My work...

Where I work - if you care. Its a 10 minute short film, but it is nicely done.

Become a Better You!

Mike Horton says:
_________________

Under the Library of Congress identification system, Joel Osteen's book, Becoming a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day is classified as:

"1. Self-actualization (Psychology)-Religious Aspects-Christianity."

Even the Library of Congress seems to know what sort of message this represents.
_________________

Read the whole Article HERE.

The Importance of Hell

An article recently recommended to me by someone who read the "Wrath of God" blog post from last week.

You can access the original and many other resources by Tim Keller at Redeemer.
_____________________

The Importance of Hell
There are plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept.
by Tim Keller

In 2003 a research group discovered 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell. Not only are there plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons.

1. It is important because Jesus taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together. Jesus speaks of "eternal fire and punishment" as the final abode of the angels and human beings who have rejected God (Matthew 25:41,46) He says that those who give into sin will be in danger of the "fire of hell" (Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9.) The word Jesus uses for 'hell' is Gehenna, a valley in which piles of garbage were daily burned as well as the corpses of those without families who could bury them. In Mark 9:43 Jesus speaks of a person going to "hell [gehenna], where 'their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' " Jesus is referring to the maggots that live in the corpses on the garbage heap. When all the flesh is consumed, the maggots die. Jesus is saying, however, that the spiritual decomposition of hell never ends, and that is why 'their worm does not die.'

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says, "Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." He is speaking to disciples, some of whom will eventually be tortured, sawn in half, flayed and burned alive. Yet, he says, that is a picnic compared to hell. Clearly, for Jesus hell was a real place, since he said that after judgment day people would experience it in their bodies. Hell is a place not only of physical but also of spiritual misery.

Jesus constantly depicted hell as painful fire and "outer darkness" (Matt 25:30; cf. Jude 6,7,13,) a place of unimaginably terrible misery and unhappiness. If Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace spoke about hell more often, and in a more vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth. But why was it so important to Jesus?

2. It is important because it shows how infinitely dependent we are on God for everything. Virtually all commentators and theologians believe that the Biblical images of fire and outer darkness are metaphorical. (Since souls are in hell right now, without bodies, how could the fire be literal, physical fire?) Even Jonathan Edwards pointed out that the Biblical language for hell was symbolic, but, he added, 'when metaphors are used in Scripture about spiritual things . . . they fall short of the literal truth." (from "The Torments of Hell are Exceeding Great" in volume 14 of the Yale edition of Edwards works.) To say that the Scriptural image of hell-fire is not wholly literal is of no comfort whatsoever. The reality will be far worse than the image. What, then, are the 'fire' and 'darkness' symbols for? They are vivid ways to describe what happens when we lose the presence of God. Darkness refers to the isolation, and fire to the disintegration of being separated from God. Away from the favor and face of God, we literally, horrifically, and endlessly fall apart.

In the teaching of Jesus the ultimate condemnation from the mouth of God is 'depart from me.' That is remarkable--to simply be away from God is the worst thing that can happen to us! Why? We were originally created to walk in God's immediate presence (Genesis 2.) In one sense, of course, God is everywhere and upholds everything. Only in him do we all speak and move and have our being (Acts 17:28.) In that sense, then, it is impossible to depart from the Lord; even hell cannot exist unless God upholds it. But the Bible says sin excludes us from God's 'face' (Isaiah 59:2.) All the life, joy, love, strength, and meaning we have looked for and longed for is found in his face (Psalm 16:11)-that is, in his favor, presence, fellowship, and pleasure.

Sin removes us from that aspect of his power that sustains and supports us. It is to us as water is to a fish-away from it our life slowly ebbs away. That is what has been happening to us throughout history. That is why, for Paul, the everlasting fire and destruction of hell is 'exclusion from the presence of the Lord." (2 Thessalonians 1:9.) Separation from God and his blessings forever is the reality to which all the symbols point. For example, when Jesus speaks being 'destroyed' in hell, the word used is apollumi, meaning not to be annihilated out of existence but to be 'totaled' and ruined so as to be useless for its intended purpose.

The image of 'gehenna' and 'maggots' means decomposition. Once a body is dead it loses its beauty and strength and coherence, it begins to break into its constituent parts, to stink and to disintegrate. So what is a 'totaled' human soul? It does not cease to exist, but rather becomes completely incapable of all the things a human soul is for--reasoning, feeling, choosing, giving or receiving love or joy. Why? Because the human soul was built for worshipping and enjoying the true God, and all truly human life flows from that. In this world, all of humanity, even those who have turned away from God, still are supported by 'kindly providences' or 'common grace' (Acts 14:16-17; Psalm 104:10-30; James 1:17) keeping us still capable of wisdom, love, joy, and goodness. But when we lose God's supportive presence all together, the result is hell.

3. It is important because it unveils the seriousness and danger of living life for yourself. In Romans 1-2 Paul explains that God, in his wrath against those who reject him, 'gives them up' to the sinful passions of their hearts. Commentators (cf. Douglas Moo) point out that this cannot mean God impels people to sin, since in Ephesians 4:19 it is said that sinners give themselves up to their sinful desires. It means that the worst (and fairest) punishment God can give a person is to allow them their sinful hearts' deepest desire.

What is that? The desire of the sinful human heart is for independence. We want to choose and go our own way (Isaiah 53:6.) This is no idle 'wandering from the path.' As Jeremiah puts it, 'No one repents . . . each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. (8:6)' (We want to get away from God-but, as we have seen, this is the very thing that is most destructive to us. Cain is warned not to sin because sin is slavery. (Genesis 4:7; John 8:34.) It destroys your ability to choose, love, enjoy. Sin also brings blindness-the more you reject the truth about God the more incapable you are of perceiving any truth about yourself or the world (Isaiah 29:9-10; Romans 1:21.)

What is hell, then? It is God actively giving us up to what we have freely chosen-to go our own way, be our own "the master of our fate, the captain of our soul," to get away from him and his control. It is God banishing us to regions we have desperately tried to get into all our lives. J.I.Packer writes: "Scripture sees hell as self-chosen . . . [H]ell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshipping him, or without God forever, worshipping themselves." (J.I.Packer, Concise Theology p.262-263.) If the thing you most want is to worship God in the beauty of his holiness, then that is what you will get (Ps 96:9-13.) If the thing you most want is to be your own master, then the holiness of God will become an agony, and the presence of God a terror you will flee forever (Rev 6:16; cf. Is 6:1-6.)

Why is this so extremely important to stress in our preaching and teaching today? The idea of hell is implausible to people because they see it as unfair that infinite punishment would be meted out for comparably minor, finite false steps (like not embracing Christianity.) Also, almost no one knows anyone (including themselves) that seem to be bad enough to merit hell. But the Biblical teaching on hell answers both of these objections. First, it tells us that people only get in the afterlife what they have most wanted-either to have God as Savior and Master or to be their own Saviors and Masters. Secondly, it tells us that hell is a natural consequence. Even in this world it is clear that self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness makes you miserable and blind. The more self-centered, self-absorbed, self-pitying, and self-justifying people are, the more breakdowns occur, relationally, psychologically, and even physically. They also go deeper into denial about the source of their problems.

On the other hand, a soul that has decided to center its life on God and his glory moves toward increasing joy and wholeness. We can see both of these 'trajectories' even in this life. But if, as the Bible teaches, our souls will go on forever, then just imagine where these two kinds of souls will be in a billion years. Hell is simply one's freely chosen path going on forever. We wanted to get away from God, and God, in his infinite justice, sends us where we wanted to go.

