On Cecil the Lion and the Resulting Outrage

Recently, my social media feeds have exploded with people expressing outrage and deep sadness over the killing of Cecil the lion. You might be led to think that they were best friends with this beast, although none of these people have ever met or scene Cecil in person, as he lived on the other side of the planet.  But they have seen pictures and videos of him and I can tell you that they appear to have been very deeply impacted by the story of his demise. Petitions! Blog posts! Status Updates! Exclamation Points!!!!

Meanwhile, in our own little corner of the planet, we are completely passive about the premeditated slaughter of millions of innocent humans. We have pictures and videos of these little babies in the womb, yet do not raise our voices to protect them. To speak critically of the immoral practice of abortion is not the current trending topic on the web, and has not been for quite some time. I wonder where the outrage is over the 1 human life that is purposefully ended in utero every 30 seconds in America. Every day that passes on the calendar is another 2,899 people that will never breathe their first breath in the Land of the Free. Over 1 million babies a year are killed and yet it is an acceptable practice. (abortion clock)

If we lined up 120 lions and killed them all in 1 bloody hour, you can be sure that the entire world would demand justice. And yet, we do something far worse every hour here in the United States. 21 percent of ALL pregnancies in our country are terminated by an abortion. 1 in 5. Over 58 million Americans have been murdered in this fashion since 1973. That’s an immediate population loss of over 18%, which does not include possible future generations.  Dwell on that. These aren’t just numbers  - they are little lives that are being purposefully extinguished.

As a father of three children, I truly cannot understand how anyone who has ever stared at a live monitor feed of an ultrasound can defend this practice. How do you deny that the heartbeat that can be measured and seen at 8 weeks post conception is human? I cannot.

I have seen people express anger and outrage over the fact that this animal was hunted just for sport. I understand the emotion and do not disagree with the anger over luring a protected animal to its death. I’m all for obeying the laws that exist and protecting the creatures that have been designated as requiring that protection.

To all the people outraged in general over the hunting/raising of any animal, specifically for food: If you commit wholeheartedly to this thought and stop eating all poultry, pork, red meat, fish and their eggs then I will acknowledge that the outrage you have expressed has prompted life-altering action. To do any less would be picking and choosing what animals are more valuable than others and that doesn’t seem like a valid option to me.

To all the Christians who are outraged by the death of a lion you’ve never met, in a place you’ve never been: Please take that passion and purpose and pour it into defending the lives of the babies who are dying as a result of “choice”. Be willing to take a bold stand in the social arenas for those who do not have the ability to scream for themselves.

To all the Christians who support abortion: Please study the Bible and attempt to reconcile your stance on abortion with what God says about a person’s worth, their creation, Him physically knitting them together and, knowing them in the womb, etc. I don’t understand how the two can be reconciled. I welcome your emails and private messages to begin a 1 on 1 dialogue.

Dead lions don’t have souls and Christ didn’t come to die for them.

Let’s be more outraged about the death of millions of people in our country than that of a lion in a far off land.

Pondering Passover

Yesterday I found myself thinking about Passo ver, which we are a couple of days into at this point. Not being from a Jewish family, the significance of Passover is somewhat lost on me from a cultural perspective.

However, several years ago Lisa and I sat down with a group of friends and a former Jewish Rabbi walked us through a traditional passover meal, explaining each element as we went. The symbolism that is tied to each and every item on the table is quite meaningful. If you have the time, the video below from Jews For Jesus is similar to what we experienced.

It is important that I remember my spiritual heritage.
It is important to remember what I have been rescued from. 
I challenge you to pause and reflect on either your current spiritual state of bondage or freedom.
I pray that you will accept the freedom and deliverance found in Christ.

Below are two songs from Andrew Peterson that move me to remember all these things.

Passover Us


Lyrics for "Passover Us" by Andrew Peterson
Well, we all remember Moses on the banks of the river
He said "Pharaoh, you've got to let my people go.
You don't want me to have to tell you this ten times over--
Denial ain't just a river, you know"

So we all remember Pharaoh, he just wouldn't do it
So the plagues came upon Egypt one by one
His heart was hard and the other nine just couldn't move it
So the last was the worst: the death of the firstborn son

Oh but the Lord, he gave to Moses a word for the people
He said their firstborn sons would live to see another day
"Put the blood of a lamb on the doorway and death will pass right over"
That night all the children of Israel prayed,
They prayed,

"Lord, let your judgment passover us
Lord, let your love hover near
Don't let your sweet mercy passover us
Let this blood cover over us here"

