Greetings

A Good Song

2009-07-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

"Much Afraid" by Jars of Clay

Empty again
Sunken down so far
So scared to fall
I might not get up again
So I lay at your feet
All my brokenness
I carry all of my burdens to you

Chorus:
All of these things
I've held up in vain
No reason nor rhyme
Just the scars that remain
Of all of these things
I'm so much afraid
Scared out of my mind
By the demons I've made
Sweet Jesus, you never ever let me go
Oh, sweet Jesus, never ever let me go

So happy to love
Yet so far to go
You lead me on to where I've never been before

Surrender

2009-06-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

I have recently been thinking a lot about the idea of surrendering all to God. It's the kind of thing that's actually easier said than done. It's one thing to say that one surrenders everything to God, but if surrender entails giving God permission to take from us that which we may love or desire more than anything, then we will find out just how willing we are to truly surrender. Surrendering all our wants, desires, and loves to God is simply surrendering them as possible idols that we can worship instead of Christ. Only with the prospect of the loss of such things, however, can we really know what it means to surrender them to God. In thinking about these things recently, I was reminded of a song I heard growing up by Clay Crosse called "I Surrender All." Below are the lyrics to this great song on surrendering all to God.

I have wrestled in the darkness of this lonely pilgrim land
Raising strong and mighty fortresses that I alone command
But these castles I've constructed by the strength of my own hand
Are just temporary kingdoms on foundations made of sand
In the middle of the battle I believe I've finally found
I'll never know the thrill of victory 'til I'm willing to lay down
All my weapons of defense and earthly strategies of war
So I'm laying down my arms and running helplessly to Yours

Chorus:I surrender all my silent hopes and dreams
Though the price to follow costs me everything
I surrender all my human soul desires
If sacrifice requires
That all my kingdoms fall
I surrender all

If the source of my ambition is the treasure I obtain
If I measure my successes on a scale of earthly gain
If the focus of my vision is the status I attain
My accomplishments are worthless and my efforts are in vain
So I lay aside these trophies to pursue a higher crown
And should You choose somehow to use the life I willingly laydown
I surrender all the triumph for it's only by Your grace
I relinquish all the glory, I surrender all the praise

Bridge:Everything I am, all I've done, and all I've knownNow belongs to You, the life I live is not my own
Just as Abraham laid Isaac on the sacrificial fireIf all I have is all that You desireI surrender all

