John Piper Directly Addresses Obama's Abortion Statement

Mark Driscoll on Nightline

Who Am I ?

I remember sitting in an auditorium at the University of Central Florida my freshmen year of college, looking around at hundreds of people making their way to a seat before our Statistics class began. In that moment I realized that I was only a number to the professor who was down in front. Being a number is somewhat frustrating. No one cares who you are they just want your money and tests turned in promptly. It was a feeling that I did not particularly care for, however, many individuals walk around every day with this same sense of worthlessness.

As Christians the Bible is clear who we are in Christ. Although people throughout society might be asking themselves, "Who am I?" ... Christians can turn to Scripture to answer that inevitable question. The following is a list of verses that discuss who we are in Christ. Although there are millions of Christians all over the world... we are definitely not just another number to Jesus.

Eph. 1:1 - I am a saint.

Eph. 1:3-4 - I am chosen in Christ to be holy and blameless.

1 Thess. 1:4 - I am a chosen son/daughter, and dearly loved by God.

1 John 5:18 - I am born of God.

John 1:12 - I am a child of God.

Rom. 8:14,15 - I am a son/daughter of God.

Eph. 3:12 - I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Heb. 4:16 - I may approach the throne of grace with confidence to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Gal. 4:6-7 - I am an heir of God.

Rom. 8:16-17 - I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His righteousness with Him.

Rom. 5:1 - I have been justified, fully forgiven and made completely righteous in Christ.

Col. 2:13-14 - I have been made alive with Christ who has forgiven all my sins. The debt against me has been canceled.

Rom. 8:1 - I am forever free from condemnation.

1 Cor. 6:15-17 - I am joined to the Lord.

2 Cor. 5:18 - I am reconciled to God.

1 Cor. 6:20 - I am not my own. I have been bought with a price. I belong to God.

John 15:1,5 - I am a part of the true vine, sharing in its life.

Heb. 3:14 - I am a partaker of Christ, sharing His life.

1 Cor. 12:13 - I am a member of Christ's body.

1 Pet. 2:9,10 - I am a member of God's own people, a royal priesthood, a people for God's own possession.

1 Cor. 3:16 - I am a temple of the Spirit. His life dwells in me.

1 Cor. 2:12 - I have received the Spirit of God into my life so I can understand what God has freely given me.

Col. 1:13-14 - I have been rescued from the dominion of darkness, transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

Acts 26:18 - I have been taken from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.

2 Pet. 1:4 - I have been given His exceedingly great and precious promises so I may participate in His holy nature and escape the corruption in the world.

Phil. 3:20 - I am a citizen of heaven.

Eph. 2:19 - I am a fellow citizen of God's household with the rest of God's family.

1 Thess. 5:5 - I am a son/daughter of light. I am of the day.
Eph. 5:8 - I am light in the Lord.

Eph. 2:10 - I am God's workmanship, born anew to do His work.

2 Cor. 5:19 - I am a minister of reconciliation.

Matt. 5:13 - I am the salt of the earth.

Matt. 5:14 - I am the light of the world.

2 Cor. 2:14 - I spread the sweet aroma of the fragrance of Christ.

Rom. 8:29 - I am going to be fully conformed to the likeness of Christ. God has already decided that.

Rom. 8:39-40 - I am secure in Christ. Nothing will be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord.

These passages should fill us with joy, knowing that we are cherished by the Lord through Christ.

World Views?

Gerry Breshears is a professor of Theology @ Western Seminary. He offers what I believe is a helpful outline for what entails a world view. When discussing Christian apologetics it is elemental to understand what makes up and constitutes a world view. The following should be read and understood if one wants to engage others with the truth, rationality, and pertinence of Christianity.

What's a World View?

Basic assumptions, values, allegiances by which we interpret the world around us.

Assumptions: Things presumed true where no proof is necessary or possible. They cannot be disproved except in deep personal crisis or the persistent power of the Spirit.

Values: Qualities or traits we cherish or esteem by we assess the worth, goodness, or importance of things and persons.

Allegiances: Loyalty or faithfulness to an individual, group or cause which brings us to choose what will enhance that relationship.

Where's this in the Bible? Rom.12:1-2; Eph. 4:17-24; Mark 7:6,7, 21; Matt. 22:36-40; Deut. 6:4-6

What are the basic world views? What religions come from them?

Naturalism: Atheism; Deism; Scientism
Organic: Polytheism; Animism; New Age; Paganism
Theism: Judaism; Islam; Touched by an Angel; Christianity

What is ultimately real?

Naturalism: Space-Time, Mass-energy; Natural law; The cosmos is all there is or ever will be.
Organic: Living energies
Christianity: YHWH, the triune God of the Bible

What's the nature of the universe?

Naturalism: Evolved from eternal mass energy; Random application of presently operating natural law
Organic: Eternal network of energies
Christianity: Created physical spiritual reality

What's the nature of human?

Naturalism: Evolved animal, no more, no less; Complex electro-chemical machine
Organic: Temporary energy convergence
Christianity: Created physical spiritual reality; Image of YHWH, the triune God

What's the human predicament?

Naturalism: Economic, educational, environmental
Organic: Out of touch with the higher level energies
Christianity: Trying to be like God on our terms; Broken relation with God

What's the solution?

Naturalism: Humans must provide the solution; Economy, education, environment; Human government
Organic: Humans must provide the solution; Shamans, magic
Shaman: A spiritually adept person who can see into the spirit worlds to gain knowledge which enables us to achieve harmony with the cosmos. Shamanic activities include divination, control over the elements, and escorting the souls of the recently deceased to their place in the next world.
Magic: Manipulation of substances, energies, and minds including humans and spirits by word (rituals, incantations, chants, curses, spells) and objects (charms, amulets, crystals, herbs, potions, wands, candles).
Christianity: God provides the solution; Atonement of Christ; Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone; Spirit enabled heart initiated obedience.

What's the goal of my life?

Naturalism: Eat, drink & be merry; Grab the gusto! Life is its own meaning. Advance the human race.
Organic: Become one with the cosmos; Save the salmon. They are one with us.
Christianity: Glorify God and enjoy Him forever; Spread life and grace.

What happens when I die?

Naturalism: You atoms rejoins the universe; Life happens and then you die.
Organic: Your energy rejoins the universe; Reincarnation to achieve higher spiritual levels.
Christianity: See God; Resurrection of the body; Eternal personal existence with or away from God

How can I decide right and wrong?

Naturalism: If it feels good, do it; Indulge yourself; Do what gets accepted
Organic: Maximize harmony with cosmic energies. Be true to your spiritual self; Follow the guidance of the higher energies.
Christianity: Live like Jesus; Obey God from the heart; Love God, love neighbor.

What difference does it make?

1. Religion is the backbone of culture, providing moral and spiritual insight for life.

Religion is repressive. For the good of civilization, get it out of public life.

Christianity is a primitive religion. Jesus is just a man with some helpful insights.


2. Human life from conception to natural death is sacred and worthy of protection.


Human life is good while it is fulfilling and making a contribution. Death is a good option when that is no longer true.