In the parable of Luke 16:19ff, Jesus tells us of a rich man who goes to hell and who is now in torment and horrible thirst because of the fire (v.24) But there are interesting insights into what is going on in his soul. He urges Abraham to send a messenger to go and warn his still-living brothers about the reality of hell. Commentators have pointed out that this is not a gesture of compassion, but rather an effort at blame-shifting. He is saying that he did not have a chance, he did not have adequate information to avoid hell. That is clearly his point, because Abraham says forcefully that people in this life have been well-informed through the Scriptures. It is intriguing to find exactly what we would expect-even knowing he is in hell and knowing God has sent him there, he is deeply in denial, angry at God, unable to admit that it was a just decision, wishing he could be less miserable (v.24) but in no way willing to repent or seek the presence of God.

I believe one of the reasons the Bible tells us about hell is so it can act like 'smelling salts' about the true danger and seriousness of even minor sins. However, I've found that only stressing the symbols of hell (fire and darkness) in preaching rather than going into what the symbols refer to (eternal, spiritual decomposition) actually prevents modern people from finding hell a deterrent. Some years ago I remember a man who said that talk about the fires of hell simply didn't scare him, it seemed too far-fetched, even silly. So I read him lines from C.S. Lewis:

Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others . . . but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God 'sending us' to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE Hell unless it is nipped in the bud.

To my surprise he got very quiet and said, "Now that scares me to death." He almost immediately began to see that hell was a) perfectly fair and just, and b) something that he realized he might be headed for if he didn't change. If we really want skeptics and non-believers to be properly frightened by hell, we cannot simply repeat over and over that 'hell is a place of fire.' We must go deeper into the realities that the Biblical images represent. When we do so, we will find that even secular people can be affected.

We run from the presence of God and therefore God actively gives us up to our desire (Romans 1:24, 26.) Hell is therefore a prison in which the doors are first locked from the inside by us and therefore are locked from the outside by God (Luke 16:26.) Every indication is that those doors continue to stay forever barred from the inside. Though every knee and tongue in hell knows that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11,) no one can seek or want that Lordship without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3.This is why we can say that no one goes to hell who does not choose both to go and to stay there. What could be more fair than that?

4. The doctrine of hell is important because it is the only way to know how much Jesus loved us and how much he did for us. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says that no physical destruction can be compared with the spiritual destruction of hell, of losing the presence of God. But this is exactly what happened to Jesus on the cross-he was forsaken by the Father (Matthew 27:46.) In Luke 16:24 the rich man in hell is desperately thirsty (v.24) and on the cross Jesus said "I thirst" (John 19:28.) The water of life, the presence of God, was taken from him. The point is this. Unless we come to grips with this "terrible" doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him he was experiencing hell itself. But consider--if our debt for sin is so great that it is never paid off there, but our hell stretches on for eternity, then what are we to conclude from the fact that Jesus said the payment was "finished" (John 19:30) after only three hours? We learn that what he felt on the cross was far worse and deeper than all of our deserved hells put together.

And this makes emotional sense when we consider the relationship he lost. If a mild acquaintance denounces you and rejects you--that hurts. If a good friend does the same--that hurts far worse. However, if your spouse walks out on you saying, "I never want to see you again," that is far more devastating still. The longer, deeper, and more intimate the relationship, the more tortuous is any separation. But the Son's relationship with the Father was beginningless and infinitely greater than the most intimate and passionate human relationship. When Jesus was cut off from God he went into the deepest pit and most powerful furnace, beyond all imagining. He experienced the full wrath of the Father. And he did it voluntarily, for us.

Fairly often I meet people who say, "I have a personal relationship with a loving God, and yet I don't believe in Jesus Christ at all." Why, I ask? "My God is too loving to pour out infinite suffering on anyone for sin." But this shows a deep misunderstanding of both God and the cross. On the cross, God HIMSELF, incarnated as Jesus, took the punishment. He didn't visit it on a third party, however willing.

So the question becomes: what did it cost your kind of god to love us and embrace us? What did he endure in order to receive us? Where did this god agonize, cry out, and where were his nails and thorns? The only answer is: "I don't think that was necessary." But then ironically, in our effort to make God more loving, we have made him less loving. His love, in the end, needed to take no action. It was sentimentality, not love at all. The worship of a god like this will be at most impersonal, cognitive, and ethical. There will be no joyful self-abandonment, no humble boldness, no constant sense of wonder. We could not sing to him "love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." Only through the cross could our separation from God be removed, and we will spend all eternity loving and praising God for what he has done (Rev 5:9-14.)

And if Jesus did not experience hell itself for us, then we ourselves are devalued. In Isaiah, we are told, "The results of his suffering he shall see, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11). This is a stupendous thought. Jesus suffered infinitely more than any human soul in eternal hell, yet he looks at us and says, "It was worth it." What could make us feel more loved and valued than that? The Savior presented in the gospel waded through hell itself rather than lose us, and no other savior ever depicted has loved us at such a cost.

Conclusion The doctrine of hell is crucial-without it we can't understand our complete dependence on God, the character and danger of even the smallest sins, and the true scope of the costly love of Jesus. Nevertheless, it is possible to stress the doctrine of hell in unwise ways. Many, for fear of doctrinal compromise, want to put all the emphasis on God's active judgment, and none on the self-chosen character of hell. Ironically, as we have seen, this unBiblical imbalance often makes it less of a deterrent to non-believers rather than more of one. And some can preach hell in such a way that people reform their lives only out of a self-interested fear of avoiding consequences, not out of love and loyalty to the one who embraced and experienced hell in our place. The distinction between those two motives is all-important. The first creates a moralist, the second a born-again believer.

We must come to grips with the fact that Jesus said more about hell than Daniel, Isaiah, Paul, John, Peter put together. Before we dismiss this, we have to realize we are saying to Jesus, the pre-eminent teacher of love and grace in history, "I am less barbaric than you, Jesus--I am more compassionate and wiser than you." Surely that should give us pause! Indeed, upon reflection, it is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamations of grace and love are so astounding.

The Wrath of God

Today at work yielded an interesting conversation. I was speaking with a Catholic friend and we were discussing the Tornado and the Lutherans (see this post).

My Catholic friend, "John", said that he thought the tornado was probably a message of some type - but maybe not. Then he said that he figured God could judge a church seeking to ordain openly homosexual clergy, but he would just love and respect all people.

I asked him what he meant by that, was he saying that he would unjudgementally love and care for lost homosexuals. He said that he would. I agreed that was a good thing. Then I asked if he also meant that he would love and accept practicing homosexuals who were fellow Christians and members of a local church, even clergy. He said he would love and respect them as well. He misquoted the "Do not judge" passage here (Matthew 7).

I brought up the idea behind the last paragraph in 1 Corinthians 5, which is Paul telling the people of Corinth to disassociate (really excommunicate) unrepentant habitual sinners who call themselves a brother (sister) in Christ. My Catholic friend said that I must be taking the passage out of context. I grabbed a Bible (we keep one around) and showed John the passage. I asked him to explain to me what Paul meant if he didn't mean that we ARE to judge those within the church, not those outside the faith, but expressly those inside the church.