Mission in John's Gospel

2009-05-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

John’s Gospel is about mission—God’s mission. John’s Gospel is about the Father’s mission, focused on and carried out by his sent Son, to bring glory to himself by saving sinners through the death and resurrection of the Son, after which the Son’s disciples would likewise be sent, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to carry forth the message and work of the Son. There are many intertwining themes throughout John’s Gospel which pertain to his theme of mission. In this essay, I will seek to show these themes in John’s Gospel and how they relate to his theology of mission.
John presents Jesus as the one “sent” by his Father. God sent his Son, not to condemn the world, but “in order that the world might be saved through him (3:17). “He whom God has sent utters the words of God” (3:34). “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (5:23). “I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (5:30). “For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me” (5:36-37). These are just a small sample of the many verses in John’s Gospel where Jesus speaks of being “sent” by his Father in heaven. In John’s Gospel, then, the Father is the missionary sender, the source from which all mission derives. The Son is the focus of the Gospel, however; for he is the Sent One, the missionary, if you will, come to perform the mission his Father.
It is at this point that the divinity of Jesus in John’s Gospel should be noted. In John’s Gospel, although Jesus’ divinity is pronounced, it still functions for the sake of the mission. In other words, Jesus’ unique identity enables him to do the special mission the Father has for him. So, Jesus’ identity in John’s prologue highlights his being “with God” in the beginning. Yet, John says he also “was God,” himself (1:1). Jesus uniquely communicates all that God is. “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (1:18). Jesus, therefore, is able to do his mission, because he is fully God in his own right. Only one who is fully equal with God could this sentence really be true of: “For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (5:19).
Because Jesus is completely one with his Father he is able to perform a mission that only one who is both human and divine could do. What, therefore, is this mission? In part it is simply the revealing of God, as seen in John 1:18 above. Specifically, though, it is the revealing of the glory of God as seen in the Son’s own humiliation and subsequent exaltation. God sent the Son, John 3:16 says, that the world may be saved. The salvation of the world was the Son’s mission. Yet, the way this salvation would be accomplished would be by the Son being “lifted up”, as was the serpent in the wilderness (3:14). Throughout John’s Gospel, John continually likes to use words or phrases that contain double meanings. The “lifting up” of the Son is one of these phrases. In John 8:28 we read, “So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.” There is a “lifting up” which Jesus indicated would finally reveal his identity. Again later, in John 12:28, Jesus prays to the Father, “Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’” A few verses later, Jesus says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die (12:32, 33).” Jesus’ mission was ultimately to be lifted up, exalted, and glorified, by the ignominious death he was to die on the cross. For on the cross, at the very bottom of John’s “V-Christology”, is where the glory of God is seen most clearly. The “grace and truth” realized in Jesus could not be seen more clearly than in his substitutionary death on behalf of a sinful world (1:17). It is on the cross that Jesus’ prayer to his Father is ultimately fulfilled, when he prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (17:1). Jesus, because he was fully man and also fully God, was able to be the true eschatological shepherd of the people of God (John 10), and the true “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). This is the mission which John presents as being fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a mission to save the world (3:16-17), to save his sheep, both of Israel and those from outside the fold (10:11-16). It is a mission which ultimately will bring glory to the Father, as the Son discloses his character in his own death.
Finally, the mission theme John presents in his Gospel is shown to be carried on through the Church. In John 17:18-19, Jesus prays to the Father, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” The Church is now to emulate Jesus’ own relationship to his Father. The Church’s mission is grounded upon, and modeled after, Jesus’ mission. Because Jesus did what only he could do, because of his unique identity as the God-man, we are able to join God in his mission to bring him glory. As the Father sent the Son, so now the Son sends his disciples into the world, not to do what only the Son could do, but to carry forth the message of what the Son did. We are able to do this by the Spirit, who the Son promised to send. Jesus was going back “to him who sent me,” he said, but he would now “send” the Helper to us (16:5-11). The Spirit will continue the work of glorifying the Son, and will help the Church carry out the mission of God, grounded upon the Son’s finished work (16:14-15). “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (20:21-22). The Church’s mission, in John’s Gospel, is grounded upon and modeled after the Son’s unique mission he was sent to accomplish by his Father. The Gospel of John itself assists in this, as its purpose is that the readers by believing “may have life in his name” (20:31).
The theme of mission in John’s Gospel is centered upon the person and work of Jesus, as the unique Son of the Father, doing all that the Father does. Having been sent from the Father, and having done all that he required, ultimately dying for the sins of the world, the Son now sends his own disciples, empowered the Spirit whom he sends to us, to continue the mission of God.

A Boomer in the Pew

2009-02-26T17:31:00.000-08:00

There's a new blog I just discovered, called, "A Boomer in the Pew: A Baby Boomer's Faith Journey." It looks like a good blog. Check it out!

Boomer in the Pew

Christmas 2008

2009-01-23T07:26:00.000-08:00

Long Overdue

2009-01-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

Well, once again it's been months since my last update. In the light of all the busyness, I've been posting more things on my facebook account and have neglected my blog. For those who do not have facebook, however, I would like to post a few pictures of my Christmas break back home in Minnesota. It was a great break and now I'm back at school in Illinois. Hopefully I will be able to make some more posts throughout this semester.

A Fall Day in Illinois #3

2008-10-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

A Fall Day in Illinois #2

2008-10-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

A Fall Day in Illinois #1

2008-10-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night Pictures

2008-09-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

The Beardsleys, Preusslers, and the Waldron

To Life and New Life

2008-09-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening I had a refreshing time over at Ryan and Kelly's apartment with my old friends, Luke and Nicole Preussler. It was great to be able to spend time with these two couples who have been such great friends to me over the last three years or so. We enjoyed food, drink, and the hilarious, canceled television show, "Arrested Development," but the highlight of the night for me was meeting Luke and Nicole's new baby daughter, Sophia. Luke's toast as we had our drinks is the title of this post: "To life and new life." We thank God for our lives, and for the life of baby Sophia, and we especially thank God for the new life we have in Jesus Christ.

Peter 1:22 - 2:5

"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

David Brainerd

2008-09-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

I just read the following excerpt from "The Life of David Brainerd," the journal of an 18th century missionary to the native Americans, compiled by the great pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards. May God grant to each of us a resignation to his will, to trust him to take us to be in his presence at the time of his choosing rather than ours. But may God grant us first the intense longing to depart and be with Christ to such a degree that we, like David (and the apostle Paul for that matter), may actually be inclined to have such a desire as David writes about here.

"When I am in a sweet resigned frame of soul, I am willing to tarry a while in a world of sorrow, I am willing to be from home as long as God sees fit it should be so: But when I want [lack] the influence of this temper, I am then apt to be impatient to be gone. Oh, when will the day appear that I shall be perfect in holiness, and in the enjoyment of God?"