So the years went by and the people they whined and they wandered
And only sacrifice atoned for the sins of the land
So you see the priest he placed upon the holy altar
The body of a spotless lamb
And he prayed,

"Lord, let your judgment passover us
Lord, let your love hover near
Don't let your sweet mercy passover us
Let this blood cover over us here"


Deliver Us

Lyrics for "Deliver Us " by Andrew Peterson
Our enemy, our captor is no pharaoh on the Nile
Our toil is neither mud nor brick nor sand
Our ankles bear no calluses from chains, yet Lord, we're bound
Imprisoned here, we dwell in our own land

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath your wings tonight

Our sins they are more numerous than all the lambs we slay
These shackles they were made with our own hands
Our toil is our atonement and our freedom yours to give
So Yahweh, break your silence if you can

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath your wings tonight

'Jerusalem, Jerusalem
How often I have longed
To gather you beneath my gentle wings'

Three Disciples and a Stooge

A couple of nights ago, according to our nightly bedtime routine for the girls, we were reading the story of when Jesus called the first disciples in Luke 5. You'll recall that Jesus climbs into Peter's boat and tells the men to catch some fish by casting in a certain area. Peter explains the fruitless time they had already spent that morning not catching any fish and yet declares "at your word I will let down the nets." After doing so, they catch so many fish that they need help to haul it in. This event leads to Peter, James and John leaving their boats and becoming the first disciples of Jesus Christ.

At the end of the story, we reviewed it by asking the girls a couple of questions.
One of the questions was "Who decided to stop fishing and follow Jesus?"
Lydia responded "Peter... John... and... Curly!"

 I could immediately hear Curly Howard responding to Jesus request to lower the nets: "Soitenly!"

Sanctification Through Planned Neglect

"The more you study the Word of God, the more it saturates your mind and life. Someone is reported to have asked a concert violinist in New York's Carnegie Hall how she became so skilled. She said it was by "planned neglect". She planned to neglect everything that was not  related to her goal.

Some less important things in your life could stand some planned neglect so that you might give yourself to studying the Word of God."  - John MacArthur, Found: God's Will

The Fall and God's Love

Lydia's preschool teacher has a blog that she updates every day with lots of photos and updates on what they are learning and doing. This was how today's blog began:

Proud.
Humbled.
Blessed beyond measure.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

A Poem About Daniel and the Lions

When Daniel was thrown into the den
Was he confident in Your plan for him?
Did his heart race fast with unchecked fear?

"Daniel's Answer to the King" by Briton Rivier

Did his eyes fill up with questioning tears?

Did he pray silently to You?
Was he afraid to make a move?
At what point did his fear subside?
When was he comfortable inside?

Did the lions nuzzle up to him in that place?
Did they sniff him out, breathe on his face?
Did they wander around in that place unbothered?
Did their ears perk up as he called to you Father?

When the king came calling, did the lions arise?
When he shouted his greeting, was there hope in his eyes?
When the response came, did his heart soar?
Was the moment punctuated with a lion's roar?

Daniel - servant, prophet, faithful
Lions - creatures, passive, powerful
King - tricked, trapped, released
A wonderful story of God, man and beast.

- Written 07MAY12

I encourage you to read the entire account of Daniel and the lions.

The Marriage Commitment Reflects the Depth of Love

In contrast to how the world defines love and the importance of marriage:

"But when the Bible speaks of love, it measures it primarily not by how much you want to receive but by how much you are willing to give yourself to someone. How much are you willing to lose for the sake of this person? How much of your freedom are you willing to forsake? How much of your precious time, emotion, and resources are your willing to invest in this person? And for that, the marriage vow is not just helpful but it is even a test. In so many cases, when one person says to another, "I love you, but let's not ruin it by getting married," that person really means, "I don't love you enough to close off all my options. I don't love you enough to give myself to you that thoroughly." To say, "I don't need a piece of paper to love you," is basically to say "My love for you has not reached the marriage level."  - Tim Keller "The Meaning of Marriage", p78

The Mystery of Mercy

This song has been playing in my head all morning, as I reflect on what Christ endured for me.

Lyrics for "Mystery Of Mercy " written by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame, performed by Caedmon's Call:

I am the woman at the well, I am the harlot
I am the scattered seed that fell along the path
I am the son that ran away
And I am the bitter son that stayed

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
When all my love was vinegar to a thirsty King?

