12/24/11

Adjustments

Well,  there is no cozy fireplace.  No milk and cookies sitting out for Santa.  No presents under a tree, and there is no tree.

This is my first Christmas morning alone.  A part of me (the selfish self-loathing side) wants to be depressed about it.  But in reality I am not.  How can?  It is 1:23 o'clock!  Nice timing.  I always enjoy quirky times that happen to happen when perhaps I never expected it to happen.  I suppose it is all happenstance anyhow, or is this happening per a plan hatched?  I just confused myself in an attempt to be witty.

I just watched the Adjustment Bureau.  Pretty nice movie.  As with most pretty nice movies I see, I wish I knew more about the future in the story.  Like does Norris ever succeed in his politician career?  Or will ol' what's her face become a famous ballet dancer?

I may be stretching this all a bit, but I want to talk about it anyhow.  Maybe it is all happenstance and I am making connections where there are not any.  Anyway...

I have been reading a book by James MacDonald, called I Really Want to Change... So Help Me, God.  Click that link to check it out.  The book talks about (drum roll, please) changing.  Transformation really. So far MacDonald has covered preparing to change and repentance, which is so far, half the book.  It is a page turner (or kindle button-clicker) for people like me who see a desperate need for change.

So far, it has led me to believe mostly all of what it is saying.  So I have written out a list of the most crucial and alarming negative traits I have.  I am targeting a couple for now:  Self-indulgence and inhibition.  If you knew me well enough, you would know how I pragmatically live to indulge in my every desire.  What I want, I want it now, and I will do what it takes to get it.  The only times I settle for not taking what I want are if I have enough sense for the moment to see how it will be negative in the long run for my own ambitions in the future, which is still ridiculously self-indulgent.  In fact, I am beginning to hate the word itself.  The key, however, is hating the trait in me enough to kick it to the curb.  I have always been self-indulgent to a degree, but it took over my life a few years ago when I started college.  Let's not get into all that.

Well, as with all true genuine change for the good, it requires God Almighty, and true genuine repentance.  MacDonald shows from Scripture how the fruits of true repentance are...

OK, one moment.  I moved into this neighborhood two months ago.  Cheap rent!  Too good to be true?  Well, yes.  I mean I love my house, but I just heard seven gun shots from about a block away to the South West.  Drama.  I hope everyone is alright... it is Christmas morning for crying out loud.  Oh, Anderson, Indiana...

Anyway, now that my heart rate is back down, the fruits of true repentance are the absence of blaming others and rationalization, genuine sorrow, open confession of sin (first to God, then to fellow Christian friends who will keep one accountable, and restitution of all those who were harmed by the named sin(s).

So, at first, I was doing pretty well I suppose.  I had some good friends, a great girlfriend, and a future.  Then I got prideful as I rose to the (imaginary) top of the ladder of academia!  Now I am crash landing in the result of my selfishness.  I have finally arrived at the goal of my mission to please only myself.  I have it now! It is all I have, and all I fought for for the past 3 or 4 years!  I am left with only myself.
(Spoiler Alert)
In the Adjustment Bureau, Norris learns that he must fight at all costs for the one he loves, even if it means going behind the Chairman of the Adjustment Bureau's back and disobeying the Plan (with a capital P).  Well, he somehow inspires the chairman or whatever and wins freewill.

The cool part I like about the movie is his willingness to not settle for what most would call success.  If he did not pursue the girl of his dreams, he was guaranteed what he always wanted, the presidency of the U.S.  and she would be able to become the most famous of dancers.  However, their love was too strong and stuff.

Norris and I are alike in that we started off doing well.  He was in the House of Reps.  I was not a selfish prick.  He met a girl, but did her dirty and his life went awful. Ditto for me, except he fought tirelessly for her, and I continued in a downward spiral of self-indulgence.  He won her back, and I am trying to win mine back, that and a lot of other stuff yet to experience restitution from my sins.

So, as with pretty nice movies, I really want to know what happens in the future.  Will Norris become the President despite breaking the Plan and now having freewill?  Will Billy become so outraged by his terrible traits that he will finally change and transform with God's help?  I really want to know the future, but I can't.  I can only focus on the now and kill every feeling of selfishness, rationalization for sins, and impurity in every form and fashion.