Back to School

2008-09-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

A second year of seminary at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is now well underway for me. I am taking four classes, all of which I thoroughly enjoy: Pentateuch and Historical Writings, Poetic and Prophetic Writings, Lukan Writings, and American Church History. As usual, I have more reading than am able to get read, but I enjoy (almost) every page and am learning much. I am still working part time at a funeral home as a visitation attendant, but have recently been employed at Christian Heritage Academy about 15 minutes from my residence as the Saturday "space sharing supervisor." I work every Saturday, unlocking the building for those who will be renting the school's space for the day, keep an eye on them while they are there, and lock up at the end of the night. It is a tremendous blessing in that I am able to earn some money as well as be able to do some studying in the process! This will have to suffice for the time being as a current update on my life and times down here in Illinois. As always, prayers for my continued growth in the grace and knowledge that are in Christ Jesus are welcome and needed.

Chronological Snobbery

2008-06-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

C.S. Lewis, the great English professor and author, coined the term "chronological snobbery" for a trend which disturbed him in his day and continues to disturb many of us today. According to Lewis, chronological snobbery was "the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate of our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited." Lewis saw that there is a kind of snobbery, an arrogant attitude which believes that one's own standpoint in history makes everything from the past second-rate. Lewis recognized, however, that every age has its own cultural biases and that, therefore, it is necessary to learn from the past. He wrote the following in this regard:

"It's a good rule after reading a new book never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to three new ones... Every age has its own outlook. It is especially good at seeing certain truths and especially liable to make certain mistakes. We all therefore need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period... None of us can fully escape this blindness, but we shall certainly increase it, and weaken our guard against it, if we read only modern books... The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds and this can only be done by reading old books."

For our age and culture in particular, the Puritan church authors are perhaps some of the most helpful correctives to our own various blindspots. I have benefited greatly from the writings specifically of Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, and Samuel Rutherford. Currently I am reading a recent edition of three of John Owen's books combined, called "Overcoming Sin and Temptation," edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic. Reading many of the Puritan writers is like being called to battle by William Wallace after being accustomed to Mr. Rogers (no offense to Mr. Rogers; he hosted a childrens television program after all). Modern Christian authors are all too often shallow in their theology and either cold or happy-go-lucky in their religious emotions. The Puritans, on the other hand, took both solid doctrine and intensely fervent emotion seriously. I commend to all the writings of these great brothers of the past!

P.S.- The C.S. Lewis quotes were taken from the following web address:

http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/sites/www.cslewisinstitute.org/files/webfm/aboutcslewis/LewisChronologicalSnobbery.pdf

Wait for the Tide

2008-06-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

These are the lyrics from a song by Newsboys from their album "Step up to the Microphone." It's called "The Tide," and I think it's an analogy about waiting for God when it feels he is totally out of the picture.

Think I'll wait for the tide
seems it's all I can do right now
there must be a reason
i've run aground

I'll wait for the waves
to come
by the moon and the tide
like a man and his bride
i will wait
on you Lord
and we will run so far from here
to your...safety

think i'll lie in the sun for awhile
maybe inside out
i've been leaving messages for you
i'm sure it will all work out

and i know the waves
will come
by the moon and the tide
like a man and his bride
i will wait
on you Lord
and we will run so far from here
to your....safety in the storm

there is courage for the simple man
to the holders of secrets and scars
learning to stand with reaching arms
we'll wait till the very last
no matter what will be
you're always good
always good
to me

Prince Caspian Review

2008-05-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Check out these reviews of the movie "Prince Caspian." I think they offer perceptive thoughts. Especially check out the second one.

http://www.dougwils.com/index.asp?Action=Anchor&CategoryID=1&BlogID=5450

http://lookingcloser.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/the-looking-closer-review-prince-caspian/

God does not change

2008-05-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished my last paper for the year. The class was Hebrew Exegesis with Dr. Willem VanGemeren, and the paper was on an issue from the Old Testament book of Malachi, the prophet. My paper was on Malachi 3:6, which reads, "Because I, Yahweh, do not change, you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed." The paper examined in what specific sense, in the context, Yahweh is presented as not changing, and how that first clause of the sentence relates to the latter clause. The conclusion? On account of God's firm, unswerving commitment to his promise, his covenant he made with his people, his people are not consumed by his wrath, though they deserve to be. The people of God are not spared from destruction along with the wicked because of any good in them, but rather because they were graciously chosen to be God's people, as chapter 1 verses 2-3 of Malachi states: "'I have loved you,' says the LORD. But you say, 'How have you loved us?' 'Is not Esau Jacob's brother?' declares the LORD. 'Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.'" Continually the people of God deny God's love for them, saying instead, "It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape" (3:14-15). In response to the bitterness and grumbling of his people, God affirms his covenant love for his people, noting their not having been destroyed as evidence of God's own covenant love, and promising a day when it will finally be clear that God treats his people different from the wicked: "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him" (3:17-18).