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy and the song, the song I sing

I am the angry man who came to stone the lover
I am the woman there ashamed before the crowd
I am the leper that gave thanks
But I am the nine that never came

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
When all my love was vinegar to a thirsty King?

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy and the song, the song I sing

You made the seed that made the tree
That made the cross that saved me
You gave me hope when there was none
You gave me your only Son

My God, Lord you are
My God, my God, Lord you are
My God

The Cosmological Theory Questioned

Here's an example of when science does not discover what it expects to discover and scrambles:

Scientists cannot find many of the galazies that should exist around the Milky Way galaxy.

According to cosmological theory, says MIT astrophysicist Simona Vegetti, "there should be thousands of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group." That's because the earliest days of the cosmos were not a tidy time, and after the big galaxies came into being a lot of debris ought to have been left behind — "debris," in this case, meaning little galaxies, made partly of what's known as cold dark matter. The fact that we don't see the galaxies, she says, is due to one of three things: Either they're simply too faint to detect, or there's something unusual about the local cosmic neighborhood that would explain why it departs from the larger rule. Or — and this is the troubling alternative — maybe the theory itself, which has been generally accepted for the past 30 years or so, is fundamentally wrong in some way. 

So what does this mean?
The cosmological theory may be fundamentally wrong - as in, incorrect.  

The presented alternatives as to why these galaxies are missing are as follows, with my response:
1. These galaxies are just to faint to detect.  It is hard to believe that some of our closest neighbors would be invisible to the technology that allows us to peer across billions of light years to incredibly distant galaxies.
2. Our galaxy doesn't follow the cosmological rules for some reason. It seems difficult to accept that there may be some mysterious reason why our galaxy might not have behaved as every other galaxy is expected to during its creation.
3. The theory is fundamentally wrong in some way. I think this means that scientists are discovering that they cannot prove one of the fundamental things that should exist if the Big Bang did indeed form our galaxy. They aren't willing to state that they believe the theory is incorrect at this point, just that it may be flawed.

Here are a few unanswered questions that I have after reading this brief article:
1. Have the expected "debris" been seen in other galaxy neighborhoods? If not, then why is this theory even proposed? Does the theory itself exist strictly on the basis that the Big Bang would have had to result in such "debris" existing?

2. If "debris" has been documented elsewhere, were those galaxy neighborhoods larger or smaller in size when compared to the Milky Way? If the answer is yes and the neighborhood is larger than the Milky Way galaxy, then it leads me to alternative #2 above, which naturally points us to alternative #3. If the answer is yes and the neighborhood is smaller, then I fail tun understand why we cannot find our own "debris" and dismiss alternative #1 to land at #3, after a brief time at alternative #2. If the answer is no, then it leads me directly to alternative #3.

From my own personal Christian perspective, I believe that this leads me to the alternative not mentioned, which is that God made it all and placed it all exactly where He wanted it to be. Perhaps the reason they cannot find the "debris", which resulted from quickly moving masses colliding with one another to form galaxies over time, is because it didn't happen that way. Perhaps these galaxies were created in space as they are by a God who wanted to display His magnificence and splendor on a canvas that is wider than mankind ever imagined was even in existence.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished..." - Genesis 2:1

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" - Psalm 8:3-4

The Silence of God - TuesdayTunes

I absolutely love this song.

I have been reflecting on the sermon Pastor Bob delivered on Sunday (see Dan's Sunday AM Remix), particularly the section on waiting on God timing, and this song has been in my head throughout that process. Sometimes the silence we hear and feel when we seek direction/guidance from God can be quite unnerving. This is particularly true in cases where we approach God with a heavy emotional burden. And that is why I love the conclusion of this song:

And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not 

Jesus understands what it is like to hear the silence of God. While in the Garden of Gethsemane, He pleaded for the Father to remove the cup of agony and pain he was about to experience from Him. (see Luke 22:39-46) Yes, we are told that an angel is sent to comfort Jesus, but the angel does not remove the suffering Jesus is encountering. Note that, after the angel appeared, Jesus then prayed more earnestly while still being in agony. "The aching still remained..."

Jesus then understood the silence of God in a way that we will never understand. While hanging on the Cross on Calvary, Jesus had His Father, whom He has been in communion with for all eternity past, turn his face from Him and pour out His wrath upon Jesus, as the sins of millions of people were cast upon Him and judged. In that moment of alienation, when Jesus Christ experienced the total silence of God, He cried out "Why have you forsaken me?" (see Matthew 27:45-46).