Aching, aching, slipping… breaking
Each breath a dose of drugs I’m taking
Inhale, exhale, inhale, do not release
“Just let me go and be in peace”

Lying, lying, crying… prying
You pry to open me up inside
Refuse to lose, to leave or accept
My selfish excuses to be inept

Loathing, self-loathing; like crack-cocaine
The endorphins of selfishness flood my veins
My brain focused on me, then went insane
Begging you to just go, yet somehow you remain

Sitting, sitting, our lives splitting
It is up in the air, and finally I care
I stare and compare a life of solitaire
Get a knife and pare me, strip me down to repair me

There you went, you finally went…
I had begged for this, now my heart is rent
I had spent too much cash on myself now I have me
My own selfish self, with no identity

I blindly follow, rarely think
So you’d think I’d thank you, but instead I link
My failures with everyone else but myself
So I am left alone with my gun and the books on my shelf

Aching, aching, slipping… breaking
Never giving, always taking
This is the ballad of a man turned boy
Who could have gained the world, but chose to destroy

Who can he blame?  Where can he turn?
How many more times until he learns?
I blame myself.  I will turn to myself.
This is when I learn, today I decide.
I will swallow my pride. I’ll be the reason I die.
I’ll be the reason I live! I choose to give.
I will truly try and succeed and, why?
I am not a human-don’t.
I am not a human-try.
I am not a human-doing.
I will tell you why, I am now seeing!
Forget my old way of living,
I am a human-being.

9/18/11

Pro-Choice to Pro-LIfe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7xhCpAnxDs

http://180movie.com

I suppose this post will not count since I am a male to some people.  But hey, I think murdering an underdeveloped human is sinful and wrong.  Shoot me.  There are too many other options if you don't wanna support the child.

7/22/11

Oswald Chambers Strikes Again!

SANCTIFICATION
"This is the will of God, even your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Many of us spend so much time in the place of death that we get sepulchral. There is always a battle royal before sanctification, always something that tugs with resentment against the demands of Jesus Christ. Immediately the Spirit of God begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle begins. "If any man come to Me and hate not . . his own life, he cannot be My disciple."
The Spirit of God in the process of sanctification will strip me until I am nothing but "myself," that is the place of death. Am I willing to be "myself," and nothing more - no friends, no father, no brother, no self-interest - simply ready for death? That is the condition of sanctification. No wonder Jesus said: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us faint. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus on this point. "But it is so stern," we say; "He cannot wish me to do that." Our Lord is stern; and He does wish us to do that.
Am I willing to reduce myself simply to "me," determinedly to strip myself of all my friends think of me, of all I think of myself, and to hand that simple naked self over to God? Immediately I am, He will sanctify me wholly, and my life will be free from earnestness in connection with every thing but God.
When I pray - "Lord, show me what sanctification means for me," He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus Christ puts into me: it is Himself in me. (1 Cor. 1:30.)

from My Utmost for His Highest, Entry for July 23

7/18/11

Happiness

I am not sure if happiness is the right name for this post.  Either happiness, or contentment.  That is what I struggle terribly with.  How to be happy/content.  I used to be.  I remember what it was like.

I made less money, but had more friends.  I tried less, but had a better relationship.  I toiled less, but preached better sermons.  Somewhere along the way I allowed myself to controlled by someone else.  I used to (mostly) let God lead me.  I submitted as best as I knew how.  I did what I supposed he wanted.  Then, you'd think, "Oh!  Then you took control and started trying to do it on your own."  That is not what happened either.  I gave into people leading me.  I'd do anything it took to be recognized as the top theologian or friend.  The best at what I did... I let people who were better than myself in terms of success conjure up this mythical Billy.

Mythical Billy sat behind a bad-ass cherry wood desk.  Behind his desk sat the best authored books the James P. Boyce Centennial Library had to author.  Every few minutes his phone would ring... "Oh hey!  What's up Mr. MacArthur!  Of course I can fill your pulpit next Sunday!"  "Hey, Brother!  I am being nominated for the Convention President?  Surprise.  Meet me at Starbucks at 6 so we can talk abnormally loud about it so the others in the store and can hear us."