3. Marriage is the God-ordained life long covenant bond between a man and a woman.

Marriage is a human contract between any two people contingent on mutual satisfaction.


4. Humans have both dignity and depravity. Encourage children to express desires which are Christ like but restrain others.

Humans are good by nature but corrupted by society and religion. Encourage children to express themselves authentically.


5. Life is a sacred stewardship from God in a broken world. It=s fulfillment comes in eternity.

Life is existence in an improving world lived for present happiness and fulfillment.


6. God has defined the best human life. We will be most fulfilled as we follow His leading.

Life is full of good moral options. Non-judgmental tolerance is the highest virtue.


What will you do?

Romans 12:1-2

Apologetic Approach to Evil.

The problem of evil has been accurately assessed as the most serious intellectual obstacle that stands between many people and religious faith. This issue is grounded on the fact that a number of related and essential beliefs about God appear to be incompatible with the evil we encounter in the world. Christians believe that God is completely good (omnibenevolent), all-knowing (omniscient) and all-powerful (omnipotent). The problem is that these claims about God do not seem to be consistent with the amount of evil in the world. If God is good and loves human beings, if he is all-knowing, and all-powerful, it seems reasonable to believe that he is able to deliver his creatures from evil and suffering. Ronald Nash unpacks the basic idea of the problem of evil when he writes,

“Given these claims, it seems to follow that God wants to eliminate evil, that God knows how to eliminate evil, and that God has the power to eliminate evil. But evil exists. In fact, great amounts of evil exist. Indeed, great amounts of apparently senseless and purposeless evil seem to exist […] In short, the existence of evil seems inconsistent with our belief in God’s goodness or omniscience or power. Troubled by their reflection on these difficulties, many have found it easy to take the additional step and conclude that the existence of evil in the world makes it unlikely that God exists.”

This is evidenced in a statement made in a debate on God by Sinnott-Armstrong, “There is lots of evil in the world. There would not be so much evil if there were an all-good and all-powerful God. Therefore, there is no such God.”

Responding to the problem of evil apologetically is a difficult journey to embark, however, it must be done. This argumentation seems to leave Christian thinkers in a horrible predicament. On the one hand, they cannot deny any of the factors that make up the problem of evil, much of it apparently gratuitous or meaningless. However, as theists, believers must affirm their belief that this world with all the evil was actually created by a good, loving, omnipotent and omniscient God. Christian apologists’ goal is to show how the Christian worldview is consistent with the problem of evil. However, one needs to be aware of the two sides of this argument.

Apologetically, the problem of evil can be a very sensitive subject to address. The reason for this is the two sides to this argument, the intellectual side and the emotional side. Intellectually, one wants to face in rational terms the question of whether the reality of evil is incompatible with the God of theism. However, the emotional side of the problem of evil is personal and can be detrimental to apologetic efforts. When one is going through an emotional time of suffering the intellectual approach of discussing conceptual ideas will usually be of little help. A time like this usually calls for emotional, spiritual, and psychological support. Apologists should be discerning when entering into an apologetic discussion.

Intellectually, Christian apologetics need to be honest and agree that the problem of evil is undoubtedly the greatest obstacle to belief in God. William Craig makes this point in a debate, “When I consider the depth and extent of suffering in the world, then I have to admit that it makes it hard to believe in God.” Understanding that, one needs to seek to give a rational account of the co-existence of God and suffering from a Christian worldview.

One might notice that while describing the problem of evil the word “gratuitous” was used frequently. Everybody admits that the world is filled with suffering. However, although we are often unable to see any reason for why harm befalls us, it does not imply that these apparently gratuitous evils are indeed gratuitous. Craig gives an example of this when he writes,

“Everyone of us can think back on experiences of suffering or hardship in our lives, which at the time seemed pointless and unnecessary but, when viewed in retrospect, are seen to have been ultimately to our or others’ advantage, even if we would not want to go through them again.”

As a Christian apologist, one must show how although there is evident suffering, that evil is not gratuitous and actually fits in to his or her worldview.

For example, Romans 8:28 reads, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose” (NKJV). This verse is often misunderstood to mean, “All things work together for good, period.” Due to this error, millions of people think the promise in this verse applies to them. However, a proper interpretation of this passage would pertain to a large audience who loves God and are called according to his own purpose. Another misconception concerning this verse is that everything works for good during the earthly existence. On the contrary, all things work together for good when viewed from the perspective of eternity. When one is sharing this he or she needs to explain these common misconceptions and how the existence of evil does not mean that God does not exist, in fact that all things actually will work together for those who love the Lord and are called by him.

Knowing that the problem of evil has not been solved by this short text, it is imperative that one remembers the words of Peter. “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience” (I Pet. 3:15-16a, ESV). The issue of evil is philosophically difficult, however, one must not run from it but engage individuals with gentleness sharing the hope they have in Christ despite the suffering (Romans 8:18).

Provocative Christian Living

For the past two days I have been sick in bed. I won't go into the gross details, however, it was not pretty.

Today I wanted to introduce you to a blog that I read on a regular basis. Dan Lacich is a pastor at Northland in Longwood, Florida. He was one of my high school football coaches and a man that lived out his relationship with Christ on a daily basis. His blog Provocative Christian Living is definitely worth your time reading.

Recently he has been doing a series of posts called, "Provocative Bible Verses." His most recent entry discusses the text Matthew 5:48. I thought it was well done and really enjoyed reading it, therefore, I wanted to pass it on to those of you who are not familiar with Dan's blog. So read the following post and be sure to visit his site.

Provocative Bible Verses: Nobody is Perfect, But They Should Be!

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

Nobody is perfect is one of the few remaining truisms that has nearly universal agreement among people of every cultural milieu, philosophical system, or religious ideology. It is the standard way of accounting for our short comings both major and minor. We may want to do better and we may want others to do better but there is always the caveat that we know perfection is impossible.

Yet here comes Jesus again with one of his incredibly uncomfortable statements, “Be perfect just like God is perfect”. Talk about raising the bar to a ridiculous level! At least it certainly seems that way. How in the world are we supposed to be perfect like God the Father when we already know that as human beings we can’t be perfect. Jesus Himself seems to acknowledge that we will continue to sin when He teaches the disciples to pray and tells the to ask to be forgiven just as we forgive others. A prayer like that assumes that sin will be an ongoing reality even in the life of the most dedicated of Christ-followers. If that is the case, then how are we to be “perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect”.

Well like all verses in the Bible, context is everything. We need to read the first 47 verses in Chapter 5, the beginning of what know of as The Sermon on the Mount. It is Jesus’ most complete teaching on what the life of a Christ-follower should look like. In what He has already said He has consistently raised the bar. Murder is not just physically killing someone, it is also hating them from the heart. Adultery follows a similar ideal. Retaliating against a person who slaps us, loving our enemies, and being a person who forgives are among the hard things Jesus calls us to in those verses. Each of those things follows on the heals of Jesus saying that He came not to abolish but to fulfill the law. So in some way, what He is teaching has always been the intent of God’s law. There is a sense that what Jesus is saying is that we have stopped short of understanding what the Father has always called for. We have restricted our definitions of what is right and wrong to what we can accomplish with a minimal of effort. What Jesus is saying is that we can not and must not sell ourselves or God short.