For years I always attributed this quote strictly as a natural response to that painful moment when Christ felt the absolutely foreign weight of sin cast down upon Him. However, in recent years, I have come to love the fact that Jesus was not merely responding to the moment, but was capturing it by quoting the beginning of a Psalm of David, which every Jew that surrounded Him would have instantly recognized and known how it progressed.

Read the following portions of Psalm 22 and see how Jesus was proclaiming His Deity and the faithfulness of God just prior to His death:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd,and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet -

I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me;

they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!

You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations even the one who could not keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

I can definitely relate to the "Where are you God?" portions of this passage. However, we must recognize, like the Jews on the hill that day, that Jesus was pointing out that the rest of this Psalm was His to proclaim as well. He was enduring exactly what was prophesied by David centuries before, so that he could also lay claim to final portion where the Lord is given the praise and honor that is due Him. Jesus wasn't merely proclaiming that He was missing God's presence in that moment; He was also proclaiming that He understood that the final outcome was that God would hear His cry and that Jesus would have his rightful place of authority restored.

This is one of the reasons why, immediately prior to his last breath Jesus cried out "It is finished." He had accomplished the task set before Him. He had endured the pain of the crucifixion, as well as the pain of judgement and isolation from God. There was nothing left for Him to do.

So the challenge that I have, that I place to you, is to consider "How do I wait on God?" Do I wait on Him with a sense of dread that He will not respond or that He might give me an unclear response, or do I understand like David and Jesus that God is faithful and He will fulfill all His promises to me? I struggle with remembering that my life is but a vapor and the only amount of significance that it obtains has been given to me by God, so that i proclaim Him to those around me.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

The Silence of God by Andrew Peterson
It's enough to drive a man crazy; it'll break a man's faith
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heaven's only answer is the silence of God

It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God

And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes...

There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone

And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God

Labor of Love - TuesdayTunes

This song has been playing in my head and on my iPod for weeks now.
The following lyrics have really caused me to dwell on the incredible reality of the Incarnation:

"But the baby in her womb, He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith that could make the mountains move"

Lyrics for "Labor of Love" from "Behold the Lamb of God" by Andrew Peterson:

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

The G.O.S.P.E.L.

There is so much about this video that I love.
I have spent the past 2 weeks watching and listening to it numerous times.
Below I have captured just a few of the lines that struck me I have decided to include the entire text.

(HT: Zach Nielsen)

Here is my transcript from the video "G.O.S.P.E.L.":

It’s the full story of life crushed into four minutes.
The entirety of humanity in the palm of your hand.
And crushed into one sentence.
Listen, it’s intense, right?
God. Our. Sins. Paying. Everyone. Life.
The greatest story ever told that’s hardly ever told.
God. Yes. God.
The Maker and Giver of life – and by life, I mean any and all manner and substance.
Seen and Unseen.  
What can and can’t be touched:
Thoughts. Image. Emotion. Love. Atoms and Oceans.
God.
All of it His handiwork. 
One of which His masterpiece.   
Made so uniquely that angels looked curiously. 
The one thing in creation that was made with His imagery. 
The concept so cold, it’s the reason I stay bold.
How God breathed into man and he became a living soul. 
Formed with the intent of being infinitely, intimately fond
Creator and creation held in eternal bond.
And it was placed in perfect paradise until something went wrong. 
The species got deceived and started lusting for His job.  
An odd list of complaints, as if the system ain’t working    
And used that same breath He graciously gave us to curse Him.  
And that sin seed spread through our soul’s genome  
And by nature, your nature, your species, you participated in the mutiny of
Our, yes, our sins.  
It’s nature inherited. Black in the human heart.
It was over before it started
Deceived from day one and led away by our own lusts
There’s not a religion in the world that doesn’t agree that something’s wrong with us.
The question is “What is it?” and “How do we fix it?”
Are we eternally separated from a God that may or may not have existed?
But that’s another subject
Let’s keep grinding
Besides, trying to prove God is like defending a lion, homey – He don’t need your help.
Just unlock the cage.
Let’s move on how our debt can be paid.
Short and sweet: The problem is Sin. Yes. Sin.
It’s a cancer. An asthma.
Choking out our life force.
Forcing separation from a perfect and Holy God
And the only way to get back is to get back to perfection.
But silly us, trying to pass the course of life without referring to a syllabus.
This is us: “Keep up your good deeds”. Chant. Pray. Meditate.
But all of that, of course, is spraying cologne on a corpse.
Oh you can choose to ignore it, as if something don’t stink
It’s like stepping in dog poop and refusing to wipe your shoe
But all of that ends with how good is good enough?
Take your silly list of good deeds and line them up against perfection:
Good luck!
That’s life past your pay grade.
The cost of your soul. You ain’t got a big enough piggy bank.
But you can give it a shot.
But I suggest you throw away the list.
‘Cause even your good acts are an extension of your selfishness.
But here’s where it gets interesting:
I hope you’re closely listening, please don’t get it twisted, it’s what makes our faith unique.
Here’s what God says is Part A of the Gospel.
You can’t fix yourself, quit trying. It’s impossible.
Sin brings death.
Give God His breath back – you owe Him!
Eternally separated. And the only way to fix it is someone die in your place.
And that Someone got to be perfect or the payment ain’t permanent.
So if, and when, you find a perfect person, get him or her to willingly trade their perfection for your sin and debt
Clearly since the only one that can meet God’s criteria is God
God sent Himself as Jesus to pay the cost for us.
His righteousness, His death functions as Payment. Yes. Payment.
Wrote a check with His life but at the Resurrection we all cheered because that means the check cleared.
Pierce feet. Pierced hands. Blood stained Son of Man.
Fullness. Forgiveness. Free passage into the Promised Land.
That same breath that God breathed into us, God gave up to redeem us.
And anyone and everyone, and by everyone I mean everyone, who puts their faith and trust in Him
And Him alone can stand in full confidence of God’s forgiveness.
And here’s what the promise is:
That you are guaranteed full access to return to perfect unity by simply believing in Christ and Christ alone you are receiving life. Yes. Life.
This is the GOSPEL:
God. Our.Sins.Paying.Everyone.Life.

