to a revolution inside our church. That or maybe they thought that certain topics in the Bible were just not good Sunday fellowship hall material. Or maybe some issues in the Bible didn't seem to lead well into the weekly altar call. I don't know why my church negated such material but they did. So what did they leave out?

It's not as they left out certain Bible passages, or negated any fundamental Biblical characters or content. However, what they left out was the girth of the Bible. The "girth" of the Bible is what holds up the tenets that we find in the Bible. The girth of the Bible is what most theologians call prevenient grace. It is the guiding force behind how God moves throughout the entire Bible. It is the means by which Jesus' death would be applied to Church. It is the power of God seen in the lives of sinners. It produces the ability for humans to into into worship with God himself. Prevenient Grace is the the grace that is applied beforehand so that a natural man is thus able to respond to his maker as he was created to do so. Why was this concept not talked about, because it seems to harsh. (oops I got to teach now...to be continued)

The Beauty of Theology...

2010-02-02T05:31:00.002-06:00

So many times in life Christians get so involved in the newest “Christian” fad or the hottest Theological discussion going on that we forget the very roots that make us Christian. I have learned in my venture in Biblical Studies that it can be very easy to study about our faith, verses trying our best to practice our faith. I am all for the Christian obtaining all the knowledge he can about the God that he serves. However, when that knowledge does not turn into a deeper service sin tends to set inside that person. Is our drive for information truly to deepen our own personal Holiness? Or is it so we can make other Christians inferior to the theological facts we can spit at will to them? Theology is a glorious danger. It is glorious because it teaches us who God is in light of who we are. It helps us understand our purpose in this life. It shows us how to treat one another and how to worship God. At the same time it is dangerous because the more we know the harder it becomes to desire humility. What a contradiction the human heart is! Only the depraved human heart could take something as beautiful and wonderful as theology (the study of God) and turn it back for self gratification! The paradox is that the more that we know about God the more we should want to humble ourselves and practice the faith he has given us to share with a hurt and dyeing world. How does one avoid this? How do we as the people of God who are responsible for knowing the God that we serve and worshiping him in spirit and in truth do this task of theology?

1) Pray, (understanding our sinfulness) asking the Lord to give you a disposition that is seeking him. It really does start with motives. What is the reason that you want to study theology or the Bible in a greater detail? If the reason is anything other than the desire to love God as you ought, pray for that. 2) Balance Christian Theological book with raw Bible reading. As much as I love books on theology I have to remind myself that the Bible is the book on theology. The Bible is the revelation of God himself if I don’t know the inspired word of God Calvin’s Institutes is going to do nothing but make me a reformed jerk when I’m done with it. The Bible is a life giving source that makes theology books worth reading. Sometimes Christians forget this (including myself). It is a lot easier to go to the Christian book store and pick up a book on supralapsarianism than to read what the Bible says about my salvation and outworking of my faith should look like. 3) Understand theology and the study of it should be for the encouragement of the church body. What is the point of learning so many hard concepts of theology if it is not for the uplifting of the entire church body. More than often the opposite occurs. Theology tends to cause Christians to fight not come together but stay apart. This my friends is not the point nor the beauty of theology. Theology address very important complext areas of our God and his work for the sole purpose of building up the church with encouragement that of God is the only true living powerful God of this universe that is worthy of praise. The greater the knowledge of God should result in the greater love for God and his people. However, our motives have to be checked, our hearts must be right with God, and our attitude must be to uplift the church promoting our majestic father. Then and only then is theology done beautifully.

Soli Deo Gloria

There is hope

2010-01-31T02:38:00.000-06:00

I have been mulling over Mark 15 the pat couple days. I have been teaching through the book of Mark for a year now since I have been at my Church. Finally Mark 15 has to do with the crucifixion of Christ so by definition it is a hard book to study more less teach. It's weird because as I read the verses that are contained in this chapter I am so quick to judge outright the characters in the story that reject Jesus. I find it so easy to sit in my room on my mac and think to myself, "what are you thinking spitting on him!" "What do you mean you find fault with him!" "What do you mean by mocking the king of this universe telling him to save himself if he can, are you not aware of who you are talking to?" As I begin to pry deeper into the words that convey the account of my saviors death I begin to see something different than I have ever seen before. I begin to hear things that I never have heard before. As the video of the account begins to play in my mind one of the soldiers I start to recognize. The sound of the scribe shouting at Christ begins to sound very familiar. The thief hanging next to Jesus scoffing at him reminds me of someone I knew very well. Slowly but surly I begin to see myself in the story of Christ crucifixion.