John didn't have an answer for me, other than pointing me to 1 Samuel 16:7


"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

That confused me. I asked him to clarify how that passage related to my interpretation of 1 Corinthians. He told me that God was the one who judged the heart - not us. I agreed with him that only God ultimately knows what a man thinks and does at all times, however - Paul seems to be saying that we are bound to pass disciplinary judgement on fellow church members if they are found to be engaged in persistent, wanton sin. Therefore (I argued) the Samuel passage did not conflict with the Corinthians passage, it was simply saying a different thing - "Don't judge others by apperance alone." The old book by its cover thing...(also see John 7:24)

John went on to tell me that he felt sorry for me because I was so pessimistic and I only saw the negative things of the faith. He said that I should look around and see the good in people.

I told him that I didn't see people as inherently good (and neither does the Bible). He argued that all people have something of Gods light in them and if I could just see that, I would stop from talking about wrath and condemnation so much.

I again grabbed the Bible and went to Ephesians 2 and Psalm 51 to make a case for original sin and our depraved, rebellious nature. I told him that we are dead children of wrath from birth and that none of us has the Spirit of God in us - until God sovereignly decides to make it so.

John told me that he didn't think we worshiped the same God. He said that he didn't see how his God, a God of love and mercy could square with my God, a God of wrath and judgement. I told him that we did worship the same God - only we each decided to emphasize diffrent attributes of him, but it was certainly the same God.

I went on to explain that I probably emphasize the holiness of God and the righteous indignation of God more, because I think we have abandoned that attribute in large part as American Christians. We are moving closer and closer to universalism and heresy instead of biblical theology and orthodox doctrine (many have already crossed the line). I told John that I felt we needed more voices in the wilderness crying out to tell people about their desperate need for repentance. I also told him "Thanks" for pointing out my focus on wrath - I have to be careful to always follow that message up with a clear picture of the gospel.

John told me that God was not a God of wrath anymore. He said that while the Old Testament was full of Gods wrath, the New Testament was full of Gods love. I told him that he was flat mistaken and that he needed to get into a good bible study where the entire scripture was opened and examined. In fact, I explained - the New Testament is really a continuation of and a more vivid portrayal of both Gods love and his wrath. Jesus is the apex of Gods love (the cross) and Jesus is the apex of Gods wrath (the pending Second Coming).

At this point, John was obviously over talking with me. I am sad for him. He is obviously entrenched in the mainline American believer mentality of a politically correct, lovey-dovey, God who would never be angry at anyone. What starts with a simple denial of the plain text on church discipline leads to a disregard for the inerrancy and inspiration of the Bible. Ultimately, it can slide one into the path of a tornado.

I hope that God will use me in such a way as to speak truth to John in love about what scripture tell us. I pray that I might see John realize the full panoramic of God, his terrifying wrath along with his generous mercy. I also pray that God will keep me from ever delivering a message of Gods fury without including the path that takes us away from that anger - the path of Jesus Christ.

John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.."

True Blood

I am here to confess my obsession with the HBO miniseries "True Blood"

Its basically a vampire soap-opera currently in the second season. The show revolves around an alternate reality where the development of synthetic blood has allowed the undead to "come out of the coffin" and dwell openly amongst humans. The main character is a telepath named Sookie Stackhouse. She falls in love with a civil war-era vampire named Bill and they have lots of adventures.

USA Today said "Sexy, witty and unabashedly peculiar, True Blood is a blood-drenched Southern Gothic romantic parable set in a world where vampires are out and about and campaigning for equal rights. Part mystery, part fantasy, part comedy, and all wildly imaginative exaggeration, True Blood proves that there's still vibrant life — or death — left in the "star-crossed cute lovers" paradigm."

I must admit that the show is overtly violent, sexually charged, profanity ridden, and generally negative towards Christians (at least the televangelists - which they use as the general stereotype)...

Nevertheless, I really enjoy the show. The topics that it deals with are often very human topics and you can find a lot of thought-provoking social commentary amidst the less wholesome moments.

I have examined my life carefully since I began watching it to see if it was being of any influence in my life. I know that everything we do, see, and interact with has some influence on us - however, I don't see any place in my life where True Blood is corrupting me beyond the struggles I always deal with.

Yet, I decided that I should look to others for advice on how they would view watching a show like True Blood while walking a Christian life. For fun, I came up with a few imaginary responses from famous pastors and theologians...

Calvin: What's a TV?

John Piper: You should just turn the TV off in general.

Mark Driscoll: You ought to watch it to maintain relevance with the culture.

Paul Washer: How do you expect to watch that filth and have the Spirit fill you up?

Jerry Falwell: If they show kids holding hands in that program - turn it off!

Joel Osteen: (smiling) You deserve to watch whatever makes you be the best person you can be.

TD Jakes: (sweating and yelling) Devil come out of that TV show right now, in the name of Jesus!

NOW...What about you? Even if you have never seen/ heard of the show, what do you think about me watching it after reading this post?

I appreciate your replies.

DG: The Tornado, the Lutherans, and Homosexuality

From the Desiring God blog today (controversial I am sure, but spot on)

John Piper says:

I saw the fast-moving, misshapen, unusually-wide funnel over downtown Minneapolis from Seven Corners. I said to Kevin Dau, “That looks serious.”

It was. Serious in more ways than one. A friend who drove down to see the damage wrote,

On a day when no severe weather was predicted or expected...a tornado forms, baffling the weather experts—most saying they’ve never seen anything like it. It happens right in the city. The city: Minneapolis.

The tornado happens on a Wednesday...during the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's national convention in the Minneapolis Convention Center. The convention is using Central Lutheran across the street as its church. The church has set up tents around it’s building for this purpose.

According to the ELCA’s printed convention schedule, at 2 PM on Wednesday, August 19, the 5th session of the convention was to begin. The main item of the session: “Consideration: Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality.” The issue is whether practicing homosexuality is a behavior that should disqualify a person from the pastoral ministry.

The eyewitness of the damage continues:

This curious tornado touches down just south of downtown and follows 35W straight towards the city center. It crosses I94. It is now downtown.

The time: 2PM.

The first buildings on the downtown side of I94 are the Minneapolis Convention Center and Central Lutheran. The tornado severely damages the convention center roof, shreds the tents, breaks off the steeple of Central Lutheran, splits what’s left of the steeple in two...and then lifts.

Let me venture an interpretation of this Providence with some biblical warrant.
1. The unrepentant practice of homosexual behavior (like other sins) will exclude a person from the kingdom of God.

The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

2. The church has always embraced those who forsake sexual sin but who still struggle with homosexual desires, rejoicing with them that all our fallen, sinful, disordered lives (all of us, no exceptions) are forgiven if we turn to Christ in faith.

Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

3. Therefore, official church pronouncements that condone the very sins that keep people out of the kingdom of God, are evil. They dishonor God, contradict Scripture, and implicitly promote damnation where salvation is freely offered.

4. Jesus Christ controls the wind, including all tornados.

Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:41)

5. When asked about a seemingly random calamity near Jerusalem where 18 people were killed, Jesus answered in general terms—an answer that would cover calamities in Minneapolis, Taiwan, or Baghdad. God’s message is repent, because none of us will otherwise escape God’s judgment.

Jesus: “Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:4-5)

6. Conclusion: The tornado in Minneapolis was a gentle but firm warning to the ELCA and all of us: Turn from the approval of sin. Turn from the promotion of behaviors that lead to destruction. Reaffirm the great Lutheran heritage of allegiance to the truth and authority of Scripture. Turn back from distorting the grace of God into sensuality. Rejoice in the pardon of the cross of Christ and its power to transform left and right wing sinners

Prayer 8/16/09

This week a prayer instead of a quote...