Mythical Billy did not have it all, though!  What he lacked, he used to his advantage.  He would use his poor old car as a sermon illustration.  He would use his battered home life as leverage in a counselling session.  Oh, how God must absolutely adore Mythical Billy.

In Mythical Billy's obituary, he was compared as so:  If somehow, Aiden Tozer, John MacArthur, Al Mohler, Max Lucado, Clives Lewis, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, and Mike Woods had a baby--They'd name him Mythical Billy James Edwards, Extraordinaire.
___________
Today, I am digging a grave.  On the gravestone is chiseled:

Here lies Mythical Billy-
GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
 And on the backside:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

So what is the key to contentment and happiness?  Death, I suppose.  Ironically we cannot truly live without truly dying to ourselves.

6/23/11

παντελὲς

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 
-Hebrews 7:25
παντελὲς - completely, fully, to the uttermost, forever
Can't you hear Him practically begging you?  "Come to me, let your soul find rest.  My burden is easy, share your burden with me.  Let's shoulder your heavy load together, do not be too proud for my help."
Been sinning lately?  Think you are unworthy?  Well, you are unworthy--unless you submit to  God.  To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, God does not need us, but chooses to want us so badly because we humans have a craving to be needed and wanted.
God actually chooses to chase us.  He does not chase us with overbearing ruthlessness, but gracefully.  Why?  Because He knows that without Him you are doomed, literally.  You see, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time.  God is begging us to come near to Him so He can help us, not rob us of our fun or independence.
Is Christianity just a "crutch?"  Absolutely.  You have a shattered femur and have to walk a while.  Are you too reserved or intellectual to use a crutch?  You will not get very far crawling on your belly.  There is a story of a guy who refused to let God be his crutch and ended up crawling on his belly.  Check out Genesis chapter one.  His name is Satan, the Serpent--and he is not as cool as the Rolling Stones make him out to be.
This is not just some life enhancer, though it does that.  It is not some religion, though there are a few rules to follow.  It is this: we need help, and Jesus is trying to help you.  All to often we refuse to stick out our hand for His help... we love ourselves and our sin more than our souls.  Which is fine, I suppose, so long as we do not mind the consequences.
Take a load off.  Read these old lyrics.  Make them your own.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart
fore_the_throne_of_god_above.html ]
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

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

6/22/11

Oswald Chamber's Wisdom on Sin and Grief

"A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isaiah 53:3
We are not acquainted with grief in the way in which Our Lord was acquainted with it; we endure it, we get through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of life we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life which will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we find the presence of something which we have not taken into consideration, viz., sin, and it upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ultimate but that. The climax of sin is that it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. In our mental outlook we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation as to why Jesus Christ came, and as the explanation of the grief and sorrow in life.

6/16/11

6/7/11

The Jesus Prayer

For Christians, prayer should be like breathing. You do not have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and essentially forces you to breathe. That is why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when we are born into the family of God, we enter into a spiritual atmosphere where God's presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on our lives. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers, we have all entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer.

Unfortunately, many believers hold their “spiritual breath” for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to allow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused by sinful desires. The fact is that every believer must be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths, to be fully functional. ---GotQuestions? Ministries
These guys say it better than I ever could.  Check out their article What does it mean to pray without ceasing?

However, I have had something else in mind.  It is an old Russian spiritual book by an anonymous pilgrim with a withered arm who was dead-set on praying the Jesus Prayer (an ancient mantra used by Eastern Orthodox, and other, Christians.  The book is called The Way of a Pilgrim.

I'm only into chapter 3, but have learned quite a bit so far.  Being the protestant I am, I blissfully disregard the extremely few-and-far between parts that speak about the Mother of God, Mary, and other things such as icons and feasts which I do not celebrate.  A true child of God will not fear such petty issues because a true child of God serves the Highest Authority possible who will punish falsehoods and heresies.

That aside, I have been really interested in this Jesus Prayer, to the point of using it myself the past few weeks.     I have been afraid of falling into some mystical false religious meditation, but reciting the short mantra, or chant (not to be confused with the Buddhist or Hindu use of mantra), "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me," has enriched my prayer life lately.