I see myself not as the hero that is standing by christ in the last moments of his life on earth. I don't see myself sharing the news of who Christ is with the people around me. No I see myself as the villain in the most vile death of all time. What separates me from the true victims of the story? The answer is nothing on my own accord! The commonalities between the villains that mocked and killed Jesus and myself are dime a dozen. However, there is one massive difference. The difference is repentance that has been allotted to me by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What separates believers from the killers is no contribution of our natural limitations. Left to ourselves we all would have gladly participated in the blood bath that is pouring from the cross, if not the grace of God. By grace God reveals himself to many so that the cross appears as more than wood to torture sinners but wood that once held salvation for sinners. By grace we understand that Jesus being mocked for being the king of the Jews was indeed was a true characteristic of himself. By grace we understand that the true power would not have been demonstrated by Jesus getting off the cross, but God power was displayed in all majesty when he stayed on the cross, carrying the curse with him in death.

What is the hope of the world? It is nothing more and nothing less than the power of God seen in the cross of Christ. There are so many things to hold on to dear in this life. However all things are counted loss when placed before the cross and its significance in redemptive history and in our personal lives. Trust in the Lord he is the hope for salvation.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Who is in Control?

2010-01-28T03:40:00.000-06:00

There are so many things in life that I wish I could control. However, it is very important for the Christian to understand as bad as things get, God is still in control and things are unfolding exactly as he has seen fit to unfold them. This is such a hard concept that many good Bible teaching, preaching, living Christians just refuse to deal with. The general idea among Christians is "yeah yeah God is big and in control but I do what I want when I want." We quickly forget that God has given each one of us a purpose empowerment to fulfill that purpose for his glory an our joy.

You can only have it one way either, God is the supreme authority in the universe, or man is the supreme authority in the universe. Even though for Christians this should be a no brainer, a lot of the times we disregard this fundamental Biblical truth. Please know that cognitive assent to this truth is disregard in practical living. If we say that God is the one that is working on his plan and will on this earth and live in such a way that says that "we" and the authority that this world is under, what message is being sent? The idea of the Christian life that Jesus taught is not how God fits into your picture of life, but how do you fit into Gods reality of life? David tells us in Psalm 115 "The Lord sits on his throne and does whatever he pleases." And again in Psalm 135 "What the Lord Pleases he does." God is not a God that is confound to please our specific situation in life, it is quite the opposite. I try to tell my students at least every time that I see them to take pleasure in the fact that God sustains himself. God exist for his own glory! He exist to communicate how great he is! The mystery is why in the world he involves us in that plan! There is not greater source of comfort than knowing that God is the one in control and that we are not.

One of my pressing fears for the Christian community is the idea of being indifferent to the supreme authority of God. To even bring up the subject makes you a Clavin Nazi off the bat and this should not be so. One of the greatest Comforts of the Christian faith in knowing that our life is not our own, our body is not our own, but is the very vessel and dwelling place of the almighty God of this universe. It is comforting to know that no matter what evil event comes to pass God is still on his throne and he is still the king of Kings and Lord of Lords. One thing is for sure Christ will build his church. He will do it by means of the blood and the sweat of the saints. Our hope lies in the fact since he is the one building it we can be assured that 1) it will happen, and 2) we will be apart of it because he has qualified us to do so. Take joy brothers and sisters that we are not in control, but God is. Yield to his will and the most terrible of situations will be seen as what they are, events paving the way for the kingdom of God on earth to be as the kingdom of God in heaven.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Is being a Christian cool?

2010-01-26T22:41:00.002-06:00

I always hear that peoples number one fear in life is public speaking. Seeing as my desire is to be a pastor one day you can imagine that relating to this generalization proves to be quite difficult. I have another proposal of humanities greatest fear that may encompass all other fears an that is the fear of not being "cool." I truly believe that this is the driving force behind all other fears. People tend to care about how others perceive them whether they admit it or not. For all those "strong people that say they don't care how other's perceive them just ask them to go run around their local mall naked. They won't and when they don't ask them why? When they make up an excuse know the driving force behind their actions is they don't want people to think they are weird and not "cool."