The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.

Buy the book here:
http://www.monergismbooks.com/The-Valley-of-Vision-A-Collection-of-Puritan-Prayers-Paperback-p-17135.html

A Shocking Message

This guy is abit loud and aggressive with his preaching, but maybe we all need some of that...

Prosperity theology is a False Gospel

It may seem like overkill since I have been writing on similar topics recently - but Al Mohler puts it more eloquently than I do. Check out his message from today:

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=4248

Death is Not Dying

Yesterday, a friend from church posted a link on facebook. I followed it and I was so happy that I did.

"Death is Not Dying" is a webpage devoted to the life of Rachel Barkey. Rachel recently passed away after years of fighting breast cancer, being a cancer survivor, finding out that the cancer returned, and receiving a terminal prognosis. On top of those things, Rachel was young and she had a husband and two small children. For many people, being put in that situation would lead to an abandonment of the faith or a deep anger at God. But, for Rachel - her walk with Christ only deepened.

The webpage has some great resources, including:

A 55 minute video of her speaking to 600 women shortly before her death. (A magnificent presentation of the hope we have in the gospel)
A stellar book list that was her personal reconmendations for further study and edification
A section with reprints of the numerous letters that Rachel wrote during her trial
A links section to several good sites

The story of Rachel Barkey is a moving tale of one women who faced certain death with untouchable hope - not in herself or her own skills and ability - but with a saving faith in the hope that Christ gave us thru his finished work on the cross and his ressurection. Its worth a look.

A Gospel Centered Church

Today in his blog, Tullian Tchividjian, quoted his seminary friend Bob Thune (pastor of Coram Deo Church in Omaha, Nebraska) who had written something to describe his church. He explained that every church has a “DNA” – a set of deeply rooted values or characteristics that define it. So what does that mean, exactly?

Bob says, “Churches often obscure the glory of the gospel by reducing it to something less than it is. Some understand the gospel only as doctrinal content to be believed. Others diminish it to a personal, subjective experience of God’s presence. Still others see it as a social cause to be championed. The gospel is none of these, and yet it is all of these. A truly gospel-centered church understands and embraces the fullness of the gospel as content, community, and cause.”

GOSPEL CONTENT
The Gospel is a message that is to be preached or proclaimed (Mark 1:14; Acts 14:21; Rom 1:15; 1 Peter 1:12). It is the story of God’s redemption of his fallen creation. It is the good news that God has acted in history to conquer evil and reconcile sinners to himself through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor 15:1-12). A gospel-centered church is one where the gospel is proclaimed clearly, consistently, and compellingly (1 Cor 9:16-23).

GOSPEL COMMUNITY
The gospel is not just a message to be believed, but a power to be experienced (Rom 1:16). The gospel shapes a new community as those who were formerly God’s enemies are reconciled to Him (Rom 5:10) and adopted into his family (Gal 4:4-7). The church is not a place, but a people – a community that is continually being reformed and renewed by the transforming power of the gospel (Col. 1:6).

GOSPEL CAUSE
The gospel is a call to action – a declaration that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). God is not just interested in the salvation of humans, but in the restoration of all of creation to its original “good” (Gen 1:31; Rom 8:19-22). A gospel-centered church will be active in the work of mercy, justice, and cultural renewal, praying and working against the effects of sin so that God’s will might be done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
_______________________

I am so very glad that I go to a local church that is gospel-centered in all three aspects. If you are not familiar with our family church, please check it out at:
http://www.southpointpca.com/

A new season

After my faith, my family, and my friends - my next greatest passion is fighting. A new season of TUF is coming...

Ultimate Fighter Cast Preview | UFC | SPIKE.com

Response to comment on "Healing"

An Anonymous Friend said...

Honestly, I don't know how I feel about healing. I questioned my girlfriend about Isaiah 53, and she pointed me to Matthew 8:16-17. Matthew clearly interprets the "griefs" and "sorrows" in Isaiah 53:4 as "sicknesses."

"When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."

I will check back in a couple of days to see if you have replied. Take care!
_________________________

The passages in question (ESV):
__________________________
Matthew 8:14-17

14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
__________________________
Ish 53:4-5

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
___________________________

I appreciate folks stopping by with comments!

I looked back at my original post and it should be clear via the 2nd and 3rd point I made in my blog entry that I believe Christ's penal substitutionary atonement on the cross did vanquish both our sin debt and the effects of the fall/ death on our world. That includes sickness. However, my point is that those benefits are not provided to us in full until our death and glorification in the world to come with our ressurected body. We can all see that our acceptance of Christ's work in place of our own has secured our eternal life, yet we still have to endure in this mortal shell for a generation before sin is no longer our enemy for practical purposes. In that same way, we can bank that the cross did secure our physical perfection, but only after a season on this planet where we struggle with deep afflictions, shall we realize it in sum.

The whole broad narrative of Scripture is blatantly obvious about the multitude of painful trials that believers will encounter. We are encouraged to rest in our hope (that is Christ) and stand strong thru them - we are NOT called to take select verses out of context and create entire man-centered theologies around a false idea that true believers will never experience hardship.Seeing the entire redemptive plan means that Isaiah 53 could have lots to say about healing and it wouldn't affect my view. Jesus is sufficient for all things, physical healing included, but that does not mean that we inccur all the benefits immediately - just the opposite, we are to be patient as we wait for the ressurection of the saints and the ultimate realization of the victory that Christ already purchased.

As for the correspondence between Isaiah 53 and Matthew 8...I can see that Matthew makes reference to the Isaiah passage and he is obviously talking about physical sickness. However, in my blog I did not deal with 53:4, I dealt with 53:5. I think that the two are completely different sentences and separate thoughts/ prophecies about the coming Messiah (the suffering servant).

Verse 4 (together with the Matthew version) seems to be telling of a man who would heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform other miracles while his own people ignored his power and made plans to make him suffer. This is exactly what happened to Christ, he came and proved that he was who he claimed he was via his miracles - yet the Jews despised him and plotted to have him killed.

Verse 5 on the other hand is the one that actually refers to healing and is usually taken out of context to speak of physical healing. The language here (transgression and iniquities) is obviously related to our sin nature and not our sickness. When that verse mentions "peace" it is clear that the meaning is primarily "spiritual peace with God" not "physical peace from suffering" - why is it so clear? I think that a plain reading is pretty forthright, but another way to see the clarity is to once again look at all of the Bible and open one's eyes to the suffering that the apostles endured in the early church...

When Paul tells Timothy to have some wine (1 Tim 5:23), its good for the stomach, that implies that Timothy's probably had stomach aches. Thats a simple example of the fact that even the earliest saints were dealing with sickness and mortal fragility while they remained alive.

It is so easy to get captured by the word-faith movement and the teaching on healing - it appeals to our dark and self-centered heart..."oh, you mean that I don't have to be sick or poor if I truly believe, wow that Jesus guy is pretty sweet" Instead we should see the biblical portrait, which is..."Christ is worthy no matter my physical or financial condition, he alone is God and he is a good and merciful God who only does what is right and just and loving - even if I don't understand."

If you build your faith on prosperity theology, your foundation will be swept away when great calamity hits your life. If you build your house on the sovereignty of our Lord, you will endure all storms - it may still be scary when they strike, but you will pull through intact!"

Interview Outcome

Lots of people are probably interested in how my interview went yesterday - so I figured that it would be easiest to give the rundown on here and then simply direct folks to this link.