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised (Prov. 31:25-30).

I have been blessed with a mother and grandmothers who fear the Lord. They exhibit strength, dignity, wisdom, kindness, and dedication to the Lord that this passage portrays. Proverbs 1:8-9 instructs, "do not forsake your mother's teaching; indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck." I pray I may be adorned with the fruit of their teaching in my own life. As your child, let me this Mother's Day call you all blessed. Thank you for your godly example.

Only a Few Weeks Left

2008-05-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

God helped me through my craziest week of school yet. I now have a week of finals, and then a two week class on Hebrew Exegesis. I will finish May 23 and hopefully will return the 24. I also preached my second sermon yesterday on Titus 2:11-14. The text reads:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldy desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly in the present age, as we wait for our blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all ungodliness, and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works.

The Inability of the Sinful Will

2008-04-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

I am nearing the end of the writing process for a paper on the nature of sin and its effects on humanity's ability to repent and turn to God. In my research for this paper, I came across several great quotes from Martin Luther's book, "The Bondage of the Will," which I read for the first time this past summer. Here is what Luther says regarding fallen man's freedom of will:

"It is plainly proved by Scriptures that are neither ambiguous nor obscure that Satan is by far the most powerful and crafty prince in this world; as I have said. Under his rule the human will is no longer free nor in its own power, but is the slave of sin and of Satan, and can only will what its prince has willed. And he will not let it will any good--though, even if Satan did not rule it, sin itself, whose slave man is, would weigh it down enough to make it unable to will good" (263).

Later on, Luther reflects on God's grace in the salvation of sinful men like him:

"But now that God has taken my salvation out of the control of my own will, and put it under the control of His, and promised to save me, not according to my workings or running, but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him or pluck me from Him" (314).

The Passover Lamb

2008-04-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Bible is filled with blood; blood and sacrifice. From beginning to end, the Bible commands, portrays, assumes, and teaches sacrifice. Innocent animals are killed, so that humans may have their sins forgiven and enjoy God’s presence in their midst. I was, therefore, interested when I recently saw on the blog Between Two Worlds a link to a video of an actual Passover sacrifice that took place in Jerusalem this year. The video is moving, and disturbing. I post a link to it below for the following reasons. First, as most of us no longer live in a culture where this sort of thing is practiced, we can hardly visualize the sacrifices that so much of the Bible portrays. Even if we choose to simply imagine the sacrifices, we lose the intended, emotional impact of them by not witnessing them with our own eyes as the original readers of Scripture did. Second, all the sacrifices portrayed in the Old Testament were meant to provide the proper categories and paradigms for our understanding of Jesus’ own death on behalf of sinners. Therefore, the better we can fully feel and understand what those animal sacrifices were like the better we will be able to comprehend the gospel. The following video is very graphic. Watch it with that knowledge. It may make you queasy. But also watch it with the knowledge that sacrifices like this were commanded by God and occurred many times, every day, for the sins of his people. And remember what Scripture says: “Indeed, under the Law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). “But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (10:3-4). “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (10:12-13).

http://www.sourceflix.com/vid_sacrifice.htm

First Sermon

2008-04-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I preached my first sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:1-2. Although it was only fifteen minutes, a lot of prayer went into its preparation, mostly from others. Thank you to all who prayed for me knowing I would be preaching yesterday. It went well, and I am looking forward to preaching a 25 minute sermon on May 1st. Pray that I will grow in my ability to handle God's Word, and to effectively and faithfully communicate it to others.

March Summary

2008-03-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. I visited my grandparents during my spring break in the beginning of March which was awesome. I'm thankful to have wonderful grandparents who were willing to take me in with them for a week. I had a great time hanging out with them and with my aunt and uncle who were also down there. Only about a week and a half after that I had a reasonable break for Easter, and so I traveled back up to Minnesota for a long weekend. I am now in the process of trying to finish a ton of stuff I have due in the near future, including my first sermon which I will be preaching this upcoming Thursday in my preaching lab. Continue to pray that I will honor my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in all I do.