One of my growing concerns for the church today is the mindset that in order to attract people to the church the church has to become "cool." I don't have the time nor the energy to go into all the intricate details of why this makes me throw up in mouth but I will lay a couple out and let you chew on them. 1) what exactly does it mean to be "cool?" I think if we are honest with out assessment of what cool is we will find that being cool involves, looking a certain way, having certain things, and being involved in certain activities. The irony of this assessment is by definition the definition of what is cool is always changing. So literally what is cool today may be uncool tomorrow. So if Christian culture is to follow in the path of coolness logistically how does this work out? Or maybe better said how does the church maintain a level of coolness about itself? 2) How much is to be negated for the sake of the church becoming cool? Lets face it there are many people in the church and there are many things that the church does that are not cool. Take for instance body image. To have a "cool" body means that if you are a guy you have two huge biceps and and 8 pack of abs. If you are a girl that means you weigh 67 pounds and you wear a large bra size. So does this mean that in an honest attempt to make our churches cool we stop or even lessen ministering to people who don't look like this?? What about programs in the church? The church does many things that have historical roots going all the way back to Christ and the first century church. Since all of a sudden Kesha comes out with a hit single called "tick tock", does that mean choir music on Sunday morning is no longer ok? Should we only play with steel guitars on Sunday mornings because we live in a time where rock music still reigns as king of the music genera? The disney channel and the Army portray that being cool is "being all that you can be", or "following your heart no matter the cost", feed the fire within." What does this say about sitting and listening to a sermon on Sunday morning? Does listening to another person tell me how to live my life register as cool to the average person in the congregation or should we just throw out sermons on Sunday too? After all being all I can be means the sky is the limit, I only live once therefore I need to get out there instead of listening to a guy read to me from an old book. 3) Where does our standard of cool come from? If we are honest we have to say that our standard of cool comes from the things that we read on facebook, twitter, blogs and other various multi communication facets. The definition of cool tends to change pending on the next twitter post or facebook app. And who is setting the tone of coolness, it is not Christians but the non-Christians. Understand that our concept of cool comes from a culture that thinks we (christians) are outdated, unless, and stupid. So is Christianity cool? The night of Jesus' betrayal he offers a prayer to the father requesting/prophesying that all of his be kept in the world but apart from the world so that the glory of the Father might be enhanced. God's desire is not to make his follows losers, but he does not want them to be cool as the world defines cool either. The role of the Christian is not to take how the world is defining cool and use that as a template to do Christianity. As i tell my students all the time stop buying the Christian T-Shirts that say "A-Bread-Crum-And-Fish",and go get yourself an actual "Abercrombie and fich" T-shirt. The goal of the Christian is not to use the template the world says is cool and make it "Christianees, the goal is to redefine the definition of cool. The Christian needs to be the trend setter not the trend follower! How does this happen? 1) Christians need to understand that the hope of the world is contained in the message we call the gospel. 2) Christians stop trying to look like the world and start trying to get the world to look like the church. Wear your Abercrombie and fich Shirt but use it as a plat form for sharing with the world God's view on body

image. Let the world know it is more important to have a saving knowledge of Jesus that what sinful lyrics Brittany Spears is putting in her new album. Christian you are the hope of the world because Christ has empowered you with his message of redemption through his blood alone. And for that reason and that reason alone you are the standard of what is cool! Go let the world know there is hope in Christ for their salvation, and do it wearing the hippest Abercrombie and fich T-shirt you can find!

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Splendor of Christ

2010-01-24T23:54:00.000-06:00

People ask me all the time if I am tired of my job. After all I guess I know what they mean. I tend to spend most of my time preparing and studying to teach from a book that seems outdated, and all the interesting stories have been told much better than I could ever communicate them. Plus not to mention that majority of the people or students that come to hear me teach either are there because their parents make them come or they have hear that we give out free breakfast on Sundays and brownies on Wednesdays. Truthfully I understand why people would imagine my job to be well...subpar to say the least. However, its not the people or the students, or the outdated book that keeps me at my job or in the ministry for that matter. What makes my job and the ministry profession so great is the almighty God that I serve.

Ministry is hard not going to lie. Work is hard not going to lie. For that matter life is hard. So what should encourage us throughout our daily struggle of trials and despair? The Bible ensures us that the greatest hope we can have in life is understanding the splendor of Christ. This joyous reality of Christ is what should be motivating us to fight through the mundane and look toward the divine. It does not matter what stage of life that we are in or what occupation that we currently pursuing It does not even matter our current status in life or how much wealth we have in our possession. The splendor of christ reveals his divine Character and our naturally helpless estate. Why is Christ so great? Why is the splendor of Christ important?