I think that I did very well in the interview itself. I met with 3 of the top folks at the Court of Appeals Chief Executives Office. I wasn't flabbergasted by any questions and I felt they were overall impressed. At the end of the interview they asked me if I had any questions and thats when things when south.

I asked them about the daily routine, the hours, the chance for upward mobility, etc...

They were very honest and they gave me a lot to think about. Here is the situation as it looks now.

PRO to this job - $375.00 a month net income increase (thats a minivan)

CONS to this job:
- take away $100.00 of that increase immediately for my bus pass to get there
- add 1 to 1 ½ hours away from my family each day due to a longer commute
- no upward mobility (they were very honest about the fact that the court rarely has new vacancies and that they rarely hire from internal candidates even when they do have openings)
- suspension of civil service protections (I would work at the pleasure of the Chief Judge, so all the benefits of government job security are out the window)
- need to go buy dress pants, shirts, and shoes (no more shorts and tees)
- travel on Mother's Day to judicial conference every other year
- no cost of living increases ( Court is cutting budget they explained and they are about to stop giving both "step" increases and annual cost of living increases)
- working as a "gopher" for 12 appellate judges who see themselves as demi-gods (obviously fun)

So, as you can see I am not too excited about this job prospect. I have decided to continue with the application process if they call me in for the second interview. If they do eventually offer me the job, I will accept on the condition that they reimburse me the cost of my bus pass each month (hey, its going green isn't it?!?)

Thanks to everyone who was praying for me. God doesn't always answer in the affirmative and it might be that the uneasy feeling I got yesterday about this job is His way of saying "I have something better around the bend." I am not sure yet of the choice I'll make in this situation - but I pray that He will continue to be with me for my joy and His glory.

'Stillborn' 1.1.-Pound Baby Wakes Up Just Before Funeral

He is still in the miracle business...

ASUNCION, Paraguay — A baby boy born 16 weeks prematurely was declared dead by doctors at a hospital in Paraguay only to wake up in time for his funeral wake hours later.

Dr. Ernesto Weber, head of pediatric care at the state-run hospital in the capital of Asuncion, said the baby weighed just 1,1 pounds when he was born.

"Initially, the baby didn't move, he practically didn't have any respiratory reflexes, nor did we hear a heartbeat and, as a result, we declared a premature fetus of 24 weeks dead," Weber told Reuters Television.

The family was given a death certificate and a cardboard box with the baby's name scribbled on the outside which served as a makeshift coffin.

But when the family took him from the hospital to prepare him for his funeral, the unbelievable happened.

"I opened the box and took the baby out and he cried. I got scared and I said "the baby's crying" ... and then he started moving his arms, his legs and I got scared, we got very scared," said one member of the family, Liliana Alvarenga.

Hours after the baby's death had been declared he was found to be alive. The hospital has begun an investigation and the baby is now in a stable condition in an incubator.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,538721,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r2:c0.192287:b27050028:z0

GIVE HIM PRAISE!

My iPod

Sometimes people ask me about the music I am listening to on my iPod. I have lots of different stuff on there. Much of my life inside the headphones does not revolve around music at all. I listen to lots of podcasts (free talk radio from Apple). You can get a podcast for just about any subject, I listen to lots of preaching.

Currently, my iPod hosts sermons from John Piper, John MacArthur, Mark Driscoll, and Allistar Begg. Additionally, I have several teaching programs downloaded, including stuff from Greg Koukl, RC Sproul, and William Lane Craig. All of these resources have been one part of growing my faith – namely, they grew my theological understanding and critical thinking skills. I am very grateful for the use I have gotten out of my iPod. I paid $200 for it back in 2006 – great investment!

Of course, I do have some music stored away as well. It may seem cheesy, but I have lots of Christian music. I am not one of those people who thinks that a believer can’t listen to secular music, it is my own personal conviction to distance myself from most music that isn’t overtly Christian. Music tends to bring back memories for me and I don’t need to spend my day thinking about drunk fighting (rock music) or promiscuity (hip hop). To keep my head uncluttered, I listen to lots of explicitly religious stuff.

I would say that my two favorite “artists” are Indelible Grace and LeCrae. IG is actually a group of folks that sprung out of Belmont University. They have an amazing knack for setting old hymms to modern arrangement. It is really laid back, yet deep music. Best of all, they are very sound in their lyrics, one can learn a lot about what Scripture says by the songs they sing. It’s a great way to reinforce daily time in the Word and prayer. The other artist is a Christian rapper named LeCrae. He is able to put catchy beats in the background of some insanely profound rhymes. His work is so Christo-centric and right-on, John Piper has teamed up with him for several projects.

Before I post the webpages of these 2 artists, let me invite you (my awesome reader) to send me a comment with your favorite Christian artist/ song. I appreciate it!

http://www.igracemusic.com/

http://www.lecrae.net/

Interview

All-

Please include me in your prayers tonight or tomorrow morning (if you remember). I am heading to a job interview at 1:15pm tomorrow. I will be trying to get a new job at the Court of Appeals downtown. It isn't extremely well-paying - but it should provide us the minivan that we need.

Ultimately, I want to be where God wants me to be. I think he left me at the Archives for these past few years (despite the pay and atmosphere) because it is a place that allows me to listen to lots of podcasts (whereby I gained alot of knowledge and faith) and because it is a workplace where religion is regularly discussed (providing a door for the gospel to be proclaimed).

I feel in my heart that he is ready for me to move on - I hope that isn't just me being ready to move on! So, please pray that I will do well in the interview and that I am able to trust in His grace whatever the outcome of His perfect will for my life turns out to be.

Thanks.

Quote 08/09/2009

"Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven, till God worketh in him to will and to do his good pleasure"

George Whitefield to John Wesley

Challies Controversy

There has been lots of controversy about a recent post by well-known reformed blogger Tim Challies in the past couple of days. I encourage you to read his post here:
http://www.challies.com/archives/christian-living/the-religious-hell-hole-1.php

Tim is attempting to address the very difficult question of "do babies that die go directly to heaven?" I was actualy asked that question myself less than a week ago by a 12 year old boy. In my opinion, it has no easy answer. The best we can say is that Scripture does not appear to be clear on the issue.

On one hand we have the issue of original sin and the sentence that it brings to our eternal soul w/o Jesus intervention to elect us. Taken with logical reformed consistency, it seems that elect babies who die go to heaven while non-elect babies that die do not. On the other hand, many pastors (including Piper and MacArthur) make arguments of inference from select scripture to say that God mysteriously saves all babies since they lack a natural ability to understand their sin.

I am unsure of my position. I don't see concrete evidence in the Bible of the "all babies go to heaven" stance - yet, I see enough potential evidence to keep my mind unmade on the matter. Personally, if I ever had to speak with someone who experienced such a loss regarding this, I would side with Pipers argument. I think that it would bring comfort without harming any of the essential doctrines of grace.

However, a recent comment by someone about this at "22 Words" struck me...they said:

"The real question is would you still love Jesus even if He did send some or all babies to hell?”

How true. If you find yourself answering in the negative to that question then you have a serious problem with understanding sovereignty, authority, Lordship, and submission. We must remember that God is the creator and we are the created. He has ultimate power in deciding to do what he will with us. And by definition, all of his decisions are good. They may not always seem good to our limited, finite, temporal, and fallen minds - but, we must trust that they are.