As the pilgrim in the book says, and I believe many Eastern Orthodox Christians will affirm, the Jesus Prayer is a sort of summary of the Gospels. This is a stretch to me.  There can be no replacing the Gospels since they are the inspired and entirely infallible words of God.  But this thought did spur me on to think about each individual word in the mantra.

Lord- ruler, king, master, higher than us, sovereign
Jesus- loving, passionate, righteous, sinless, Son of God, Savior, our atoning sacrifice, bold, able to forgive sins and punish sins
Christ- Messiah, Chosen One of God, our hope
Have Mercy- what our plea and prayer should be for everything, what to beg when we sin or need help overcoming
On Me- the once-perfect creature known as man who continually chooses to rebel God and re-crucify the Savior with sin

Of course there are other prayers to pray and this is not a necessity, but reciting it for myself has helped me keep my mind on Him.  It is short and sweet and to the point, but is not to replace other prayers.

Also, I am running late for work!  See ya.
 

5/31/11

What is Evil, Anyhow?

             Evil can be seen in every aspect of nature and civilizations.  Evil is anything morally wrong.[1]  If being used as a noun, evil is something that is a cause or source of pain, injury, or destruction.[2]  Since evil exists, a common question arises for believers in the Christian faith whom of which believe in a loving God:  “If God exists, and He is all-powerful and all-loving, why does evil exist?”  Humans have thus reasoned that God is the creator of everything that exists, and evil exists, therefore God created evil.[3]  However, evil is not an entity, and God did not create it.  Evil is the absence, or lack of, goodness.
            God created Adam (and the entire human race) with freedom.  With this freedom, God indirectly created Adam with the potential to do evil.  When Adam sinned, this potential of evil became a reality.[4]  Adam’s sin is what brought about evil, thus humans brought about evil, and this by not doing what is right.  Doing contrary to right (or whatever God commands) is sin.  To expound, “Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression, of the law of God.”[5]  Any lack of compliance or blatant breaking of any of God’s commands is sin.  This is moral evil.  Moral evil exists as a result of human rebellion.  Humans rebel for a number of reasons—selfishness, pride, anger, et cetera.  If humans had not rebelled, moral evil would not exist.  If moral evil did not come to be, natural evil would not have come to be.
            Natural evil (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, cyclones, et cetera) is a result of the natural laws God set into place (Genesis 1:1) at the Creation.  These natural disasters are results of various weather patterns or earth movements.  However, since Jesus Christ controls and holds all things together (Colossians 1:16-17), the inescapable conclusion is that God allows natural evil.  However, an implication of Romans 8:19-21 is that God allows the creation to reflect the consequences of man’s sin.[6]
            Despite the existence of evil, God is still good and just.  The Bible is very clear on this (Nahum 1:7; Mark 10:18; 1 John 1:5; Deuteronomy 32:4).  Since God is good and just, it is impossible for Him to be, nor create, evil (Numbers 23:19).  However, God remains good and just despite His allowing evil.  Evil is self-inflicted by humans (Psalm 7:14-17).  God designed humans after Himself, giving them innocence and the ability to choose to disobey.  Without this, humans would be merely puppets, and no meaningful relationship between a loving God and a human could exist, thus defeating the purpose of His creating humans.  If God, though allowing humans free will to choose wrong, simply prevented the affects of sinful actions, He would only enable humans to continue in disobedience more easily, thus defeating His purpose of creating humans.
            An inconsistent theodicy wrongly portrays the nature of man and of God.  To wrongly portray God is to attack His nature, or who He is.  Even though evil affects humans, and in turn affects their view and relationship with God, it is important to remember that God ultimately wants to save humankind from this present world of evil humans brought upon themselves (2 Peter 3:9) through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  God’s redemptive acts began immediately after man sinned.  In Genesis 3, God prevented the newly evil-infected human race from physically living forever in this awful state, thus banishing them from the Garden so they would not eat of the Tree of Life.  Although this meant that humans would die a physical death for sure, it was necessary so that they might put faith in Him to bring them to eternal life (John 3:15).
         
Bibliography
American Heritage Dictionary.  Evil.  http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/evil,            2009.

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Second ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.

Got Questions Ministries.  What is the Definition of Evil?       http://www.gotquestions.org/definition-of-evil.html, 2011.