Psalm 62:5-8

2008-03-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

A Note from Arizona

2008-03-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I write from Rio Verde, Arizona, where I am currently staying with my awesome grandparents and aunt and uncle for spring break. I have been thouroughly enjoying my time here and will be posting later about my time here, but for now I am compelled to make a quick post regarding a book I am reading. I am currently reading a book entitled, "Letters of Samuel Rutherford," which is a collection of letters written by a 17th century Scottish pastor. Most of the letters were written by Rutherford from prison in Aberdeen where he was imprisoned, and were written to friends and those who had sat under his preaching. I have read this book several times now and must say that Rutherford's letters are some of the most edifying and spiritually helpful things I have ever read. Charles Spurgeon spoke well when he called these letters "the nearest thing to inspiration which can be found in all the writings of mere men." Rutherford's intense love for and delight in Jesus ooze from each page as he writes from his prison cell. I recommend everyone to buy and read this book. Here is a small section from a letter written on February 9, 1637:

"I see that mortification, and to be crucified to the world, is not so highly accounted of by us as it should be. O how heavenly a thing it is to be dead and dumb and deaf to this world's sweet music! I confess it hath pleased His Majesty to make me laugh at the children who are wooing this world for their match. I see men lying about the world, as nobles about a king's court, and I wonder what they are all doing there. As I am at this present I would scorn to court such a feckless [worthless] and petty princess, or buy this world's kindness with a bow of my knee. I scarce now either see or hear what it is that this world offereth me; I know that it is little which it can take from me and as little that it can give me. I recommend mortification to you above anything; for, alas! we but chase feathers flying in the air, and tire our own spirits for the froth and over-gilded clay of a dying life. One sight of what my Lord hath let me see within this short time is worth a world of worlds" (57).

I will try and post again soon.

An Awesome Quote

2008-02-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

My friend Ryan Beardsley just posted this exact quote on his blog, but I couldn't help pasting it here as well! The truth in these statements is profound and life-changing.

"The first foundation of the delight a true saint has in Christ is His own perfection; and the first foundation of the delight he has in Christ, is His own beauty; He appears in Himself the chief among ten thousand and altogether lovely. The way of salvation by Christ is a delightful way to him, for the sweet and admirable manifestations of the divine perfections in it: the holy doctrines of the gospel, by which God is exalted and man abased, holiness honoured and promoted, sin greatly disgraced and discouraged, and free and sovereign love manifested, are glorious doctrines in his eyes, and sweet to his taste, prior to any conception of his interest in these things. Indeed, the saints rejoice in their interest in God, and that Christ is theirs, and so they have great reason, but this is not the first spring of their joy. They first rejoice in God as glorious and excellent in Himself, and then secondarily rejoice in the fact that so glorious a God is theirs."

Jonathan Edwards (Religious Affections, 176).

Apologies!

2008-02-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

It's been four months since my last post and I apologize. After a semester and a half I am still learning to fit everything I have to do into my schedule and somewhere along the line updating this blog just fell through the cracks. So let's see. Where to start? God blessed me with a great first semester of seminary. He gave me the grace to work hard and do well in all my classes, and also allowed me to meet a lot of awesome people. One of the awesome things about Trinity is that people come here from all over the world to get the training they need to handle the Word of God faithfully so they can spread the gospel to the people in their own countries. On my own hall I have the privilege of living in between one guy from Sri Lanka and another from South Korea. A little further down the hall is a man from Indonesia and a guy from Romania. Some of these guys have parted from their wives and children for a time in order to attend school here. It's amazing to see their dedication to Christ and the gospel that sustains them through such sacrifices.

God also provided me with a very interesting part-time job last August that has been a great blessing. At the beginning of last semester I began working at Kelley and Spalding Funeral Home, where my friend Ryan Beardsley and I work as visitation attendants. It's been a wonderful job in that the hours are usually in the evenings, the people I work with are extremely enjoyable, and I am often able to study vocabulary while working. I am also thankful to have a job while in seminary that keeps me reminded often of the reality that I will very shortly be with the Lord Jesus. John Piper recently posted this amazing quote on his website:

"You can be so interested in great theological and intellectual and philosophical problems that you tend to forget that you are going to die."

-Martin Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, p. 193.

Pray for me that all of my studying and learning will be done in full recognition of my own approaching death, and in steadfast faith in the great hope of the gospel. There is so much more to tell, but this will have to do for now. My next post will hopefully be quite sooner than the last one. Also, I'm experimenting with different colors for my blog. I can't seem to find the right one. Any suggestions let me know!

Willow Creek

2007-10-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

In a recent article entitled, "Willow Creek Repents" in Leadership magazine, a multi-year research project into the church's ministry is recounted which was conducted by Willow Creek, and brought about some interesting findings. The research was "to know what programs and activities of the church were actually helping people mature spiritually and which were not." Bill Hybels, the pastor of Willow Creek, made the following statements regarding the research findings.

"Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for."

"We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own."

It is wonderful that Bill Hybels is recognizing that church programs do not automatically effect personal spiritual growth, but isn't it sad that it took a research study to lead to this realization when the Bible itself has plenty to say about the matter. Later on in the article, the executive pastor of Willow Creek says they are going to replace old assumptions and "replace it with new insights. Insights that are informed by research and rooted in Scripture." I fear that Willow Creek has still not addressed the underlying problem: a pragmatic approach, which looks to what research says "works" rather than to the Word of God itself. Read the full article below.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/10/willow_creek_re.html

Psalm 112:6-8

2007-10-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
(English Standard Version)

Joel Osteen on 60 Minutes

2007-10-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Joel Osteen was featured on 60 Minutes last night, interviewed by Byron Pitts. See the link below for Christian blogger Michael Spencer's thoughts on the interview. Here's a preview:

"The line about getting people into 'church' who have been out of 'church' is simply crap, to be polite. No one in this movement is in church. They’re in the worst form of the prosperity Gospel, they are abandoning the God of the Bible, and they are glorifying a man who is assisting in the humiliation of the Gospel of Jesus. Osteen is a motivational speaker, and he uses only enough Christianity as necessary to get in the pockets of the gullible. Osteen is a Gospel preacher like Col. Sanders is an army officer." "Again, as I’ve said before, every evangelical leader needs to personally and by name repudiate and separate from Osteen, and call upon him and his followers to come back into the faith that is articulated in the Apostle’s Creed."

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/reactions-to-the-60-minutes-joel-osteen-piece

Also, Westminster Seminary professor Michael Horton was interviewed on the show as well, regarding the theology of Joel Osteen. Check out the link below for his comments.
http://www.whitehorseinn.org/osteenpage.htm

22 Theses on Paul and the Law

2007-10-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that my former professor, Dr. Caneday, has recently posted a newly revised 22 Theses on Paul and the Law on his blog, Biblia Theologica. His theses are extremely helpful in better understanding the apostle Paul's understanding of the Mosaic Law and how it relates to the Christian now that Christ has come. I encourage anyone interested to click on the link to the blog under the list of my favorite blogs, or just click on the link below.

http://bibliatheologica.blogspot.com/

Spiritual Warfare Part Two

2007-10-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

I came across several helpful quotes in a book I was reading today, Missions in the Third Millenium by Stan Guthrie. Guthrie is commenting on the particular understanding of spiritual warfare advanced most powerfully by Frank Peretti's book, This Present Darkness. I think the comments Guthrie makes in regard to the worldview put forward by this book are very perceptive.

"These depict a God who lets angels and demons 'duke it out' while remaining largely on the sidelines. Much of the spiritual warfare movement implies the existence of a God who is either unwilling or unable to work without specific, targeted prayers to first neutralize the satanic hosts pervading the planet" (80). Later, Guthrie adds, "Claiming the truthfulness of a teaching based on recent experience or a new revelation is the modus operandi of a cult, not of biblical Christianity" (81). Finally, Guthrie helpfully reminds us, "If this 'warfare' emphasis was not known or needed in the church's first two millennia, why would it be for the third millennium? And if it is a true way of becoming 'equipped for every good work,' why did God take so long to reveal it? And how do proponents defend themselves against the charge that they are promoting just the latest gnostic teaching in the church? Gnosticism, long a bane of the church, is an approach to faith that says that some special, hidden knowledge available only to the few is necessary to properly live the Christian life or to do God's will. The warfare emphasis certainly seems to imply this" (82). To end on a positive note, Guthrie offers this concluding comment: "Despite its flaws, it would be a mistake to dismiss the spiritual warfare movement out of hand"..."The spiritual warfare movement rightly reminds us that we battle not only the world and the flesh, but the devil as well" (82).

My New Church

2007-10-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

God has been good to provide me with a new body of believers to commit myself to while here at Trinity. I have recently made Arlington Heights Evangelical Free Church my new church home. It is a wonderful church, and I am looking forward to seeing how I can get involved in serving there. I've just missed the new member classes, so I will have to wait for February for that. The past few sermons have been awesome as well, as the pastor, Colin Smith, has been preaching through the Gospel of Mark. His messages are recorded and put online for free download, so I've attached a link for those interested.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/arlington_heights_evangelical_free_church/

Spiritual Warfare

2007-10-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today I wrote a reflection on a chapter in the book "Introducing World Missions" for my Foundations of Christian Mission class; an assignment due tomorrow. I've decided to post part of it here, as it is a topic that interests and concerns me. The topic is spiritual warfare.