God is a God of grace and I hope that he makes a special provision, although not explicit in Scripture, for babies/ children/ and mentally handicapped who don't have the mental faculty to see his natural or special revelation to go straight to heaven. However, if he does not make such allowance and he treats those persons the same as us all (elect and non-elect without any basis from ourselves) then I will still worship and adore him. It is a painful idea, until I remember that we all deserve hell and that it is only the grace of God which saves any from eternal torment. As we see our own condition clearly (baby or not) we get a much bigger appreciation for the love that God displays in saving any rebel against him. Take comfort in that amidst the difficult questions like this one.

You might be a Presbyterian if...

1. You can spell supralapsarian.

2. When asked to name the twelve apostles you say Matthew, John, James, Andrew, Peter, Nathaniel, Phillip, Simon, Thomas, Augustine, Luther and Calvin.

3. You used to be a Baptist.

4. You started drinking ("in moderation" of course) after you left the Baptist church and became a Presbyterian.

5. When the spirit comes upon you in power, you don't raise your hands and shout Hallelujuah, rather you scratch your chin, turn to your neighbor and whisper "hmmm, . . . that was a good point."

6. You think fencing has something to do with the Lord's Supper instead of swords.

7. You've considered church discipline for people who watch the NFL on Sunday afternoon.

8. They aren't "catholics," or even "Roman Catholics." They're "Papists."

9. Instead of going to prophecy conferences where they talk about Star-Trek eschatology and the mark of the Beast, you attend conferences on "life and culture", art, social justice and other high- brow things like that. Afterwards, you go to the local pub and talk about enlightenment philosophy and soteriology over a pint of dark beer.

10. You attend a church which has a name closer to "Grace Covenant Fellowship" rather than a church that calls itself something like "The Washed In The Blood, Berean, Bible-Believing, Charismatic Tabernacle and Worship Center".

Healing - part 2

I had a few extra thoughts on the subject...

- We should ALWAYS pray for the healing of those who are sick. It is explicitly commanded in James 5:14. Yet, we must not take the next verse (15) to mean that everyone who gets sick WILL be healed. Verses 10 and 11, just above, make it plain that many will suffer and endure affliction. They also make it clear that we are to endure that hardship with steadfast praise.

- Instead of praying for healing (or anything else) as if we have authority over God to affect him into action, we should pray in the way that the Lord Jesus taught us. In Luke 22:42, we read that Jesus makes his request AND he trusts that God will ordain the outcome in whichever way is best. I hear alot of people say that praying "in His will" is weak prayer, but thats how Christ prayed and he certainly wasn't a man of weak prayer.

- And lastly, I want to post this great article which I recently read by Dr. Sam Storms. It is a far better resource than I could ever write, please take a look at it. This question will hit all of us at some point. If you can get your mind biblically prepared now - the turmoil might be less when life forces you to ponder the issue.
_______________________

Why God Doesn't Always Heal

God loved the apostle Paul. Yet God sovereignly orchestrated his painful thorn in the flesh and then declined to remove it, notwithstanding Paul's passionate prayer that he be healed.

We are not apostles. Yet, as his children, no less so than Paul, God loves us too. We don't know the nature of Paul's thorn, but each of us has undoubtedly suffered in a similar way, and some considerably worse. We, like Paul, have prayed incessantly to be healed. Or perhaps knowing of a loved one's "thorn" we have prayed for them. And again, like Paul, God declined to remove it. Why?


It's hard to imagine a more difficult, confusing, and controversial topic than why God chooses not to heal in response to the intercessory pleas of his people. I don't profess to have all the answers, but I think I've got a few. I'm sure that this meditation will provoke many to anger and frustration, while others, I pray, will find a measure of comfort.

In the final analysis, virtually everything about healing remains a mystery. I don't mind saying that I'm weary of those who claim to reduce healing to a formula or a manageable cause and effect phenomenon in which we can know with certainty why some are healed and why others are not. I've labored in this meditation to avoid falling into that trap. That said, I would like to suggest that the reason why many are not healed may possibly be answered in any one of seven ways.

(1) Although we must be careful in giving more weight to the role of faith than does the NT itself, we also must be willing to acknowledge that occasionally healing does not occur because of the absence of that sort of faith that God delights to honor.

This does not mean that every time a person isn't healed it is because of a defective faith or that if only a more robust and doubt-free faith were in exercise that healing would inevitably follow. But it does mean that faith is very important. How can we conclude otherwise in view of the many texts in which healing is closely linked to someone's faith? I hope you'll take the time to pause and read these passages: Matthew 9:22, 28-29; 15:28; Mark 2:5,11; 5:34; 9:17-24; Mark 10:52; Luke 17:19; Acts 3:16; 14:8-10; James 5:14-16.

In my book on spiritual gifts I asked the question: "Why did Jesus emphasize faith?" Neither he nor his Father need it. They could have orchestrated life such that something other than faith would be the condition on which they would heal. They are not hampered or hindered by the faithlessness or prayerlessness of the sick person or those who pray for his/her healing. The reason is this: faith glorifies God. Faith points us away from ourselves to him. Faith turns us away from our own power and resources to his. Faith says, "Lord, I am nothing and you are everything. I entrust myself to your care. I cling to you alone. My confidence is in your word and character no matter what happens."

Faith is not a weapon by which we demand things from God or put him in subjection to us. Faith is an act of self-denial. Faith is a renunciation of one's ability to do anything and a confession that God can do everything. Faith derives its power not from the spiritual energy of the person who believes, but from the supernatural efficacy of the person who is believed: God! It is not faith's act but its object that accounts for the miraculous.

(2) Sometimes healing does not occur because of the presence of sin for which there has been no confession or repentance. James 5:15-16 clearly instructs us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed. Again, please do not conclude from this that each time a person isn't healed it is because he/she has committed some specific sin of which they have refused to repent. But in some cases this is undoubtedly true.

(3) Although it sounds odd to many at first hearing, healing may not happen because the sick don't want it to happen. Jesus asked the paralyzed man in John 5:6, "Do you want to be healed?" What on the surface may appear to be a ridiculous question is, on further examination, found to be profoundly insightful.

Some people who suffer from a chronic affliction become accustomed to their illness and to the pattern of life it requires. Their identity is to a large extent wrapped up in their physical disability. They enjoy their dependency on others and the special attention it brings them. In some instances they don't want the responsibilities that would come with being healthy. This is not a common phenomenon, but it does happen in a few cases.

(4) We must also consider the principle articulated in James 4:2, where we are told that "you do not have, because you do not ask." The simple fact is that some are not healed because they do not pray. Perhaps they pray once or twice, and then allow discouragement to paralyze their petitions. Prayer for healing often must be prolonged, sustained, persevering, and combined with fasting.

(5) Some are not healed because the demonic cause of the affliction has not been addressed. Please do not jump to unwarranted conclusions. I am not suggesting that all physical disease is demonically induced. Of course, it is interesting, is it not, that in Paul's case God used "a messenger of Satan" to inflict the thorn. There is also the case of the woman in Luke 13 "who had a disabling spirit [or, a spirit of infirmity] for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself" (Luke 13:11). According to Jesus, "Satan" had "bound" her (Luke 13:16; see also Acts 10:38).

It takes considerable discernment, time, and patience to determine if an illness has a demonic cause, together with even greater commitment to praying for that individual and leading them to address the reasons for their spiritual oppression. When these factors are ignored, healing may not be forthcoming.