I came across this verse a while ago in the form of a "Shane and Shane" song and I have not been able to get it out of my head since. Hebrews 1:3 "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, ^jhe sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" Jesus is so much more than a story he himself was the full embodiment of the living God of the universe. He radiated the glory of God on earth as God is in heaven to a degree that we could comprehend and witness to. And the powerful part of this verse is in the last statement, when (Paul , I think Paul wrote Hebrews ;) says that after he made atonement he sat down on the right side of the majesty on high. Some have taken this to mean that he sat down showing his work of reconciliation and restoration to be complete (and this is so) but also he sat down to rule and to exhibit his power over all the know universe. Jesus is the king of the Cosmos and he sat down to rule from his rightful throne. This is the splendor of Christ that he is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. In him we live and have our being. in Him we find rest and hope. In him we find all satisfaction in life, because in him we find our purpose. It doesn't matter your pay check number, your house size, your facebook friends list, your twitter followers, ect. What matters is that you understand that Christ sits on his throne and rules as he sees fit. We find hope in this and this alone. Soli Deo Gloria!

Like a Lamb to the Slaughter

2010-01-22T17:12:00.003-06:00

Jesus stood before his betrayers as they accused him of false accusations. The witnesses could not agree on their own stories, but the general consensus of the group was they all want Jesus Dead. And why shouldn't they! He had done what they could never do. They being the chief priest, the scribes and Elders had objective influence over the people they "led."Jesus had come in and taken influence over the people that the Religious leaders had always ruled over. Jesus did not do this by means of manipulation, or force as the other corrupt leaders, Jesus had simply revealed to them who he truly was. Jesus healed the blind so that they could see him as the messiah promised throughout the pages of the Old Testament (Isaiah 35). Jesus healed the deaf so that for the first time these people who could not hear the world around them could trust in the saviors voice calling them out of their sin and allegiance to him. Jesus earned the trust of the people by feeding them when they were hungry, healing them when they were sick, caring about them when no one else would. However, he did these things with a specific agenda in mind. That agenda was to show the marvelous power of his father who had sent him to being salvation to all the world. As Jesus displays the power of God throughout his ministry people from all over the known world begin to place their trust in him as their messiah and redeemer. Jesus closes his ministry in the most peculiar way. Jesus in his most prominent position as the hero of the people soon finds himself being betrayed by the very people that he showed much compassion on throughout his ministry revealing himself to them. He finds himself drug out of his place of solitude with his father before a mockery trial where the agenda is to kill him. And in the fascinating part of the whole ordeal is that he "stands silent." Jesus stands silent during the false accusations being thrown at him showing his people for all time the beauty in turning the other check. However, the scene does not in there. remember Christ even though he is giving his life for his people, he is truly always in control. The High Priest asked him if he was the Christ expecting for Jesus to remain silent. It was not a problem for Christ to remain silent when the people were heckling his personhood. When they beat him it was ok he said nothing. When they took him away from the garden in the night no words came forth from his mouth. However, when the essence of who Jesus is came into question silence was no longer needed. What was needed is the confession that Jesus gives "I AM." The words ring through the ears and hearts of everyone who has encountered Jesus. He is the Christ, the Son of God, The promised Messiah, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! The people thought they were in charge of the life of Christ but the truth is Jesus is the one calling the shots. Jesus death was needed for the salvation of the church and since it pleased the father to redeem his people this way Jesus aloud them to crucify him. The soldiers begin to mock him and tell him to Prophesy if he is the Christ as they beat him. The irony in what the soldiers and the council say is that as they beat Jesus and plan to kill Jesus he is prophesying. Every time a punch hits his face, or when blood spills from his body, even when he takes his last breath, all that is the fulfillment of prophesy that embodies the person of Christ. Praise be to God!

Soli Deo Gloria!!