This idea of not coming up short is found in the word He uses for “perfect”. It is the Greek word, “telos”. Among other things it has the idea of reaching the goal or the end. A “tele-vision” is something that sends a picture to an end user, just as a tele-phone sends a voice to the end or goal. Telos also has the idea of something being complete. So when Jesus tells us to be perfect as the Father is perfect we need to understand that He is placing before us a goal. There is something that we are striving for. The goal is in fact to become complete in Christ. In order for that to happen there must be no halfway measures. We can’t say, “I never killed someone so I must be okay”. We must ask about our heart and our attitude towards others, not just the external appearance or action. We can’t be content with a little cleaning up of our lives that is better than most. We must always be looking to the Father for the model of how we live.

There are two dangers however that we must be aware of. One is pride. We can easily become spiritually proud thinking that we have accomplished perfection on our own. This was the sin of so many of the Pharisees in Jesus day. The second danger is despair and a feeling that we can’t be good enough to be perfect like God so we give up. I think in both cases that Philippians 1:6 guards us against both these errors, “He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the Day of Christ Jesus”. The word for completion in that verse is the root word “telos”. God is working in you to bring you to complete perfection in Christ. So you need not despair because He WILL see it through and you can not be proud because HE will see it through.

Of course as in all things in our walk with Christ, we are required to put our whole self in. There are no halfway measure or efforts that are acceptable. We are to be radically, provocatively, sold out 100% for Jesus. Yet in being sold to Jesus, we will all the while know that when we fail, He forgives us and carries us on to the goal and that when we succeed, it is ultimately because of His grace and for His glory.

Guilt-Driven Christianity

I recently came across an article by Dr. Alvin Reid titled "Saying Goodbye to Guilt-Driven Christianity." I thought it was well done and raised some points that many Christians often think about yet barely discuss. Since I am busy with class I will simply post the article and let you discuss it if you would like. Hope you enjoy...

There is a story told about the time Sir Conan Doyle, the English writer who created the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, decided to play a practical joke on 12 of his best friends. The story goes that he sent all 12 of them a telegram that simply read: “Flee at once … all has been discovered.” Within 24 hours, all 12 had fled to other countries.

Sadly, many—if not most—Christians live with the same guilt. We feel guilty if we stay out too late on Saturday and sleep through church on Sunday morning. We feel guilty if the physical components of our relationships with our girlfriends or boyfriends “go too far.” We feel guilty if we don’t give money to the Church or spend the right amount of time in prayer. Unfortunately, many believers are driven to do these things—pray, tithe, attend church, remain sexually pure—by a rabid sense of duty.

This ought not to be. While these things are good things and goals to be sought after, and while guilt should be a natural reaction to sin from a regenerate heart, the Christian faith should never be driven by a sense of duty, guilt or entitlement. Instead, we should be driven to lives of holiness by passion—passion for God, passion for the lost, passion for the Gospel, passion for each other.

If we move from passion and excitement as motivation to duty and guilt, we lose the great idea of our faith. The great idea of our faith is that the Creator-God has made a way for regular folks like us to know Him. This great idea allows both for eternal life with Him in heaven and purpose in this life. This is an idea of freedom, is it not?

Imagine for a moment that you have no recollection of the life and message of Jesus Christ. And imagine that someone who knows this message well comes to tell you about the Christian faith. They say to you:

Jesus came to earth and died so that you could attend weekly meetings and give Him a slice of your income. You should, therefore, modify your behavior so as to fit in and believe exactly like we tell you to believe and resist getting too excited, for that would be in bad taste. Then you will fulfill your duty and rid yourself of guilt.

Would that be something you would accept? Probably not. Would those sentiments be true to the life and message of Jesus Christ? No, they wouldn’t. And yet that is where many of us find ourselves today.

Now imagine again that you know nothing of the life and message of Jesus Christ, and someone who knows this message well comes to share it with you. Their life is compelling and authentic. Perhaps they don’t fit all the Christian stereotypes, but they are driven by an otherworldly passion and commitment. They say to you:

The reason we don’t do things so well and there exists so much sorrow, death and injustice is that our sin permeates this world. Yet, this great God became like us because of His great love and, amazing as it seems, sacrificed our sin and guilt on the cross. If only we will accept his gift of salvation and surrender to His leadership, God will ignite a new passion inside of you.

Would you be more likely to connect with that message? Probably. Would those sentiments be truer to the life and message of Jesus Christ? Yes, they would. They comprise the great idea of our faith.

A guilt-driven faith will certainly go through the motions. It will drive you to action. But a passion-driven faith forces us to tell everyone we know about the great idea that can change the world. It will drive you to a lifestyle. And we would long for our neighbors, friends and families to embrace this great idea!

The Great Awakenings in the Church have come in no small part because men recaptured a sense of passion rather than guilt. John Wesley, an ordained, Oxford-educated minister, did not become a leader in the Great Awakening until he found an inner passion for Jesus Christ. Once that happened he seemed outlandish to others, and he eventually had to preach in the fields. The same could be said of Whitefield and Edwards, Finney and Spurgeon, Luther and Savonarola. They embraced a passion for the great idea of Christianity.

Our faith is certainly not comprised only of passion. It is also pure, revealed truth. But the truth of our faith is more than mere, propositional fact; it is a great idea that is worthy of infectious passion.

It seems a passionless faith may be one reason so many find our faith unattractive and disingenuous. We must revive the great idea of our great God. We must rediscover the great commission and great commandment. We must pursue a passion-driven Christianity. If our faith is to become a transformative, redemptive power within the culture, we need to flee guilt-driven, duty-centered puppetry and call down a passion for the great idea of the Gospel.

Youtube Debut

I am almost done with the first week of this intercession course. It is going well, however, the work load is extremely overwhelming. Therefore, I am going to again take this opportunity to post a little something that won't take much time.

In my Biblical Interpretation class we had to take a Biblical passage and creatively present it ... while not sacrificing the actual meaning and context. So my group (Evan and Lauren Perkins) decided that although it was tempting for us to do something serious... we wanted to incorporate Jerry Springer somehow (such a Biblical show). Therefore, we thought it would be funny to take 2 Samuel 12:1-14 and reenact it on the Jerry Springer show. This passage is where David is confronted by Nathan (Prophet) for committing adultery and having a man killed. What better place to have a confrontation than the Jerry Springer show... however, since we needed two guys for David and Nathan we decided that Lauren would play Sherry Springer ... Jerry's cousin that is filling in for him.

It is kind of hard to hear some of the lines... so turn it up and listen carefully. Hope you enjoy...



I know... this was actually a Seminary class... haha.

Thanks to Drew Hill for video taping this little skit!

Six Study Essentials

To follow yesterdays post I wanted to again "borrow" a post from Mark Driscoll in which he gives six essentials for being a Christian who studies. If you liked the entry about why Christians should study... this should be helpful to give resources to enable this process to begin.



1. Have a good Bible.

Every Christian needs a good Bible that they can easily read and enjoy. A translation such as the English Standard Version (ESV), the ESV Study Bible is very well done, or the New International Version (NIV) is preferable as your primary reading Bible, although there are many other translations that are also quite good (e.g., New King James Version, New American Standard Version).

