...movement.and.repose

every act of salvation, every inch you move towards holiness, every change that draws you more into the knowledge of God and into the image of His Son comes by hearing the Word of God and responding in some fashion.

at the beginning of time, God spoke, and nothingness responded to the Word of God and became heaven and earth…

God spoke, and darkness responded to the Word of God and became light…

God spoke, and you responded to the Word of God, and became a Christian…

the reason we have preachers? teachers? They proclaim the Word of God, and we respond with our lives.

when your Christian brothers call you out on sin and you feel conviction? it is a response to the Word of God…

change is a response… holiness is a response… salvation is a response… all of Creation is a response… to the Word of God.

this is why the importance of Scripture cannot be overstated.

this is why we must pour ourselves into God’s Word.

this is the importance of Christian friends who can speak God’s Word into your life. hebrews 4 says not to give up encouraging one another… so that if you are slipping, they can proclaim the Word of God, and you can respond in repentance… so that if you are apathetic, they can proclaim the Word of God, and you respond in growth… so that if you are doing great, they can proclaim the Word of God, and you can respond in worship and praise!

if you’re struggling with sin… if your heart is hardening… if you’re not content with your walk with God… if you’re doubting…

are you hearing the Word of God?

personal Bible study. group Bible study. church. listening to sermons. praying scripture. hearing scripture. reading scripture. responding… to Scripture.

life is a series of responses that draw us closer to God.

without the Word of God, there is no response...

...personal.struggle

"As the author of the Theologia Germanica says, we may come to love knowledge—our knowing—more than the thing known: to delight not in the exercise of our talents but in the fact that they are ours, or even in the reputation they bring us. Every success in the scholar’s life increases this danger. If it becomes irresistible, he must give up his scholarly work. The time for plucking out the right eye has arrived."

(C. S. Lewis, “Learning in War-Time,” in The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, p. 50.)

this is personally my greatest struggle and deepest fear.

i love knowledge. i love theology. i love debate. i love philosophy. i love people. i also love tacos.

the problem with those things that draw us closer to God, is they can easily become gods if we pursue them above God.

it is much easier to invest in those things we can measure our growth in. i had 2 kids in my youth group last year, and i have 35 this year... i cussed out my wife every day last year, now i only cuss out my dog... i read the Bible once a week, but now i'm reading it every day...

it's goal oriented. measurable.

God is a Being. a person. with emotion, thoughts, feelings... without intentionally thinking about Him as a being, it is easy to see Him as a three-step formula to success or a mystical mantra that you have to pray a certain way or as a ministry that must be maintained or simply as the acquisition of biblical knowledge.

the problem with goods things--morality, knowledge, ministry--is they can easily take the place of God. they are so much easier to maintain and boast about then a relationship with a Being. "i ain't smoked a cig in 15 years!" "i've never drank, chewed, or cussed!" our relationship with God is not something we can define quantitatively. it's not something we can measure. i can't be "better" at it than you.

knowledge is far more rewarding to my ego.

it reminds me of the church at laodecia. they were a hip, cool church following all the right programs. they probably had a silly, limp-wristed worship leader with a powerpoint projector flashing animated backgrounds while he sang prom-songs to Jesus. they probably had a preacher who was really relevant and knowledgable and looked directly into the camera while speaking so you felt like he was talking to you. he probably sat in a comfy chair and crossed one leg--but not his arms--while preaching, so as not to appear threatening. they really thought they were big stuff.

"You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." (rev. 3:17)

sometimes we mistake our success for God's blessings.

i always used to hear tent-revival, altar-call preachers yell about this passage. they would scream about Jesus standing outside of my heart's door like a gentleman, hoping i would be as kind as to let Him in.

really, it's about a church that locked out Jesus.

they're singing sappy praise songs, studying big words, and talking about their building fund... and Jesus is locked outside wanting to come in...

*knock knock knock*

hey! can i come in? i've got some great ideas! i'm on your team!

*knock knock knock*

"hey guys! it's Jesus! i like church! let me in!"

the problem is this church didn't like Jesus. they liked christianity... they liked knowledge. they liked theology. they liked their little religion game that made them feel better about themselves. letting Jesus in would not fit into their program... He might ask them to come over for dinner after the service(v.20b)--and that would take way too much time... besides, Jesus is way too controversial(v.19), He could totally ruin their image...

i continually have to empty myself of all longings that do not flow FROM my desire to treasure Christ supremely above all things. love for anything apart from God, that does not flow from God is in vain. idolatrous. when i do youth ministry because i love the kids. when i read the Bible because i love theology. when i repent because it makes me feel better. idolatry.

paul seasons most of his writings with the telling phrase "in Christ."

all of our desires must be grounded in a passion for the Glory of Christ in all things. i preach to kids because i desire that they make much of His name, i read the Bible so that i might know Him and the power of His resurrection, i repent because i have ceased to live for His Glory and desire to be fashioned deeper into His Image.

yet my tendency is to love those lesser things.

no wonder Jesus said we must pick up our crosses, deny ourselves, and follow Him daily.