The Cancerous Effects of Sin

2010-01-22T06:30:00.000-06:00

Not a day goes by without the effects of our sin haunting us. There is alot to be said about this topic and frankly I am the worst person in the world to handle such a subject. The great Presbyterian BB Warfield said it the best, "The sins of my youth still haunt me, but they become less and less appealing day by day." The question always quickly becomes "if sin is so bad then why am I so drawn to do it? And my favorite question if sin is so bad why does God allow believers to sin? First off it is importance to state the obvious first principle here. That first principle being that there is an objective standard of right and wrong and all humans at one point or another fail to meet up to those standards (what Christians therefore call sin). So what is that objective standard that humans constantly transgress? It is the very law of God that proceeds forth from his character. It is a righteous and Holy law that all humans are held accountable to for all humans have been created by the same God. Humans are different from all other living things because we have been created to commune with the God that has created us by serving him and giving him our worship. When we transgress from this plan we suffer the consequences being guilt and shame because we have been made to abide by God's law. The reason why humans are so drawn naturally to transgress this law of God is because we all take after our great grandfather Adam the first person created. When Adam transgressed the law of God that rebellious will that he displayed got passed down to his offspring on down the line. We still deal with the effects of Adams corrupt will (nature) today. However, through the second Adam Christ Jesus our Lord we can be cleansed of our sin and have our sinful nature replaced with a nature that longs to serve our God as we ought to. The reason that we still sin is because the effects of the sinful nature were so devastating that even though we now posses the "new nature" our old habits die hard and tend to cloud our thinking. The reason why Christ allows the believer to still experience sin in his life is for the purpose of teaching the believer not to depend on themselves but to trust in the Lord who is able to keep them from sin. When the believer does not trust in the Lord the old sinful habits that the sinful nature taught him begin to flare their ugly head and lead the believer places that he never thought he would ever go back to. Sin is a serious matter despite how we tend to think of it. Our design and our purpose on this earth is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in our thoughts words and deeds for his glory alone. Sin throws a wrench into this who idea. Sin mocks the fact that God is the one that is in charge of the creation. Sin screams from the top of it's lungs "There is no God but me!" The whole time killing the individual it is controlling. Sins entangles us from every aspect of life and creeps in unnoticed. Sin will use us promote us, and in the end bleed us dry till it kills us. Sin has to be dealt with and there is only one way to properly deal with sin. Just as the first Adam brought sin into the world, the second Adam Christ Jesus brought the remedy to sin into the world. The remedy was nothing more and nothing less than his own blood poured out for the forgiveness of all the churches sins. Let us dare not think that this is all the cross accomplished! Christ also died so that all his disciples would have the empowerment to over come sin until he would return again! Sin will continue to be a factor till the destruction of this world and the creation of the new Heavens and the new earth. Until then we trust in Christ that he will give us the desire and the power to fight the good fight refraining from sin and moral lust to the glory of God the father. The reformers had a slogan called "Post Tenebras Lux" meaning "After darkness light." The idea was that even though things are bad now and sin runs ramped in this world a glorious time awaits us when Christ comes back and brings justice to the proud and grace to the humble. Until that faithful day we must trust in Christ our savior and our Lord that he will empower us to fulfill the purpose that he has created us to do.
Soli Deo Gloria!

It's a Matter of "Want to"