2. Have some good Christian books.

If you want to build a reference library, the first book you should buy is A Commentary and Reference Survey by John Glynn. That book will tell you which other books are the best resources available for in-depth Christian study and anyone who is serious about studying should have a copy of this book.

3. Have some good (free) online study resources.

There are many great websites that can help you do Bible word studies and such for free. Good examples include the following, with the first one built and run by Mars Hill elder, Zack Hubert:

ReGreek - specializes in word studies from the Bible 's original languages.
Crosswalk - has many translations and Bible study tools.
Bible Gateway - has many translations and Bible study tools.
CCEL - has most of the major works from Christian history for free and a “Study Bible” feature that pulls up historical church commentary on specified verses.
E Sword - has numerous Bible study tools.
Village Church - Matt Chandler is one of the best pure communicators I have ever heard. His sermons are a must!

4. Have some good Bible software.

If you can afford it, Bible study software provides some amazing resources and companies like Logos Bible Software are worth considering. However, this is extremely expensive and typically used for really in-depth study. Start saving!

5. Have some good websites.

There are many great resources available for free on the web with articles, books, blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, and MP3s. The following are some recommendations:

Desiring God - is the website featuring a large repository of sermons and articles from my friend, Dr. John Piper.
Covenant Seminary - has a “Free Downloads” link on their front page that will enable you to listen to hundreds of hours of their class lectures on many areas of Christian study. I am grateful to my friends at Covenant who have given the church such a gracious gift.
Mars Hill Church - is where hundreds of hours of Mark Driscoll's teaching is available for free and has been the number one podcast on iTunes for religion and spirituality.
carm - has good articles on cults, world religions, and apologetical issues.
equip.org - has good articles, book reviews, and more, on cults, world religions, and apologetical issues.
www.christianitytoday.com/history - has some great articles on Christian history and biography.
www.monergism.com - has an almost overwhelming number of free articles on nearly every theological issue from a Reformed perspective.

6. Have some good community.

Most of the Bible was written to communities of people and is therefore best studied in community with other Christians. For this reason, getting plugged into a Community Group and/or taking midweek classes in addition to regularly attending a Sunday church service is essential.

The Studying Christian

Well... as of now I am in an intercession course for the next two weeks. I will definitely not have time to post the usual entries that I have been producing. However, I did want to post some blog entries I have come across that have really interested me.

Mark Driscoll posted "The Studying Christian" on his blog a couple of months ago. It is a Scriptural look at the importance and necessity of loving God with all ones mind. I thought it was interesting because growing up no one every gave me Scriptural reasoning for studying God's Word and ways... I was simply told to "have faith... and believe." There was never any encouragement to engage ones mind in this process of spiritual growth. I believe it would be advantageous to go through these texts given by Driscoll and evaluate how you have been using your mind to worship the Lord...

The following is straight from the Resurgence.

In following Jesus’ command to love God with “all our mind,” the Christian life is supposed to include regular times of study and learning. The goal of such study is to have what Paul called “the mind of Christ” so that we can live the life of Christ by the power of the Spirit of Christ.


Study

In John 17:17, Jesus prayed that we would study our Bible. He said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Therefore, to become more and more like Jesus we must have regular time in God’s Word. The Scriptures have much to say about the benefits of regular study.

Scripture regarding study


“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10)

“Give me understanding to learn your commands.” (Psalm 119:73)

“Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” (Proverbs 9:9)

“Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.” (Proverbs 10:14)

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 23:12)

“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.” (1 Timothy 2:11)

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls [books], especially the parchments [Scriptures].” (2 Timothy 4:13)


To help us learn Scripture, we are told to:

Hear God’s Word (Luke 11:28; Romans 10:17), which means that listening to sermons, lectures, and audio Bibles is very beneficial.
Read God’s Word (e.g., Revelation 1:3) as Jesus often did.
Study God’s Word (e.g., Ezra 7:10; Acts 17:11) as Jesus often did, which caused people to be amazed at His insights (Matthew 7:28–29).
Memorize God’s Word (Psalm 119:11; Proverbs 22:17–19) as Jesus did, which enabled Him to freely quote Scripture as needed (e.g., Matthew 4:1–11).

Conclusion

Because Jesus humbly entered into history as a human being, He had to grow and learn just like we do (Luke 2:52). Subsequently, when we see Jesus frequently quoting Scripture from memory throughout His life, we must infer that He spent considerable amounts of time hearing Scripture, reading Scripture, studying Scripture, and memorizing Scripture.

Mark Driscoll's Blog

Thoughts on God's Will?

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).

Yesterday I was sitting in Solid Grounds coffee shop reading through Romans while simultaneously following the Scripture passages in From Pentecost to Patmos (a commentary I am using for a class starting Monday). Throughout this process, I felt like God was teaching me a lot about so many different issues. Historically when I would typically read Romans 12:1-2 I would simply focus on not being conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of your mind. However, it felt like yesterday was the first time I noticed the ending of the text, regarding God’s will. It is funny how in the Christian subculture a lot of us live in we have memorized bits and pieces of verses, while never considering them in context. However, that is a different post altogether.

Proceeding chapter 12, Paul went through his theological exposition of the Gospel (1:16-11:36). Here he discussed the universal sin of humanity (1:18-3:20), justification by faith (3:21-5:21), sanctification through the Spirit (6:1-8:39), and the status of Israel (9:1-11:36). After spending the majority of this epistle addressing the doctrine of salvation through the theological exposition of the gospel He ventures into the ethical implications that result from those teachings.

Growing up in the church I was often presented differing strategies of how to discern God’s will for my life. I was once taught that God’s will was linear, and if I got “off track” I might miss huge things God had planed for me (i.e. my wife). This approach really scared me at the time… I would constantly wonder if I had missed my wife while I was getting in a fight in 3rd grade on the playground (because we all know that is not God’s will). Another way I was taught to discern God’s will was to think of it like a fenced in playground… as long as you stayed within the boundaries you couldn’t really mess anything up. Though I liked this approach more than the previous it still left me with a lot of questions. For example, what are the boundaries? Does God really have a particular plan for my life or is this whole thing random? Different questions like that left me feeling like I was no closer to discerning God’s will than when I began. It was a very frustrating season of life.

Then yesterday I read Craig Blomberg’s (author of From Pentecost to Patmos) commentary on this passage and it was convicting to say the least. He writes,

“What is God’s will for how believers should live in light of this marvelous plan of salvation (what Paul discussed previously to 12:1-2)? First, the basic principle applicable to all Christians is transformation of body and mind. When we think about determining God’s will for our lives, we often jump immediately to specific issues like whom to marry, where to live, what to do for work, etc. Yet, as we noted in conjunction with 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, in Scripture the most fundamental element of God’s will always involved moral living. Once we have rejected the ungodly desires and behaviors of fallen humanity and committed ourselves to allowing the Spirit to transform our lives, then we are in a position to ask more specific guidance from God. When this transformation affects both our bodies (vs. 1) and our minds (vs. 2), then our entire selves are yielded to God’s will, and we please God with our worship” (257-258).