(6) We must also consider the mystery of divine providence. There are undoubtedly times and seasons in the purposes of God during which his healing power is withdrawn or at least largely diminished. God may have any number of reasons for this to which we are not privy, whether to discipline a wayward and rebellious church or to create a greater desperation for his power or to wean us off excessive dependence on physical comfort and convenience or any number of other possibilities. If this leaves you confused, that's why it's called a mystery!

But what must we say when the problem isn't the absence of faith or the presence of a demon or the refusal to repent or the failure to pray or a lack of desire? How then do we account for on-going physical affliction, as in Paul's case? I strongly urge you to carefully read the next point.

(7) Often times there are dimensions of spiritual growth and moral development and increase in the knowledge of God in us that he desires MORE than our physical health, experiences that in his wisdom God has determined can only be attained by means or in the midst of or in response to less than perfect physical health. In other words, healing the sick is a good thing (and we should never cease to pray for it), but often there is a better thing that can only be attained by means of physical weakness.

More important to God than our physical health is our spiritual holiness. This isn't to say the body isn't important. God isn't a Gnostic! He values and has redeemed our bodies and now dwells within them as his eternal temple. But while we live in this corrupt and decaying world, inner and spiritual conformity to the image of Christ often comes only at the expense of or at least simultaneous with physical deterioration and suffering (see 2 Cor. 4:16-18).

Let me personalize this principle. If I believe Romans 8:28, that God sovereignly orchestrates all events in my life for my ultimate spiritual good (and preeminently for his ultimate glory), I can only conclude that, all things being equal, if I'm not healed it is because God values something in me greater than my physical comfort and health that he, in his infinite wisdom and kindness, knows can only be attained by means of my physical affliction and the lessons of submission, dependency, and trust in God that I learn from it.

In the final analysis, we may never know why a person isn't healed. What, then, ought to be our response? In the first place, don't stop praying! Some people find this difficult to swallow. Many times I've been asked: "Why should Paul bother to pray for release from something that God wills to inflict?" The answer is because Paul didn't know what God's will was in this particular case until such time as God chose to make it known. And neither do you or I with regard to any particular illness that we may suffer.

If the Lord had never said in response to Paul's prayer, "No, it isn't my will that you be relieved of this thorn," Paul would have been justified, indeed required, to continue to pray for his healing. I once heard Jack Taylor put it this way: "Never cease praying for healing until you are shown otherwise either by divine revelation or death!" If you are able to discern, as did Paul, through some prophetic disclosure or other legitimate biblical means that it is not God's will now or ever to heal you, you may cease asking him to do so. Otherwise, short of death itself, you must persevere in prayer. You never know but that God's ultimate and long-term will for you is complete healing after he has for a season accomplished his short-term sanctifying purpose.

In Paul's case, the only reason he ceased asking for deliverance was because God, in effect, told him to shut up! "No, Paul. I'm not going to heal you. It isn't my will in this instance that you be set free from this affliction. Rather, I have a higher purpose in view: your humility and my Son's glory manifest in the context of your on-going weakness."

To which Paul, in effect, replied: "O.K., Lord, I'll shut up and submit to your merciful purpose in my life. I know you love me and desire what is ultimately of greatest good for my spiritual growth. Therefore, my prayer now is that you maximize in me the beneficial effects of this pain. Don't let me miss out on any spiritual good that might come my way from this malady. Teach me everything I need to know and sustain me that I might be a platform for the glory of Christ and a source of comfort to other suffering saints."

I'm sure there are other ways to account for why God chooses not to heal, but I trust that these have proven helpful. There is much I do not know about this matter, but of this I'm quite certain: God's grace is sufficient in all circumstances so that we, "for the sake of Christ" (2 Cor. 12:10a), might learn that in our weakness his power is made perfect!

A bigger cross...

"We all need a bigger cross...a cross that not only forgives us, but also draws us to obedience and gives us the assurance that God’s ways are always the best ways - even when we don't understand."

Thanks to Tim and his controversial post for the inspiration of this quote.

http://www.challies.com/archives/christian-living/the-religious-hell-hole-1.php

Healing

I have some friends (folks who get my blog delivered to their e-mail each time I hit "post") who sometimes discuss their beliefs on healing. I disagree with their take on what the Bible has to say about healing and I feel compelled to air my opinion in response to their interpretation. I want to start by saying that they are fine people and strong Christians. They were used in a mighty way by God to bring me to saving faith in Christ and I do not write this "rebuttal" out of any animosity towards them. They are sincere believers with whom I simply don't agree. Because I think that dialogue about important issues is essential - I give you their view and my response. Comments welcome, especially from the friends of whom I write.
__________________________

My friends said:

"The second part of our belief in Healing is a little harder to explain.

And like I said, I don't claim to understand it 100%, but hey isn't that what faith is about?

Boiled down, we believe that Isaiah 53:5 is proof that Christ took our sickness on the Cross.
Christians believe that Christ died on the Cross for our sins, but if you read the rest of that verse you find that Jesus also died for our diseases. He was reversing the Fall of Man, and that would include sickness.

In our family, the husband is our Bible Scholar.
I personally have a hard time interpreting and focusing on the text. So most of what I know about Healing I have learned from sermons from Pastors like Andrew Wommack.
When we pray a sickness off us, it isn't much different then when people talk about praying for the sick. We just have a different mindset.

We claim Healing once and only once. The same way we ask to be forgiven once and only once.
From there, we begin to thank God for the Healing that is taking place.

And sometimes believing it is hard.
I think that Healing is even harder in America because we are bombarded by negative information about health all the time. There is always an epidemic on the news and WebMD makes us all sure we are dying from something.

It's a rule in our house that when one of us isn't feeling well, we cannot go online or watch TV. We try not to talk to people about it who don't believe in Healing.
It just helps keep the negative disbelief out of our minds.

We also are big on not speaking death over our house.

The Bible says that there is power in the tongue and that you are either speaking Life or you are speaking Death at all times.

For example, when someone says, "Little Billy has the flu. I hope Susie doesn't get it since we were over there last night. I think they shared a cup!", we simply say, "She won't get sick, she's covered by the blood of Jesus."

Some people are sensitive so we don't say it to them. We just claim it.

We believe that God took All the disease and sickness with him and that we are healed of any problem. That's where we lose people.

We acknowledge that people of extreme faith die of illness. That sometimes, it seems their claiming didn't work. And as I said, I don't have all the answers. I do believe that it has to do with having unbelief.

You know the verse that talks about moving mountains with faith as small as a mustard seed? I believe that you only need a teeny tiny bit of faith, but just a teeny tiny bit of unbelief mixed in there will block that belief. That's why we think its so important not to let our fast technology scare us out of claiming.

See, sounds kinda crazy huh?

We have lost friends over this and a lot of people write us off when we tell them that we don't get sick.

But that's OK with me.

The proof is in the fact that we don't get sick."
_________________________

My reply:

1) Healing is mysterious, I agree. No one can understand the will or actions of God perfectly - but we can come pretty close by looking at the whole of his redemptive plan in Scripture.