2010-01-21T05:57:00.000-06:00

Growing up in a Baptist Church meant two things 1) The Rapture is coming so you need to get ready for it, and 2) Sharing the Gospel is (or telling your friends to come to church with you) is what church is all about. It’s hard to refute these two things they are very important Biblical concepts. Even though I have rejected my previous Baptist pre-millennial rapture view and have a very hard time thinking that inviting people to church is the most important aspect in the Christian life, I am totally on board with what they are communicating about the sharing of the Gospel. As I have said before the purpose of the church is not simply to invite others to our church building, but so much more. The call of the church is to worship the living God and part of how we accomplish that is by sharing the “good news” or the Gospel with those around us. I hear all the time that the reason why students (and adults) don’t share their faith with other people is because they don’t really know how. I think there may be a lot of truth to that, but what is the excuse for a group of students (or adults) that do know what to say and still are not doing it? The Lord has taught me a lot about what exactly people know, can know and want to know. Most of the students in my ministry know more about basic Bible content than I do. They have the gospel down pat. I know because I teach them 2-3 times a week and we go over the core elements of our faith almost every time we meet no matter what the teaching subject is. The difficult part to admit is that I know they are struggling with sharing their faith for two reasons. 1) I have seen the same faces in our ministry for as long as I have been there, and 2) I hear no stories of adventurous faith telling from them. And the overwhelmingly amazing part of this story is I know for a fact having been in ministry 5 years now; these kids are the most prepared/most capable group of lay members (students and adults) I have even worked with in my life. So the question is why are they not sharing the gospel? I tend to think this is a common problem throughout all ministries not just Students. Like I said we know what to say we just never open our mouths. This is a problem because this is the exact opposite of what we have been commanded to do. Right off the bat when most Christians think of the Gospel we think of Matthew 28 “The Great Commission.” And I have an issue with this. My issue is not against the great commission; my issue is thinking that the gospel message starts here. This is not where the message begins. I will admit that the Gospel message reaches a new climax here, but the message begins when the Bible begins. In fact the Gospel message does not even begin in the New Testament, but way back in the Old Testament. From the first book of the Bible the Gospel massage is boldly proclaimed. Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring⁵ and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” ^{[1] Here is start of the “Good News” that sets the tone for the rest of the Bible and the answer to the sin problem that Adam started and continues to plague the people of planet earth today. Who was person was Moses speaking of here? What other person other than Christ has ever “crushed” the head of the Serpent? Here in the opening book of the Bible we have the promise that one-day evil will be blotted out, the serpent (which is the Devil) will be destroyed, and peace will be brought back to the earth. The rest of the Bible is really an unfolding of that promise! The Whole Old Testament is looking foreword to that promised redeemer, while the New Testament realizes that redeemer in the person of Jesus Christ! The Great Commission is not the start of the Gospel, but an expansion to the very first promise of redemption through this promised one that will crush the head of the serpent. So why then do we not share this message of Hope with a dying world? I can’t speak for all Christendom but the simple reason why I don’t share the gospel as I should is simply because I don’t love God as is should. Sure I say I love God, I work for a church is that kinda a requirement? The truth is loving God is the key to unlocking the willingness, and the urgency that all people must have to share the Gospel with the world around them. If loving God is the reason why most people in the church don’t share their faith on a constant basis then how does one love God more? Three quick thoughts, 1) Loving God entails being a true disciple of his. Jesus says in Luke 14 “if any man wants to come after him he must count all else as loss.” Simply put that means that Christ and his commands have to become first and foremost in your life above all else. 2) Loving God entails knowing him yourself. You can’t love what you don’t know. What is amazing about the God of the universe is the more time you spend with him the more that we fall in love with who he is. I’m not speaking of a fake Jr. girl love I’m talking willing to give your life for the cause of Christ love. 3) Loving God entails allowing him to grow you and mature you. The crux of the Christians existence is dependant upon God constantly molding and making the believer into the person that he wants them to be. This means when God places you into awkward situations where the gospel comes up it is not by chance. It could be that he is using this instance to get you out of your comfort zone so that you can begin to learn to trust in him. The gospel is the comprehensive message that contains the purpose of life and our eternal destiny. It reveals who man is and who God is. The message of the Gospel can’t be contained we must share it for it is the means that God brings people to salvation, as well as the means by which he advances his kingdom on this earth. We are privileged to have this information and my prayer is that we stop sitting on what we know and begin to participate in the spread of the Gospel. It is not a case of “know how’, it is a case of “want to.” My prayer is that God would burden our hearts to share the good news of Christ victory with a world that needs to hear it, less they perish.}

Soli Deo Gloria!

^[1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ge 3:15). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Why is Christ so Great?