Often as a Christian, I would have an atrocious prayer life, yet I felt like it was God’s responsibility to reveal the perfect path for my life if I asked. Therefore, I would not focus on becoming Christlike or rejecting the ungodly things so that I could grow closer to Him, I would just throw up random prayers like… “Should I marry her?” or “Should I go to college here or there?” It is so obvious now how ridiculous I was being. However, at the time I would get really frustrated with God for not telling me what I was suppose to do… IMMEDIATELY! Being in God’s will is more about rejecting ungodly desires and behaviors and committing ourselves to allowing the Spirit to transform our lives so that we are relationally closer to the Lord, rather than simply hitting up God like a gene in a bottle (who’s only purpose is to answer our questions and give us what we want).

When I was talking this through with my wife last night she brought up a great point. Earlier that morning she was reading Oswald Chambers, Utmost for His Highest (which she usually does everyday) and came across a statement that related to our discussion. He wrote, “Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do – He reveals to you who He is” (1/2). So, instead of always asking God what you should do next, it would be a much better idea to simply press into who He is. The more we focus on Him and the more we become like Him, the more we reflect Him… in which case His will is being done. We are merely vessels; it is impossible for us to truly do His will in and of ourselves. I thought this was a great addition to the thoughts I had been having that day.

Well… I am not sure if this helped anyone or simply confused you more. However, this was exactly what I needed to hear concerning the subject of God’s will. If anyone would like to discuss this in more depth I would love that opportunity… I know my story is not equivalent to everyone else’s. May you and I continue to grow closer to the Lord and in that fulfill His will for our lives.

Why is the God of the Old Testament so Different from the New Testament?

At the very heart of this question lies a fundamental misunderstanding of what both the Old and New Testaments reveal about the nature of God. Another way of expressing this same basic thought is when people say: “The God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath while the God of the New Testament is a God of love.” The fact that the Bible is God’s progressive revelation of Himself to us through historical events and through His relationship with people throughout history might contribute to people’s misconceptions about what God is like in the Old Testament as compared to the New Testament. However, when one reads both the Old and the New Testaments it quickly becomes evident that God is not different from one Testament to another and that God’s wrath and His love are revealed in both Testaments.

Some individuals would claim that the Old Testament is foremost about God demonstrating his justice, terror and wrath. When one reads the Old Testament, there are instances of terrible punishments, plague, sword, war and famine. His own covenant people are carried off into exile and scattered across the Middle East in wrath and judgment. However, one reads the New Testament and there is gentle Jesus, meek and mild, He says turn the other cheek and love your enemies. Thus, it seems apparent to some that in the Old Testament God discloses himself as a pretty tough character, but now in the New Testament God comes across as loving, gentle, and gracious. So much so that He even sends His Son to die for us. How could this be?

With all due respect that simply will not work. For starters, throughout the Old Testament, God is declared to be “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 4:31; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:5; Psalm 86:15; Psalm 108:4; Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13). Though one can finds certain passages that seem cruel and uncalled for, one could also be pointed to numerous passages that talk about God’s love. Therefore, it is inaccurate to say that the God of the Old Testament was not loving, kind, and slow to anger.

In the New Testament, yes it says turn the other cheek and love ones enemies, however, reread Matthew 23 and notice how Jesus condemns some of the religious leaders of his day… “you snakes in the grass… you hypocrites!” I know what you are thinking to yourself, There is no way that calling someone a “snake in the grass” or “hypocrites” even compares to killing entire nations. Let’s continue…

Remember that the most colorful images of Hell itself are introduced by the Lord Jesus, He mentions Hell more times than He does Heaven. However, its not just Jesus, these sorts of images are discussed throughout the New Testament. For example…

The end of Revelation 14:17-20 says,

“Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, "Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe." So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.”

Do you notice what is going on here? In the ancient world in a large vineyard, you would have these large stone vats, which you threw the grapes into, and down at the bottom of the stone vats were little holes with stone channels taking away the juice. The servant girls would kick off their sandals, pick up their skirts and start trampling down the grapes. The juice would go out and get caught in these vats that were often underground. From that, one would make his or her wine or whatever else he or she desired.

And now using that imagery, the writer of Revelation describes people on the last day crushed under the wrath of God until their blood rises to the height of a horses bridal for a distance of about 200 miles. Now can you really conclude that the God of the New Testament is a gentler, kinder sort of God? I know it is imagery but its terrifying imagery and it is meant to be terrifying.

The God in the Old Testmament was not simply ill tempered and now He is soft and has gotten over His issues. The God of the Old Testament is full of mercy and full of wrath. The God of the New Testament is full of mercy and full of wrath. As you move from the Old Testament to the New Testament, just as the picture of God’s love is ratcheted up so the picture of God’s wrath is also ratcheted up. It is impossible for God to be different. God is unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalms 102:25-27; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17).

The reason why we do not immediately and intrinsically see this is because we don’t fear Hell. Most of the judgments in the Old Testament are temporal, that is they are bound up with war and famine, poverty, and disease. That is what we fear because we are so focused on this world. The New Testament and the Lord Jesus focuses much more attention on the eternal sanctions, Hell itself. However, to humanity that seems remote and distant. We can say it in our creeds and believe it more or less but because it does not shape our very existence here and now, the judgments of the Old Testament somehow seem harsher than the judgments of the New Testament. However, I would argue that the judgments and wrath discussed in the New Testament leading to Hell is a lot more terrifying than what took place in the Old Testament.

This is a very simplified argument for the position I hold, however, I think it deserves consideration and much thought. When thinking about God people often use human standards of fair and just to measure God’s actions by. To be frank, we have no right to ever question how God chooses to act. I would suggest that we stop focusing on the wrath of God revealed in the Old Testament because it seems cruel and horrible (yet temporal), and start thinking about the wrath of God concerning Hell (in the New Testament) because that is eternal.

Apologetic Pigsty

This post is directly addressed to Christians who (like me) spent years and years defending my Christian beliefs because I took a leap of (irrational and illogical) faith… Claiming that to explain away complicated issues regarding faith in Christ one should simply “believe.”

My first semester in Graduate school solidified one truth in my mind.  My plan for engaging people with the truth of Christianity was an utter “Apologetic Pigsty.”  Until that point I had not taken the time to work through my worldview and how I could strategically interact with others for the sake of the Kingdom.  I simply was armed with my Christian clichés that have permeated my mind since 3rd grade Sunday school. Unfortunately, that is no armor at all. I realized that I was scared to engage individuals about my beliefs because I had not rationally thought through my convictions. Don’t allow yourself to be caught with an “Apologetic Pigsy.” The following is a strategy I wrote about concerning Christian apologetics, something every believer should be involved in or preparing for…

Before delving into a basic approach to an apologetic method, it is crucial to define Christian apologetics. Christian apologetics by its very nature is a means of convincing unbelievers and believers of the truth, rationality, wisdom and pertinence of the Christian worldview. Moreover, Christian apologetics commends Christianity in the face of unbelief or doubt. A chief responsibility of Christian apologists is to, in humility, present truth-claims which one must embrace to become a Christian. This is a basic explanation of Christian apologetics. However, it is imperative that one takes a deeper look at the apologetic method he or she will employ, which begins with his or her worldview.