Spiritual warfare is a topic that has greatly interested me in the past, and right up to the present it continues to occupy my thoughts from time to time. The authors discuss the phenomenon of “spiritual mapping”, a spiritual technique which by discovery of various demonic strongholds one is able to determine the spiritual climate of a given area and is thus better able to pray and combat the forces of darkness in that location. I wish I knew the history of such thinking, but as the authors make clear it was promoted most effectively by means of Frank Peretti’s books, This Present Darkness, and its sequel Piercing the Darkness. In these books, the reader is taken behind the scenes of spiritual warfare to see what goes on in the spiritual realm, the realm of angels and demons, when Christians are engaged in the fight against the kingdom of Satan. I read both of these books when I was in my early teens, and they had a profound influence on how I perceived the spiritual world and how the Christian should engage this spiritual war. Like so much of evangelicalism, my own worldview and understanding of how to live the Christian life was radically shaped by these books. It was not these books alone, of course. Many other Christians were saying the same thing, and still are today. Today, however, I am much more critical of such an understanding of the Christian life, and I see very little, if any, value in having such an understanding in order to live the Christian life or go out on the mission field.
If there was something positive accomplished by Peretti’s books, it was, I think, that they reminded Christians of the reality of the spiritual battle we are all engaged in. It dramatically and creatively portrayed what may go on behind the scenes as Christians engage unbelievers, struggle against sin, and pray for their communities. The negative effects are seen in the very evident priority many Christians give to such an understanding of spiritual warfare, as a necessary understanding to have before one can minister effectively. To use myself as an example, I let This Present Darkness inform how I understood the events of life and determine what my behavior should be in response to sin and evil. This understanding of spiritual warfare, an understanding based upon personal experiences more often than the Bible, became the higher spiritual knowledge necessary to make effective warfare for God’s kingdom. I believe Scripture does suggest much of what This Present Darkness and other writings and experiences portray about the reality and involvement of the demonic in the world. What I have a problem with, however, is the suggested response of the believer to such knowledge. What is being suggested by so many “experts” on spiritual warfare is that believers and missionaries need to know that Satan works in this manner so that they can be effective in struggling against him. The problem is that what Scripture hints at in several passages[1] has been blown up to be a major grid through which one views the Christian life. What was intended to be in the background has been taken and forced into the foreground. Or, perhaps a better way to put it is this: we have become overly interested in what God has not chosen to reveal, and have in the process overlooked what he has revealed. Scripture certainly does portray the Christian life as a battle against the forces of darkness; and if God has revealed such a portrayal to us, then it is certainly helpful for us to know it. The means of fighting this war has also been revealed to us, however; and it is this that has been tragically neglected by so much of the church. The means of our warfare, as Scripture constantly portrays, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul responded to Christians in Colossae who were being told they had to reach a higher plain of spiritual knowledge by reminding them that all spiritual authorities and rulers were created by Christ and for Christ (Col 1:16). Paul reminded them that Christ disarmed and conquered all spiritual rulers by his death and resurrection (2:15), and that they must hold fast to Christ in order to grow spiritually (2:19). Paul’s response to the situation in Colossae was to affirm to the Christians there that yes, there are evil spiritual rulers in the heavenly realms, but the attitudes and behaviors being promoted in response to such an understanding are not right. The message of Colossians is one we all need to hear: Christ has conquered and is currently reigning. Our weapon of warfare is simply this: the gospel message. Any kind of spirituality that leaves Christ and his work as an event in the past, with little usefulness for how we go about fighting now in the present, Paul would have us reject as “empty deceit” (2:8). The church, and its missionaries, do not need some Gnostic-like, higher knowledge, beyond what God has chosen to reveal in his Word, about how to wage the war of faith. God has not hidden secret truths deep away in his Word that we must discover and exploit in order to be effective in our warfare against sin and Satan. He has revealed it plainly and openly, so that as Paul says, we may all “reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:2, 3).

[1] Daniel 10 and Ephesians 6, for example.

My Dwelling

2007-09-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the outside of my dorm. The picture of my friend Ryan Beardsley was taken in the living room of him and his wife's apartment.