2010-01-19T19:12:00.000-06:00

Whether you are a ..... a Pastor, Bible teacher, Christian councilor, or a saved layman at the local church at some point all Christian get asked this question, “What is great about Christ?” Most of the time we tend to mumble something that doesn’t make us look like too much of a loser, but at the same time is “Christianee” enough so that our church friends will think that we truly believe what we are saying. Do you know what the saddest part about this type of behavior is? We live in the midst of a hopeless world trying its hardest to find some value, some true meaning, something to live their lives for, something to die for if it comes down to it and we are so uneducated on the value of Christ and all his splendor that we make a mockery of his greatness! Just by the mere fact that our tongue doesn’t salivate and fly out of mouth with shear joy at the occasion of speaking about the glories of all that Christ Jesus is shows us that we don’t truly understand his value! So what is so great about Christ? I am so glad that you asked. Christ is the sum total of all God’s infinite perfections wrapped in the body of a man. Living his life here on our sinful planet amongst people that rejected him in the flesh and ultimately called for his slaughter. Christ paid the sacrifice for our sins on the cross so that we could be reunited with our heavenly father. Without Christ there is no peace with the father. He gave his life for our sins not our good works. He took his own righteousness and transferred it tot our account justifying us before his father in heaven so that we would be united to himself forever as well. The cross was not just a physical blood bath, it was a spiritual one as well. Jesus Christ took on the very wrath of God that had been stored up for sinners for all time past present and future. Christ paid the price for all those whom the father had given to pay for. And all those who trust in him alone he purchased their enduring perseverance throughout this life. Nothing that Christ accomplished can be taken away from him or us because he has united himself with us. These are all great reasons why Christ is so great! However, are they the REASON why Christ is so great? I say no. So what is the reason why Jesus Christ is so great? Simply because he is the only one that could have even done all these things. You see Jesus accomplishments are not the primary factor in why he is so great, it is the fact that he and he alone is the only one that could even begin to try to achieve such results that makes him so great! Its not the work, it’s the fact that he was and is the only person who could then or ever even do the work that needed to be done. If the church praises Christ because of the works that he has done we are missing the underlying attraction that sets Jesus apart from every other man that ever walked in this world. Giving Glory to Christ for what he has done is idolatry because it is emphasizing his gifts, or his works over who he is at his essence! Christ is worthy of our praise for who he is alone. If Christ would send us all to hell, he still would be worth glorifying for who he is! We as the church have to remember we have a high calling on our lives. We have to begin to learn the value of shielding heretic teaching to only focuses on the majesty of Christ in his accomplishments. The Christian life is not one that is filled with just the accomplishments of Christ, but filled to the max with the very person of Christ. Christ is by his very nature the “King of Kings”, and the “Lord of Lords; his name is matchless because his status is matchless. This is why we praise him, not because he has done great things for us alone….but because he is the only one truly able to accomplish themSoli Deo Gloria!

The Element of Surprise!

2010-01-19T03:33:00.000-06:00

I really don't think there is much more satisfaction in life than surprising someone that you really care about and seeing them filled with joy as the surprise commences. Tonight I had the privilege and honor of doing that for the one and only Alisa House.Yesterday I told Alisa that I had to go to school and she should come with me. If you are not aware yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr day. There are no schools, no banks, no pot offices open at all. Therefore Alisa fell right into my trap. She came over and then we proceeded to make our way in the direction of the college of Biblical studies when all at once I turned off the highway and pulled into the parking lot of a very nice and quiet steak house here in TX called Lynn's. There my confession was made the cat was out of the bag and the two of us could not be happier! What is so great about surprises? Surprises are a break from the mundane and regular flow of lives events. They take us for one second out of the current rut that we live in and take us to the everest top of joy. With that in mind surprises are also great because they allow us to see how much someone else is thinking of us even when we are not around. No matter the surprise it takes three things 1) time, 2) patience, 3) planning and sometimes lies (although that is not encouraged but always accepted after the fact). All of these important aspects of a surprises are realized in the moment when the surprise is unveiled to the person. I am very thankful for Alisa, I have never known anyone as Godly and as humble as she is. I am very thankful that she aloud me to surprise her today! (well she really had no Choice)

Are Missions Glorified Vacations?