To practice apologetics, a worldview is elemental. James Sire defines the worldview succinctly when he pens,

“A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.”

The individual’s worldview or how he or she perceives the world is crucial to apologetics. Understanding what constitutes a worldview is central, however, one must formulate his or her apologetic method.

When Francis Schaeffer was asked if he was an apologist he responded, “I am not an apologete if that means building a safe house to live in, so that we Christians can sit inside with safety and quiescence. Christians should be out in the midst of the world as both witnesses and salt, not sitting in a fortress surrounded by a moat.” Before one can articulate a strategy for apologetics, he or she needs to have the mindset of Schaeffer, understanding that Christian apologetics is about taking these truth-claims to the world, fully embracing the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

The most important preliminary step in formulating an apologetic method is hypothesis testing. One must put his or her worldview on trial. He or she must check for internal coherence, and whether or not his or her arguments fit external facts and or internal facts. This is the starting point for creating a strategy for apologetics.

The next step in this basic approach to Christian apologetics is defining and finding “points of contact.” Doug Groothuis clarifies:

“Points of contact refers to what is shared cognitively and existentially between Christians and non-Christians concerning matters of logic, morality, intuition, longing, and imagination. It is sought by the Christian apologist in order to build a bridge between what the unbeliever now believes and what he or she ought to believe and follow in order to embrace Christian theism and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.”

Once one has found “points of contact,” he or she is ready to find the point of tension in the conversation. This is where one pushes the other person’s worldview toward its logical conclusion, therefore, pushing it further away from the reality of God’s world and Word. Once he or she begins to identify what is happening one must push him or her to adjust his or her worldview in terms of the reality of God’s world. From the point of tension, a transition to the Gospel message is in order. At this point, it is time to call the individual to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is a straightforward outline to intellectually interact with non-Christians. However, one major point needs to be addressed.

Christian apologists are called to humbly defend the Christian truth-claims. Groothuis lays this out clearly when he discusses the importance and Biblical call for humility.

“Christian apologists must understand that we are humbled by creation (Gen. 1:1) and we are utterly dependent on the Lord. Humility should also come through redemption, knowing we are not our own; we were bought with a price (I Cor. 13:12). Therefore, one should deny him or herself, and take up his or her cross, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23-26). Christian apologists need to hold the truth firmly and humbly (I Peter 3:15), and be courageous, but meek; being sure not to unnecessarily offend others (Matt. 5:5, II Cor. 4:7).”

As Christian apologists, when defending the faith it should be with humility and love. This truth should be the overarching theme of one’s strategic approach to good Christian apologetics.

Before concluding this post I want to put to rest a misconception. Before I really began to study apologetics I thought it was a tactic used to be intellectually arrogant and braggadocios regarding Christianity. This is so far from the truth. I realized that Christian apologetics is simply preparing one’s self to be able to follow 1 Peter 3:15b, which states, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (ESV). Studying apologetics is not simply for your ego, it is to better prepare you to humbly give logical and rational explanations for the existence of God and Christ’s love and grace. If you are a Christian… do the hard work of self-examination and take inventory of why you believe what you claim to believe. If you can’t give a firm answer that would stand up in the face of criticism… studying Christian apologetics should be in your immediate future.

Do Muslims & Christians Worship The Same God?

We live in a religiously pluralistic culture.  The postmodern approach to truth is... everything is relative.  Basically, believe what you want just don't try to impart those beliefs as absolute truth.  Birthed from this worldview are questions like, “Christians and Muslims worship the same God, so why should they try to convert each other?”  With tolerance as King, this question will be posed more and more in the coming years.  Below is an section from a paper I wrote BRIEFLY dealing with three main reasons why Muslims and Christians do NOT worship the same God...

Muslims and Christians make up the two largest monotheistic religions in the entire world. This might be a primary reason why one would believe that they worship the same God. Although many in today’s culture hold to an assumption that all religions are one, it is clear that Islam and Christianity are different at the core of their worldviews. Three doctrinal areas in which these differences are prevalent are the nature of God, the human condition, and teachings on worship. Muslims and Christians have come to major contradictions concerning these fundamental theological issues.

Although both religions are monotheistic, that is where the similarities end. When one studies Islam and Christianity, he or she will soon discover that their view of God is dissimilar. Abdul Saleeb explains the Muslim view of God when he writes,

"The first and by far the most important belief (of Islam) is in the absolute oneness of God […] The absolute oneness and sovereignty of Allah is the unifying theme of Islam. In fact throughout their history, Muslims have viewed their confession of faith that ‘there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s messenger’ as an adequate summary of Islam and what it stands for."

It is apparent through Saleeb’s statement that Muslims are convinced that God is indeed one. However, Islam denies that God is a Trinity, that one God eternally exists as three co-eternal and equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Islam also rejects that God became man in Jesus Christ (John 1:1-8). These doctrines are foundational to both religions core beliefs. Moreover, God cannot be both a Trinity and not a Trinity, this is a matter of simple logic.  

Within Christian theology, it is evident that they believe humans are corrupted by an inherited sinful nature that cannot be overcome (Ephesians 2:1-10). However, Muslims claim that because humans are ignorant and weak they sin, not because humanity’s nature is sinful. Also, according to John 3:16, Christians teach that salvation is secured only through faith in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Whereas, Islam teaches that if one obeys the laws of the Qur’an, and are worthy they will be given paradise. These are obviously two contradicting views; therefore, they both cannot be true.

The last major doctrinal issue one needs to consider when comparing Islam with Christianity is how each religion teaches worship. Christians believe that one must worship God “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Doug Groothuis discusses this further, “Worship requires assent to the truth of God (the Trinity), belief in the gospel, trust in Jesus Christ, and submission to God’s will.” On the contrary, Muslims deem worship of the Trinity to be polytheistic. They would also not agree with worshiping Jesus because they view Him as merely human. Again, these are stark differences between Islam and Christianity.

Grasping these fundamental dissimilarities is essential for Christian apologetics in two ways. First, today’s culture instructs Christians to be “tolerant” and to refrain from “proselytizing” anyone. Due to this tolerance, and the religious pluralism that dominates our society many people say that Christians and Muslims worship the same god. Christian apologists must be ready to speak out against this common misconception. As the culture turns increasingly to religious pluralism, apologists must stand firm not being tolerant of deceptions, and speak truth through a Christian worldview.

The second reason why this is so important for Christian apologetics is a result of September 11, 2001. From that day forward many individuals have become curious as to what Muslims believe. Unfortunately, the majority of Christians are ignorant in this area. They have memorized their cliché Christian sayings but have not prepared themselves to engage individuals with questions. Not only are Americans interested in Islam, Muslims are around every corner. If one does not know the core beliefs of Islam how will they ever reach them for Christ? Christians must be dedicated to understanding Islam so that they can fulfill the great commission and reach others with the news of the Gospel. These are only two ways in which this subject is vital to Christian apologetics, one could go on.