...bathroom revelations

so i'm making use of the, uh... restroom facilities at panera last night and i notice--as always--the stall i'm in is out of toilet paper. this is becoming a recurring problem at this facility.

the toilet paper dispenser's brandname, ironically enough, is "Never-Out."

i started thinking about how easy it is to carry a name or title without actually living up to it. the fact that the toilet paper dispenser was stamped with the "Never-Out" brandname did not effect it's performance in the least. are there times in my life that i proudly display the christian "brand name," but fail to deliver that which the name implies? when i see people hurting and i walk past with indifference or anesthetic apathy at most... when i love myself or my position more than the person i'm interacting with... when i carelessly follow trendy philosophies or empty worldviews... when i don't put in my best work at my job... when i just idly meander through life for a couple days, complacent, vegged out, and looking out only for myself...

...often i'm just another empty toilet paper roll boasting "never out."

then i noticed the manufacturer's logo. "Georgia Pacific." the performance of this one toilet paper roll dispenser, continually falling short time and time again when i need it most, has actually come to effect my perception of the manufacturer. if it's such a great company, why doesn't its products reflect that greatness?

all of us are created imago dei. in the image of God. when we accept Christ, we become His ambassadors. ephesians 1 says we are sealed with His Spirit. brandmarked if you will.

i'm carrying around the reputation of Jesus Christ.

i think it's ephesians 4:1 where paul writes from prison, "i urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

that's heavy...

i want to live a life worthy of the Christ whose name i bear.

i don't want to drag the name of Christ through the mud and dirt and slander of my mistakes.

i want people to see my life, and say Jesus. looks. great.

i don't want to be another empty toilet paper dispenser.

...questioning God?

i heard a fellow preach about wagons last night.

he said the wagons in genesis 45 are actually God's sovereignty, security, salvation and safety (note: alliterations are always biblical).

he also said proudly that his granddaughter died five days after birth, and he never once questioned God. he said Christians do not question God because we have faith...

sure, faith is essential to the Christian, well, faith. But asking "why?" is also biblical.

to say a Christian cannot question God leaves out an awful large portion of the Bible, and leaves you with some wacked out theology that says i can't pray for God to DO anything because that might question Him or His sovereignty... this thinking is wholly antithetical to Scripture.

the bible is full of women who love Jesus, "questioning" God. when hannah hangs at the temple praying like a drunk for a son every waking minute, i'm sure some wingnut pastors told her to quit questioning the God who made her barren. yet God, in His sovereignty, gave her a child. you have her questioning, her petitioning, and God's sovereignty.

the psalmists unloaded on God all the time, asking why, even going as far as questioning His mercy at some times:

"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?"(Psalm 13:1)

"Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?" (Psalm 77:9)

"How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?" (Psalm 119:84)

This questioning was almost always paired with an acknowledgement of God's goodness and sovereignty by the end. So our questioning should always rest in the assurance of God's provision and care.

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." (Psalm 13:5)

And finally, take a look at Jesus. Did Jesus Christ have full, 100% faith in the Sovereignty and plan of God? He did. Did He ever question God? He did. When Jesus Christ experienced disunion with the Trinity as He became our sin on the cross, He cried out with a loud voice, "my God, my God, WHY have You forsaken Me?"

Christians do not question God?

When your theology excludes Jesus, something's not right[1].

Whether He hears our questioning like the widow whose son was raised to life or whether He rebukes us sarcastically like Job (ch. 38), God can handle our questions. God does whatever He pleases (Psalm 135:6, 115:3), and in His total sovereignty He beckons and welcomes us as a Father who delights in bequesting to us that which we need and ask for (Romans 8:32). Jesus' brother James said sometimes God does not give us what we desire, simply because we do not ask Him. Jesus encouraged us to seek, knock, ask, AND trust our heavenly Father.

in summary, faith and questioning are not mutually exclusive. God is a good God. He is Sovereign. He delights in our petitions (when we delight in Him), and He can handle our questions asked in faith.

[1] Mark Driscoll

why another blog?

so, yeah, since i'm doing the whole get married, graduate, and move out of my parents house thing now that i'm like 35, i figured i might as well start a new blog to commemorate the occasion and keep that fresh new car smell thing going on.

why after a xanga, myspace, facebook, muse, and every other conceivable social networking website have i started blogspot?

because there's something wrong with me...

actually i'm hoping to synthesize all of the aforementioned into this one blog for timeliness... plus i've had the others going for so long and i've changed so much that whenever i stumble across my old xanga or muse i generally either a.) get angry, and want to beat myself up b.) laugh and make fun of the stupidity, immaturity, and generally illogical rambling or c.) shake my head sadly and walk away...

a couple of points about my blog:

1.) i don't capitalize things. at first glance, you might think it's some cleverly crafted artistic design scheme to make things look suave and modern... you're wrong. i'm lazy. it takes far too much time and work to capitilize every freaking new sentance... i capitalize for God alone.

2.) as you may have noticed from point (1), there is unlikely any reason for you to be reading my blog. i'll continue to journal whether you read it or not, and my posts will probably only give you boredom, anger, or a nosebleed anyway.

a couple is two, so i'm done.

::shakes head sadly and walks away::