2010-01-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

Humans being habitual creatures have the hardest time truly evaluating why we do the things that we do. It’s almost as if change is something that we all desire yet no one wants to take the first step and attempt to rock the boat. Sunday mornings are probably my favorite time of the week. I truly undervalue sleep and deem it pointless at this juncture of my life so not sleeping Saturday and going in to church early Sunday is no problem. I am a habitual creature and I have the same “game time” preparation every Sunday morning. I spend many hours during the week preparing my Sunday School lesson so I try to spend my “pre-game preparation” with my mind not on the material for that morning. Like a good reformed Christian I try to brush up on my knowledge of Westminster Confession, or something of the sort. (P.s Growing up Baptist I really have missed out on all the historical confessions of the church at large so I am all about learning all that Presbyterianism has to offer by way of sound doctrine.) This morning there was an promotion for a book in Christianity Today challenging the audacity of what Christians in America call missions and service projects. At first glance I took rather offence to what the book was suggesting. The book suggested the idea that “short term missions trips and service projects are nothing more than glorified Christian vacations. They tend to sell the idea that youth groups and churches are going away for a week to change the world but in reality these short term missions and service projects were an excuse for Christians to take desired vacations and go right back to the same life that they lived before wallowing in their own capitalistic mindsets and pious self intoxicating wealth. I have not read the book although the synopsis that was given about the book stayed with me all day long. Questions began to rise in my mind and anger began to burn inside of me. How could this man claim this? How could he bash one of the greatest ministries in our churches today? Then I realized for the most part he was right. Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love him and then love our neighbor. Often (with good intensions) we get those commands mixed up. As John Piper says in his fantastic book on Missions (Let the nations be Glad) “missions exist because worship does not.” The primary function of the church is to worship the one and true living God, and from that worship missions arise. In this light, missions are the inevitable outcome of a church truly worshiping God. So what has happened? How has the church turned missions into a glorified Christian Vacation? Answer: Our Motives for doing the missions. Pragmatism or “doing what works” has slowly crept inside our churches and fills the hearts and minds of the people inside. Simply put most churches do missions and give to missions because that’s what churches do! They go on short-term mission trips because that’s what good Christians do! We have weekend service projects for various organizations because that is what Christians do! The problem is this negates the true purpose for doing missions. We as the church of Jesus Christ don’t do missions because they work; we do missions because what others (non-Christians) are doing doesn’t work! We do missions so that people who don’t worship Jesus Christ will by the grace of God proclaim his holy name. Missions are not a vacation for the redeemed people of God to see the world, or even worse so that we feel good about ourselves when our mission week is over. Please don’t mistake me loads of good come from short term missions. However, what would be the result if the proper motivation went into the short term mission. What if the people of God views weekend service projects not only as a means of “getting in good” with the church community and saw it as a way to extend the surpassing love of Christ that they have been given. What if the short term mission was always seen in light of the bigger picture which is worshiping God in all that we do? What if the value of the mission was placed more on the message that was being carried than the actual mission location? Praise be to God that missions in the local church are not going away. However, in light of this fact my prayer is that church leaders would really concern themselves with their motives for their missions. I dare say with a most humble disposition if our goal in going on any mission is anything other than to advance the kingdom of God by the supernatural means of the gospel maybe we need to just stay home. Missions do not exits exist because they are what the church is suppose to do, or because they are practical. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. Soli Deo Gloria.

The Gospel in a Post-Modern World

2010-01-17T04:24:00.000-06:00

I don’t like to go over 60 mph on the highway in my 1999 red Ford Ranger for obvious reasons. It only takes one huge wind gust and I find myself swaying all over the highway. However, the tempting bumper sticker on the car in front of me caused me to break my speed limit rule just so I could get close enough to read it. The bumper sticker read, “COEXIST” in huge purple letters surrounded by every major religious symbol in the world. Being an immature 23 year old arrogant, prideful dogmatic reformed young man I wanted honk at the person driving the car while shaking my fist. Suddenly my heart began to break not because I was appalled at the driver for having the bumper sticker, but because the depravity of our culture tells us that the only way “peace”, and “hope” can be obtained is by conglomerating all apparent “truth” together. Post-Modern denotes the idea that truth is not objective but subjective. Truth does not identify things as they actually are, truth identifies what I want it to be. What’s true for me is true, and what’s true for you is true for you. Having a culture that fully embraces this definition of truth presents complete opposition to the general message of the Bible. The message of the Bible is that Jesus is “the truth” (John 14:6) and that all truth claims are summed up in him or they are simply not true. The same author tells us that Jesus is not just the source of truth but he is the full embodiment of truth (John 1: 1-2). Knowing this we can trust that whatever message Jesus gives us contains objective truth that God will hold us accountable for receiving. How does a Christian share this reality with a culture that thinks truth is subjective? The Apostle Paul explains how gospel is the only truth that will set our culture free. (For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16)^[1] The Gospel reveals to us who God is, who we really are, and for what purpose we have been created. First, notice there is nothing subjective about what Paul says regarding the Gospel. Paul is so sure of the truthfulness of the Gospel that he is “unashamed” to speak of it. Christians don’t make the gospel true because they believe they believe because it is true. Secondly, Paul notes that the Gospel is the power of God “for salvation.” Paul is not suggesting that there are other obtainable means of salvations rather the opposite. Salvation is only by the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lastly, Paul mentions whom this objective truth claim encompasses namely the entire world. From the “Jew first and then the Greek.” There is no one on this planet that can escape the truthfulness of the Gospel. Through the person of Jesus Christ the true God of the universe has revealed objective truth to all humanity. The only way to combat the Post-Modern Culture that we live is to promote the glorious name Jesus Christ. He is the source and embodiment of all that is true and his message will bring objective truth to a dyeing world under the illusion that truth is subjective. While the depraved man cries out for “COEXISTENCE” Christ cries out for allegiance to him alone to the glory of His name forever. In this we find our “peace” and our “prosperity” that we long for so much. Soli Deo Gloria!

^[1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.