Questions

2007-09-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have recently been reading The Confessions by Augustine and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Early last week I read one part in particular I thought would be worthy of a comment. In this section Augustine describes a comforting dream his godly, Christian mother had while he was still a pagan. In the dream a radiant young man approached Augustine’s mother, asked why she was mourning, and comforted her with the knowledge that her son would one day be a Christian. What stuck me was the comment Augustine made regarding the heavenly man’s question to his mother. Augustine writes:
“But she dreamt that she was standing on some kind of wooden ruler, and saw a young man of radiant aspect coming toward her; he cheerfully laughed at her, whereas she was sorrowful, overwhelmed with grief. He asked her the reason for her gloom and daily tears, though as usual his question was intended to teach her, not to elicit information for himself. She replied that she was mourning my ruin. He then instructed and admonished her to take good heed and see that where she stood, there also stood I. This was to reassure her.” (51)

Augustine notes that the man’s question was intended not to gain information for himself that he did not already have, but to use the question as a tool for teaching. This is a more than common use of questions, yet it seems when it comes to interpreting the Bible we often forget this. There are some who routinely point to passages in the Bible where God is portrayed as asking questions and then conclude on that basis that God must therefore not actually know the answer to his own question. This is absurd if you think about it. A common example of this can be seen in how parents interact with their children. Children are often asked, for instance, whether they did a particular thing, when it is more than clear to the parent exactly what the child did. The question in this case is asked in order to provide the child with a test, to see whether they will respond appropriately when confronted with being found out. In Scripture we can see this at work in Genesis 4:9-12 when God asks Cain where his brother Abel is. We should not assume from God’s question that he did not actually know where Abel was; rather, it is clear God asked Cain this as parents ask what their disobedient children have done. In addition to this, questions also provide opportunity for teaching in a way that simply stating the facts would not. Observe for yourselves how often in the Gospels Jesus asks his disciples questions, and then follows by providing them with teaching. Just a random thought inspired by Saint Augustine.

Piper at Wheaton

2007-09-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention it, but this last Thursday night my friends Ryan and Kelly Beardsley and I journeyed over to Wheaton College to hear our beloved pastor John Piper present a lecture on Christian suffering. As usual we left with a clearer sight of the glory of God in Christ and a better biblical understanding of the purpose for suffering. Let me include here just one quote from that evening that I found especially powerful, and true. Also, I've included a link for those interested to be able to download the message for yourself.

"The reason this world exists the way it is is so that Jesus Christ would have a place to suffer and die. The reason there is terror in the world is so that Jesus Christ would be terrorized. The reason there is trouble in the world is so that Jesus Christ would be troubled. The reason there is pain in the world is so that Jesus Christ could experience pain. This is the world that God prepared for the suffering and death of his Son."

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/805_wheaton_messages_on_suffering/

The Gospel- From Beginning to End

2007-09-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

The Scripture passage I just posted over on the sidebar, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, portrays the entire Christian life as rooted in the gospel. The Christian life begins by hearing the gospel and receiving it. But the gospel is not just what one accepts at the beginning of the Christian life before moving on to supposed bigger, better, and more exciting things. The gospel is also what we "stand" in now, at the present. Keep in mind this is the same gospel. The gospel message by which we were converted is the same message we live out our life in now, however far along in the Christian life we may be. This gospel is also, Paul says, the means of our "being saved". Far from being only the message that "saved" us long ago, after which we continue into sanctification through some other means (will power, etc.), the gospel Paul presents is that which is present with us throughout our Christian life, from beginning to end, saving us all along the way. A read of the entire letter to the Corinthians shows clearly how functional the gospel message was to Paul. All the glorious realities about the work of Christ in his death and resurrection come to us through the application of those realities to the disordered lives of the Corinthians. For Paul, the gospel message doesn't just convert us, it informs all of our living with the realities of what Christ's death and resurrection purchased for us, and how we must live as a result. The gospel, then, is that which the Christian heard, received, stands in, and is being saved by, "if", as Paul says, "you hold fast to the word I preached to you-unless you believed in vain." Paul thus calls the Christian to cling tightly to that same message originally believed; the same one he preached, which we received, by we stand, by which we are being saved. For if we do not hold fast this good news from beginning to end, we will not be saved, but will have believed in "vain". Hear the words of God spoken through Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9:
"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge-even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you-so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

Hebrews reading

2007-09-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is a guy named Ryan Ferguson giving a dramatic recitation of Hebrews 9 and 10. It's awesome.

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2007/09/hebrews-9-10.html

Pictures from Chicago 3

2007-09-03T20:39:00.001-07:00

Here's the final set of pictures

Pictures from Chicago 2

2007-09-03T20:37:00.001-07:00

Here's some more pictures.

Pictures from Chicago

2007-09-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures I took when David, Angel, Joe and I walked the streets of downtown Chicago.

My first post

2007-09-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings family and friends! I'm not sure if this is going to work but I want to try and use this blog to post pictures from my life here at Trinity so you can see what's going on. I may also occasionally try and let everyone know what's going on down here.