Doug Groothuis has written an article concerning this topic in which most of my information comes from.  Unfortunately, the website that published this article is no longer up and running.  If you would like I can email this article to  you for further reading... just leave a comment with your email address and I will get it to you at my earliest convenience.  Please remember that this is simply scratching the surface regarding this subject... much more has been written... please investigate further.  

The Gospels... ?

I have often heard of or come across individuals who simply do not believe anything the Bible teaches.  Before one can really delve into who Jesus was and what He came to do... he or she must believe that the Gospels (4 records of Jesus' life and ministry from different perspectives) are historically credible and able to be trusted.  Then and only then can one take the contents of these Biblical books as truth.  I recently wrote about the historical credibility of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  The following is a BRIEF defense of the Gospels reliability.  For more information see either, On Jesus (Doug Groothuis), or The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (Craig Blomberg) for more in-depth explanations. 

Jesus was a savior figure that was written about in ancient documents, however, there is historical evidence for the credibility of these writings and the claims He made.  Historically understanding the details of Jesus' life is vital for accurately assessing His message and identity.  The primary historical documents concerning Jesus are the four Gospels within the New Testament.  These texts portray Jesus through narratives that often involve discourses.  It is in these encounters, sermons, debates, prayers, and actions that we discover the message Jesus proclaimed.  However, Jesus' teachings mean nothing to someone who does not believe the Gospels are credible historically.  Therefore, two main problems that arise when ancient, historical documents are being scrutinized need to be addressed.

The first critique against the Gospels is that it is prejudiced.  Winfried Corduan explains this issue when he pens, "The authors were obviously believers in Jesus, so they wrote these accounts with the single purpose of promoting their point of view."  Individuals choose not to believe the Gospels content because of the author's seemingly biased perspectives, however, there is no such thing as a non-biased historical text.  Moreover, pointing out that the Gospel writers had a definite bias says nothing about their reliability as historical reporters.  Unlike other ancient historical writings that are credible, biblical storytelling is remarkably objective.  The Gospels are full of phrases that would turn off the reader to Jesus, which seems like the opposite of propaganda.  Therefore, it is unlikely that the author's prejudices got in the way of their historical accounts.

Another objection to the Gospels historical reliability is that the original manuscripts have been lost, therefore, leaving these texts unusable to assess Jesus historically.  Although historians do not have the original texts, they do have copies that have been through relentless criteria and procedures to decide their credibility.  Corduan gives a good argument concerning this issue,

"Take, for example, the status of the manuscripts of Gallic Wars, written by Julius Caesar in about 50 B.C.  Today there are ten known manuscripts of this book, none of which comes from before A.D. 900.  Thus we have ten manuscripts, all of which are about a thousand years removed from the original time of writing [...]  By comparison the New Testament was written in the first century A.D.  The very first undisputed manuscript, the John Rylands Fragment, stems from the first part of the second century.  Most of the other manuscripts are dated within just a few hundred years of the original writings."

Altogether, there are about five thousand Greek manuscripts of the New Testament known today.   No other ancient document equals the New Testament when it comes to preservation of manuscripts.  Thus, if one throws out the New Testament because it is ancient and does not have the originals, one must discard all ancient literature as well.  Not only is the New Testament credible as a historical document, there are also extra-biblical sources that attest to Jesus and His claims.

Though the New Testament documents are the most detailed accounts of Jesus, historical references to Him are not limited to these texts.  Doug Groothuis points this out when he writes, "The Jewish historian Josephus mentions Jesus twice in his Antiquities (A.D. 90-95), once in reference to James 'the brother of Jesus who was called Christ,' and once in a longer and disputed passage."  It can be argued that Josephus writes that Jesus existed, was known as virtuous, was crucified, attracted many followers, worked wonders, and believed to be risen from the dead.  Decades after Josephus, the Roman historians Tacitus, Thallus, Pliney the Younger, and Suetonius also note the existence of Jesus, facts about His life, and the beliefs of His followers.  Therefore, it is evident that Jesus did exist and many of His claims recorded by men who were not biased towards Christianity.

Not only is there external evidence for Jesus and the Gospels by historians, there is also internal evidence within the Scriptures.  Addressing one of these arguments Groothius references a historian named Will Durant, a man who was not a friend of religion, to prove what is known as, the principle of embarrassment.  Will Durant, observes that "mere inventors would not have concealed," such as the apostles' prideful competition for high places in the kingdom of God, Peter's denial of Jesus, and His despairing cry on the cross.  If the authors of the gospels were fabricating their writings they would not have included such embarrassing information.  This would include the Gospels use of woman eye-witnesses to the resurrection.  Females were not able to testify in a court of law, therefore, why would the writers include this in the Gospels if they were making it up?

Jesus made a radical claim, that He was God incarnate (John 1:1-2).  Jesus claimed explicitly or implicitly to be divine.  However, most people refer to Jesus not as God, but a good moral teacher.  This false notion is logically addressed by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, 

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him (Jesus): 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.'  That is the one thing we must not say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."

The claims made by Jesus must lead any rational skeptic to either qualify HIm as a lunatic, a liar, or the very Son of God.  These are the options one has based on the historical reliability of the Gospels. 

 Hopefully, this gives the reader at least a taste of the research done to prove the historical reliability of the Gospels.  This post only scratches the surface of a huge subject, please do not think this is exhaustive in the slightest.  The Gospels contain the greatest news of humanity.  Jesus came to sacrifice Himself, to atone for His people.  I would encourage anyone that has read this to immediately go through the Gospels and read the account of Jesus... God incarnate!  

If anyone needs more books that discuss this subject... leave a comment and I will do my best to get you more material. 

Elf Yourself!

Sorry Nate... I completely stole your idea.... but it was too funny to pass up!

Enjoy

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Simple Spirituality

I finally finished a book now that the semester has concluded... This one is small... but has been a work in progress for sometime now.

I think we can all agree that not much is simple these days.  Complicating simplicity is the fact that we live in an information saturated society with the ability to access incredible amounts of knowledge in rapid fire succession.  At times, this excessive knowledge spills over into spiritual lives, leaving us with piles of books, concordances, and commentaries with which to understand our spirituality.  Sometimes these tools are very helpful, and sometimes, the weight of it all can be slightly overwhelming.

I was first introduced to Simple Spirituality by my buddy Dan Byrd.  Chris Heuertz (the author) was a friend of his during their college careers at Asbury.  Heuertz is the director of Word Made Flesh, an organization which serves among the poorest of the poor.  Simple Spirituality stays true to its title by exploring five simple yet profound commitments:

• Humility 
• Community
• Simplicity 
• Submission
• Brokenness

Heuertz uses stories of his relationships with the poor around the world to illustrate the depth of spirituality he has learned from them, people who are constantly overlooked by the majority of the world.  He examines what the wealthy western church misses from its lack of connection to the poor.  Heuertz writes, "I believe that God is using the cries of our friends who suffer in poverty today to call the church out of its sound-proof sanctuaries... God is challenging the church to respond to a world in need.  Too often, however, the church has isolated itself and failed to listen. and thus contributed to the suffering.  God is calling us to establish communities that offer the prophetic presence of Christ in today's world."