Got Questions Ministries.  Why Does God Allow Natural Disasters? http://www.gotquestions.org/natural-disasters.html, 2011.

Towns, Elmer.  Theology for Today. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008.


5/22/11

The Veil was Torn

1-2 After the death of Aaron's two sons—they died when they came before God with strange fire—God spoke to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to enter into the Holy of Holies, barging inside the curtain that's before the Atonement-Cover on the Chest whenever he feels like it, lest he die, because I am present in the Cloud over the Atonement-Cover.
 3-5 "This is the procedure for Aaron when he enters the Holy Place: He will bring a young bull for an Absolution-Offering and a ram for a Whole-Burnt-Offering; he will put on the holy linen tunic and the linen underwear, tie the linen sash around him, and put on the linen turban. These are the sacred vestments so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. Then from the Israelite community he will bring two male goats for an Absolution-Offering and a Whole-Burnt-Offering.
 6-10 "Aaron will offer the bull for his own Absolution-Offering in order to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he will set the two goats before God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and cast lots over the two goats, one lot for God and the other lot for Azazel. He will offer the goat on which the lot to God falls as an Absolution-Offering. The goat on which the lot for Azazel falls will be sent out into the wilderness to Azazel to make atonement.
 11-14 "Aaron will present his bull for an Absolution-Offering to make atonement for himself and his household. He will slaughter his bull for the Absolution-Offering. He will take a censer full of burning coals from the Altar before God and two handfuls of finely ground aromatic incense and bring them inside the curtain and put the incense on the fire before God; the smoke of the incense will cover the Atonement-Cover which is over The Testimony so that he doesn't die. He will take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the Atonement-Cover, then sprinkle the blood before the Atonement-Cover seven times.
 15-17 "Next he will slaughter the goat designated as the Absolution-Offering for the people and bring the blood inside the curtain. He will repeat what he does with the bull's blood, sprinkling it on and before the Atonement-Cover. In this way he will make atonement for the Holy of Holies because of the uncleannesses of the Israelites, their acts of rebellion, and all their other sins. He will do the same thing for the Tent of Meeting which dwells among the people in the midst of their uncleanness. There is to be no one in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Holy of Holies until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole community of Israel.
 18-19 "Then he will come out to the Altar that is before God and make atonement for it. He will take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and smear it all around the four horns of the Altar. With his finger he will sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times to purify and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the Israelites.
 20-22 "When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat's head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts of rebellion, all their sins. He will put all the sins on the goat's head and send it off into the wilderness, led out by a man standing by and ready. The goat will carry all their iniquities to an empty wasteland; the man will let him loose out there in the wilderness.
 23-25 "Finally, Aaron will come into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen clothes in which he dressed to enter the Holy of Holies and leave them there. He will bathe in water in a Holy Place, put on his priestly vestments, offer the Whole-Burnt-Offering for himself and the Whole-Burnt-Offering for the people, making atonement for himself and the people, and burn the fat of the Absolution-Offering on the Altar.
 26-28 "The man who takes the goat out to Azazel in the wilderness then will wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. After that he will be permitted to come back into the camp. The bull for the Absolution-Offering and the goat for the Absolution-Offering, whose blood has been taken into the Holy of Holies to make atonement, are to be taken outside the camp and burned—their hides, their meat, and their entrails. The man assigned to burn them up will then wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he is free to come back into the camp.
Deuteronomy 16:1-28

...Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom...
Mark 15:37-38


Before the Jesus came as the God-Man and died as a substitution for us (so we would have have to take the penalty of our sin; He took it all for us) there was a big curtain, or veil, that covered up the Holy of Holies.  This place was, as explained in the Old Testament, the place where God dwelt on Earth.  He did not have to, but wanted to close to His people.

Unfortunately, we are so entirely UN-holy that we cannot come even close to God, who is the definition of holiness.  In fact, if you remember the above reading, it said if someone tried to get close to God's presence he or she would die.

This is relevant to me because I have sinned today--more than once.  In fact, I have sinned countless times, and I was even born into sin (Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Ephesians 2:3)... and so were you.