2) I do not deny that Christ's sacrifice on the cross conquered sickness once and forever. But, I don't see evidence that this is immediately applicable anymore than our spiritual perfection is immediate. The effects of a fallen world plaque us until we die and pass on to be glorified and ushered into the presence of God. It is in that moment, when we leave this realm behind that the victory of Christ over sickness is realized for us. Check these passages:
1 Corinthians 15:52-53
1 Corinthians 13:12
2 Corinthians 5:2-4

3) The use of Isaiah 53:5 by charismatics to give "proof" that Jesus death on the cross was as much for physical healing as it was for spiritual rebirth falls flat when one looks at the context and the original language. The first part of the verse tells us what things that Christ healed us from. The context does not denote physical illness. Instead it clearly refers to our transgressions and iniquities. Physical illness is not a transgression nor an iniquity. It is obvious that the reference here is to sin. The word "healed" can only be properly interpreted when it is studied in light of its surroundings. In this case, it does not mean "healed from physical sickness" - instead, it appears to be used as a metaphor. Sin is our disease, Jesus heals us.

4) I suggest that one should stay away from preachers like Andrew Wommack. People like him, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, even Joel Osteen are not Christ-centered ministers. The gospel that they preach is a false one that elevates man to an absurd degree. They seem to preach Jesus as a means to an end, a slot-machine for our gain, instead of the all-powerful and sovereign God of creation who deserves our praise regardless of what he does for us or not. Jesus is our greatest treasure, he is our end - not health, wealth, or success...only Jesus. Those things may come, they may not - if he is our chief pleasure and our ultimate aim in this life, we have not wasted our existence. If, however, we see Christ as the way to get rich, healthy, and powerful we will miss out on the true joy of loving Him for Him and we will have wasted this life. Scripture is clear that greedy false prophets will come and deny the all-sufficiency of Jesus (2 Peter 2:1-3), but they will not escape final doom.

I suggest trying to listen to a few sermons from John Piper or John MacArthur. Most importantly - become a bible scholar for yourself. We ALL should (that means me and my family too).

5) I agree that the media and the world are very negative and that they can influence us to jump to conclusions and to overreact. Self-diagnosis via the web is a horrible thing.

6) The neo-pentecostal idea of "name-it, claim-it" or "speaking life and death" over oneself is a serious theological misunderstanding and honestly appears to border on turning biblical faith into some hocus-pocus mystical new age stuff. Proverbs 18:21 is the "proof-text" for this idea. However, as we again look at the context it seems clear that the writer is not being literal in verse 21 anymore than he is talking about actual fruit growing in ones mouth satisfying ones hunger (see verse 20).

The principle here is that our tongue can be used for edifying people or for breaking them down. Compare with Proverbs 12:18. This is certainly true. Our human nature stands in defiance to that old schoolyard poem...words can really hurt us.

7) Claiming things does not seem to make them happen. St. Paul, who authored most of the New Testament, was afflicted with an illness in 2 Corinthians 12 and he didn't seem to be able to pray it away. In fact God told him that this messenger of Satan should stay with him. Why would God do that? Why would he allow a man of amazing faith, a man begging to be relieved of his pain, to be tortured through physical sickness?...

Because God is not most ultimately concerned with us being in good health, financially well-off, or secularly successful. God is most concerned with his Name, he is most concerned with getting glory for Himself. That isn't conceited for a being who deserves it, its natural and good. He is the potter and we are the clay (Romans 9), he will mold us in whatever way he sees fit that he should receive the utmost glory and honor. This is borne out by Paul and the story of Job. Horrible, horrible things occur to Job and God patently allows Satan to do them. By that allowance, God ordains, even wills the action in some sense.

God is in control, despite what Andrew Wommack would say, and he will be gracious to whom he will be gracious (Exodus 33). The wind blows where it wills (John 3), not where we claim it should blow.

8) No one has all the answers, some unregenerate people receive miraculous healing and other people with great faith die. Even if claiming was true, it often does not seem to work. And why not? According to this theological mentality, it is due to a lack of faith and an abundance of unbelief in the one who needs the healing or the ones praying for that person . Malarkey!

Great saints of God are struck down by the fallenness of this world every day. Cancer kills grandmothers, lung disease racks godly women who never smoked a day in their life, children get leukemia and die even when their parents have raw and rug-burnt knees.

These things don't happen because the person didn't have enough faith to force Jesus into performing his magic healing trick. They happen because God sovereignly ordains them. He made all things and he has authority over creation, not us. Sure, he sometimes delegates specific authority to specific persons - but we are not all little-Gods. He alone is God. He is all-wise and all-good. He is working all things (even the horrible ones) together for the good of his people. The ultimate good, that is eternal life and a inner man that resembles Christ more and more each day.

God will work differently in each of us all to achieve that goal. Some will be rich, some poor. Some will be healthy, some terminally ill. Some will be CEOs, some will be pizza boys. God works in all things that his people will be taken care of (Romans 8:28) and he works in all our lives to bring us to a place where he will be most glorified in us and we will be most satisfied in him.

9) Everyone gets sick, and ear infection is a sickness. There may be many reasons that someone does not usually get sick. They might eat well, exercise regularly, have good genetics, decide that a common cold isn't worth a trip to the doctor, etc...To say that the "proof is in the pudding" again brings the center of attention to ones own abilities (we are good claimers with lots of faith) and not Gods ruling hand/ deserved glory. We must learn to take our eyes off this world and our own work and say with Job:
"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (1:21)

10) In conclusion...Christianity is not a religion of magic words, its a relationship of trust even when the relief doesn't come. Faith is not best explained as "what Jesus can do for me" if I have enough of it, but as resting in what Jesus did for me that I might enjoy eternity with him and obey him forever. Sickness is not a consequence of ones lack of belief, its a consequence of this natural order and it is always a thing allowed by God for ultimate good. Gods number one priority is not us, it is himself and thats the way it should be. The "full gospel" isn't - its actually a false gospel.
_____________________________

Thats all I felt that I needed to get off my chest. I realize that my friends posted their views with the request that:

"... if you don't agree or believe the same way, please keep your negative comments away."

...thus, I have not responded on their blog nor have I named them and few people who read this blog could figure out who they are even with some effort. Ultimately, I don't feel that I was negative in my post, unless you think that disagreeing is inherently negative. My hope is that I have provided some food for thought and some lively discussion fodder.

Please hit me up with some feedback. I don't claim to know it all, I just claim to try and have good biblical reasoning behind my views - what do you think?

Protect Thyself

This past Monday was my first "Protect Thyself" seminar. A few months ago, a friend who serves as a houseparent at Eagle Ranch asked me to come teach his (5) middle-school boys self-defense. I talked it out with him over a few weeks and the result was a class called "Protect Thyself."

The essence of this one-day period of instruction is to give the student a introduction to practical ways they can defend themselves both physically (against assaults and abductions) and spiritually (against the temptations which spring from our nature, the world, and the devil).

I spent the physical portion talking about how to stay safe and out of harms way before transitioning into some drills that showed them ways to defend themselves if it came to that. They loved the hands on interaction and the sense of accomplishment. Then I spent the spiritual section focusing on the gospel (always central) and the biblical portrait of spiritual combat as we discussed the weapons we have in that battle (prayer, the word, social action...)

I can't post many pictures because I need the kids parent's premission to put them on-line. Here are a few of me and John (my houseparent friend) demonstrating a choke defense.

Now that I have one of these under my belt, I am looking to open this up to interested youth groups and ministries. It is also great for women AND men (if they can push past that male pride we all have). If you know of anyone interested, shoot me a message.

glover4088@bellsouth.net

I have a blog up that touches on this right now, I may get a full webpage in the future - if it takes off. Thanks!

http://protectthyselfsd.blogspot.com/

Quote of the Week - 8/2/09

"Ignorance of God and of ourselves is the great principle and cause of all our disquietments; and, this ariseth mostly not from want of light and instruction, but for want of consideration and application."
John Owen