Heuertz also addresses the temptation to use personal geography to justify disengaging from the difficulties of the rest of the world.  He concludes that "those who go without the basic necessities of life, regardless of their geographical location or proximity, are nevertheless counted as our family:  fellow believers in the Sudan or Sri Lanka or Peru are as much an intrinsic part of the body of Christ as are the Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists or Catholics down the street."  He asserts that it is simplicity that helps us to remember such family obligations.

With deep gentleness, Heuertz uses the brokenness of the world as a springboard for spiritual vitality.  Using what he calls the "Five Stones of Brokenness" - humility, community, simplicity, submission, and brokenness - he challenges those of us who live in plenty to seek a fuller faith by reconsidering how we might "live more simply so others may simply live" (Ghandi).

In no way am I bashing the church.  I think in today's Christian subculture it has become trendy to rip the church.  However, what most forget is that the Church is Christ's Bride.  Personally, if you EVER said anything about my Bride... let's just say... I will not be very happy.  Therefore, I can't see Jesus being exceptionally thrilled to have people (claiming to follow Him) talk negatively about His Bride.  I know that the church has failed in many ways... one of which is brought to light throughout this book.  However, simply pointing these inconsistencies out does not help anything but one's ego.  Instead, I would encourage everyone to engage the church with love and constructive criticism.  If you have a heart for the poor and oppressed (which everyone should) then engage the church, pushing them to get involved in these specific issues in the community.  I just didn't want anyone to read this post (if anyone does... haha) and think I have just joined the bandwagon of ripping the church.  I have not... I love the church and plan to give my life to serve Christ through it.

This book was a great read... flows wonderfully and will give anyone who has not been to a third-world country a glimpse into true poverty.  I would recommend it for sure.

 

Porn-Again Christian

Mark Driscoll has written a booklet titled, Porn-Again Christians, which I thought was a clever title.  However, this book is FREE in PDF form online... just click here.  You can download this and share it with others.  Pornography is a very serious issue as you will find out shortly...

Anyone reading this right now is a part of a culture that spends more money each year on pornography than pro baseball, football, and basketball combined.  A little shocked huh?  Let's dig deeper.  More money is spent on pornography than country music, rock music, jazz music, classical music, Broadway plays, and ballet combined.  Still think that is ok or normal.  This culture spends more money a year on porn than the United States gives in foreign aid.  Does this seem ridiculous to you at all?  It should.  Last year America gave $10 Billion to foreign aid.  On the other hand, Americans gave $12 Billion to pornography.  These statistics are not only shocking but alarming.  In Paul's day he accused some people of worshiping their stomachs as their god, and in our day it appears that our god has simply moved a short distance south.  

I believe that sex has officially become a religion.  Just like Christianity is a religion with three main branches: Catholic, Protestant, & Orthodox... Sex, as well, has three main branches: Straight, Gay, and Bi.  No matter what your convictions are about pornography, you have to admit that it is taking this nation by storm.  Addictions are starting every second around the world as adolescents and even adults experience the massive world of pornography for the first time  with one simple click of a mouse.  The secret sins of pornography and masturbation paralyze many men with shame, guilt, and embarrassment.  Even if you are one that feels like pornography and the sexual culture we are saturated in are fine, you must agree that something of this magnitude deserves some thought and consideration.

Pornography is an epidemic that is radically desensitizing our nation.  Mark Driscoll discusses this in detail in his FREE e-book mentioned above.  The church has swept this issue under the rug enough.  It is time that we shed some light on this devastating problem before it claims more marriages, families, and individuals.  This e-book is an amazing resource especially for people involved in ministering to hurting and broken individuals.  Men... and woman for that matter... need to read this and heed the warning Driscoll gives.  Please pass this booklet on to anyone and everyone you know.  Christians need to stop hiding from SEX and start addressing it from a Biblically theological perspective.

Please... not for one minute... think that all Christians are claiming to be perfect and never struggle with lust and or pornography specifically.  Through the grace of Christ anyone can be freed from this addiction, even believers who think it is too late.  Driscoll addresses this as well.   

While you are downloading Porn-Again Christian make sure you check out Mark Driscoll's website the Resurgence.  There are tons of resources and information that will be extremely helpful to one's spiritual journey.

We Feel Fine ... Or Do We?

A few months ago I came across a website that I thought was interesting.  I initially learned about this experiment from a video on TED.com.  Basically, two guys named Jonathan Harris & Sepandar Kamvar had an idea to harvest feelings from people all over the world.  So they created http://wefeelfine.org.  This site is an exploration of human emotion on a global scale.

This is how it works... Every few minutes, the system searches the world's newly posted blog entries for occurrences of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling."  When it finds such a phrase. it records the full sentence (e.g. sad, happy, depressed, etc.).  Because blogs are structured in largely standard ways, the age, gender, and geographical location of the author can often be extracted and saved along with the sentence, as can the local weather conditions at the time the sentence was written.  All of this information is saved.  

Resulting in a database of several million human feelings, increasing by 15,000 - 20,000 new feelings per day.  Using a series of playful interfaces, the feelings can be searched and sorted across a number of demographic slices, offering responses to specific questions like: do Europeans feel sad more often than Americans?  Do women feel fat more often than men?  Does rainy weather affect how we feel?  What are the most representative feelings of female New Yorkers in their 20's?  Which is the happiest cities in the world?  The saddest?  And so on.

"At its core, We Feel Fine is an artwork authored by everyone.  It will grow and change as we grow and change, reflecting what's on our blogs, what's in our hearts, what's in our minds.  WE hope it makes the world seem a little smaller, and we hope it helps people see beauty in the everyday ups and downs of life" (Josh and Kamvar).

I would encourage everyone to go on this site and simply observe the myriad of emotions documented by people all over the world.  It is truly fascinating to think about what people are going through on a daily basis.  On the other hand, it is so sad to read about how many people are hurting and crying out for someone to just listen.  There are some serious and disturbing entires that I have come across when viewing the site in the past.  For example... at this very moment...

93,390 people feel  - bad

254 - disgusting 

3,182 - dead

4,276 - fat

3,383 - stressed

31,591 - guilty 

17,988 - alone

7,273 - depressed

14,602 - lost

2,897 - ashamed 

This is just a few selections from the numerous emotions being described all over the world via blogs.  You might be wondering why I am so concerned about this... or why I even brought it up.  Well...

Often I get caught up in the Christian subculture that I am constantly surrounded by.  It is so easy to just interact with tother Christians and have friends that share the same belief system... while never reaching out to those who are hurting.  Wefeelfine.org has shown me that there are so many people out there who are hurting and dying inside everyday.  How often do I really listen... really try to interact with people, striving to understand what really is going on it their lives?

I Peter 3:15 says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect."  People are hungry for truth, for something real to believe in... for a Savior.  Christ died to set every one of these individuals free... free from guilt... free from anger... free from feeling lost and disgusting.  He shed Hist blood for humanity... so that in Him we can find true hope that surpasses tough days and emotional loneliness.

This has opened my eyes to be on the lookout for people who need someone to listen... someone to empathize with them.  Then... I can share the love of Christ with these hurting people.