Quite personally I have been overcome with guilt lately.  I do things I do not want to really do, but I do them anyways because in the heat of the moment it is what I want and what I want I tend to want immediately.  Do you ever feel that way, too?  It is soon afterwards (very soon, ironically) that guilt rolls in like a tsunami and swallows me up.  So why all this talk about the veil being torn?

The veil contained God's presence, but when it was ripped at the time of Jesus' death, it started to roam about.  Since then, it has been going up to people unaware and trying to persuade them to enter into true happiness, which is found in Jesus Christ alone.  Since the Holy Spirit of God found me some years ago, He has walked with me ever since, despite my near-constant sinning and guilt.

I was sitting and doing some homework while being pre-occupied with my guilt when this truth hit me:
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
-Hebrews 9:13-14

Long story short, God's presence is with the Christ-follower whether we feel it or not.  He loves us, whether we feel it or not.

The key is not just enjoying the times we feel so close to Him.  The key is remaining faithful and thankful when we do not feel close to Him knowing full well that upon our repentance and belief, He forgives (Acts 10:43).

If you do not want "long story short," get your Bible out and read all of Hebrews 9.

Regardless, remember that when Jesus died for you, the veil that withheld the fullness of God's presence was torn.
Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...
Psalm 95:7-8

5/17/11

Isaiah 54:4-10

The Message paraphrases it like this:

Don't be afraid—you're not going to be embarrassed. 
   Don't hold back—you're not going to come up short.
You'll forget all about the humiliations of your youth, 
   and the indignities of being a widow will fade from memory.
For your Maker is your bridegroom, 
   his name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
Your Redeemer is The Holy of Israel, 
   known as God of the whole earth.
You were like an abandoned wife, devastated with grief, 
   and God welcomed you back,
Like a woman married young 
   and then left," says your God. 

 Your Redeemer God says:
   "I left you, but only for a moment.
   Now, with enormous compassion, I'm bringing you back.
In an outburst of anger I turned my back on you—
   but only for a moment.
It's with lasting love
   that I'm tenderly caring for you.
 "This exile is just like the days of Noah for me:
   I promised then that the waters of Noah
   would never again flood the earth.
I'm promising now no more anger,
   no more dressing you down.
For even if the mountains walk away
   and the hills fall to pieces,
My love won't walk away from you,
   my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart."
   The God who has compassion on you says so.

I serve a God who has so faithfully served me, even when I do not deserve it!

4/22/11

And He made the stars also... (Gen 1:16) Hubble's 21st B-Day

Hubble Telescope Pictures

It is apparently the Hubble Telescope's 21st anniversary.  It has been taking pictures of God's artistic craftsmanship now for 21 years.  I was blown away when I looked at these eleven pictures and really wanted to share them and some Bible passages that coincide with their beauty.

Psalm 8:3-4
 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
         The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 
    What is man that You take thought of him,
         And the son of man that You care for him?

Psalm 136:8-9
The sun to rule by day,
         For His lovingkindness is everlasting, 
    The moon and stars to rule by night,
         For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 

Psalm 147:3-5
He heals the brokenhearted
         And binds up their wounds.
    He counts the number of the stars;
         He gives names to all of them.
    Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
         His understanding is infinite.

Psalm 148:2-4
Praise Him, all His angels;
         Praise Him, all His hosts! 
    Praise Him, sun and moon;
         Praise Him, all stars of light! 
    Praise Him, highest heavens,
         And the waters that are above the heavens!

Isaiah 40:25-27
 "To whom then will you liken Me
         That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One. 
    Lift up your eyes on high
         And see who has created these stars,
         The One who leads forth their host by number,
         He calls them all by name;
         Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
         (F)Not one of them is missing. 
    Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
         "My way is hidden from the LORD,
         And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"?




Isaiah 31:35
Thus says the LORD,
         Who gives the sun for light by day
         And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
         Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
         The LORD of hosts is His name: 

Luke 21:25
There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves...

3/2/11

D. L. Moody and His Simple/Profoundness pt. 1

I wrote "part one" in the title because I am just now discovering how simple and wise this man was, and suppose I'll be writing more of him in the future.  He was nothing but a shoe salesman until God captured him.  Google this guy.  The Moody Bible Institute is a great school, but Dwight did much more than found MBI.  He did much more greater things.  It was under Dwight's preaching when he traveled to England that Oswald Chambers felt the Gospel call.  Here is an excerpt from D. L. Moody's sermon entitled "Shall We Meet Our Loved Ones Again?"

We shall not sink into annihilation. Christ rose from the dead to give us a pledge of our own rising. The resurrection is the great antidote for death. Nothing else can take its place. Riches, genius, worldly pleasures or pursuits, none can bring us consolation in the dying hour.
"All my possessions for a moment of time," cried Queen Elizabeth when dying.
"I have provided in the course of my life for everything except death, and now, alas! I am to die unprepared" were the last words of Cardinal Borgia.
Compare with these the last words of one of the early disciples: "I am weary. I will now go to sleep. Good night!" He had the sure hope of awaking in a brighter land.
At the Battle of Inkerman a soldier was just able to crawl to his tent after he was struck down. When found, he was lying upon his face, his open Bible before him, his hand glued fast to the page by his life blood which covered it.
When his hand was lifted, the letters of the printed page were clearly traced upon it; and with the ever-living promise in and on his hand, they laid him in a soldier's grave. The words were: "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
I want a religion that can comfort even in death, that can unite me with my loved ones. Oh, what gloom and darkness would settle upon this world if it were not for the glorious doctrine of the resurrection! Thank God, the glorious morning will soon break. For a little while God asks us to be the watchtower, faithful to Him and waiting for the summons. Soon our Lord will come to receive His own, whether they be living or dead.

2/9/11

Romans 1 and the Man on the Island

As the question goes:  "What about the man on the island who has never heard nor had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Christ?"

I will not pretend to know all of the answers.  However, in reading chapter one of Paul's letter to the Romans, I picked something up I have missed in all the other times of reading it (goes to prove we should continue to stay students of our Bibles).

In verse seventeen of chapter one, the ESV translation reads,
For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.  As it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith" (italics mine).
Thus, the righteousness of God indeed cannot be understood without faith, for it is revealed from faith.  In honesty, we cannot imagine a perfect being.  A being who is unable to sin, who does everything exactly perfect at any given moment, who loves perfectly despite not being compensated by anyone else's love (save the love of the Trinity, which is irrelevant for this argument).  So how can a human comprehend the righteousness of God?  the perfectness of God?  the holiness of God?  Answer:  "The righteous will live by faith."  One is surely on his way toward righteousness once he understands needing faith to understand God.

The righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.  So after having established we need faith to comprehend God, we then come to realize this builds our faith, no matter how small (or nonexistent) it was.  Once we begin to confess a little faith, we may obtain the knowledge of God's righteousness, which will then lead to more faith.  You will never be able to do one hundred push-ups if you cannot first do fifty!

Now, about that man on the island.  Picking up in Romans 1:18...
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.  21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Paul argues, and I believe rightly so, that creation plainly begs a creator, or at least a deity(ies).  By faith, he believes God has made sure that what we can know about Him is plain, especially God's eternal power and divinity in the things that have been made!  Who can be without excuse then?  Even an atheist must have faith in something because he knows (so long as he uses his brain) that the way things are have not simply always been this way.  We as humans demand a beginning and an end.  That is perhaps something we all have in common.  Faith in something, be it God or Muhammad or Jesus or Artemis or the Unmoved Mover or Demiurge or Ourself.

The man on the island (based solely off Romans 1) seems to condemn himself.  Paul claims that all humans have some understanding of a big Something Else out there who is higher than we are, but we must honor Him as God and give thanks to Him.  I suppose that doing this, though one may not have any idea of Christ, will put the man on the island on his way toward salvation.  It is important to note that Jesus Christ is the only way for salvation, because Scripture is clear on this.  However, it takes faith to realize God is the one out there, and this brings about more faith!  And I am not so ignorant as to suppose God will not meet this man on the island with the appropriate means to be saved, because after all, salvation is something we do to ourselves.  It is God who saves, and I, being once lost, cannot superimpose the Savior in a box.  He will save as He will save, according to the Scriptures He has given us.  And He will not go against His Scripture, because He is good.

There is hope for the man on the island, for you, and for me.  It just takes a little faith to build faith.  Thanks be to God you are not on this island with this man.  We have Bibles.

Questions about God?

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