The Gospel Song

Lyrics:
Holy God in love became
Perfect man to bear my blame
On the cross he took my sin
By his death I live again.
 
(HT: Bob Kauflin)

It All Adds Up

According to Psalm 19:7-9, the following statements are true:

Law of the Lord = Perfect
Statutes of the Lord = Trustworthy
Precepts of the Lord = Right
Commands of the Lord = Radiant
Fear of the Lord = Pure
Ordinances of the Lord = Sure

All too often I try to substitute "the Lord" for "the world" or "the United States" or "Jeremy".
The math never adds up correctly and it takes me a long time to erase the error from my mind.

God's forgiveness is complete, immediate and permanent.
My ability to forgive myself is not.

It all works out better when we stick to what we know is True.
The above statements provide a solid foundation to build our faith upon.
What math are you using?

Conversation Starter

“Can I talk to you when you have a few minutes?”
This has become a somewhat familiar greeting in my life over the past few years.


“Sure, I’ve got time now. What’s up?” I replied.

“Well, we can’t talk now because I want to talk to you about this with a bunch of other people.” he stated.

And that is how our conversation started. I went on to learn that this young man wanted to “talk” with me and a bunch of other people about a certain topic that he was pretty excited about. Having had many conversations with this guy in the past, I knew I needed to press the issue a bit further and find out what specifically he was wanting to say to me and others.

Evidently, this guy spends a lot of time on the internet interacting with people through various mediums. Through one of those interactions, he pointed a person to a song video that he really liked. The person responded with a link to a video they liked. He wanted to play this song he was pointed to for a group of people to “start a conversation”. I pressed the issue further, asking him what the conversation he was hoping to start might revolve around.

He then proceeded to tell me that the song he wanted to play for the group was a heavy metal song filled with men screaming something about God being dead. He said he had been listening to the song and the more he listened to it the more encouraged he was. He wanted to share that encouragement with others.

To say that I was puzzled is an understatement. This conversation was nowhere near familiar anymore.

“You want to play a song about God being dead for other people, as a source of encouragement?” I asked.

He then went into his reasoning behind why he thought this was a good thing. After listening to a couple of minutes of him trying to explain how such an endeavor could be remotely beneficial, I finally was able to express my thoughts on the matter.

I explained that I would not be sitting down with him or any group of people to listen to the song he had for several reasons. The first concern I had was the content of the song. If the general theme is that God is dead, then I can only imagine what any of the supporting lyrics might be. I cannot think of a reason why I would want to sit down with a group of students to listen to a song that proclaims the direct opposite of what I believe. He began to interject his thought that perhaps these guys weren’t saying they didn’t believe in God but that somehow they were using the song as a challenge to Christians to be more like Christ.

The second reason was tied to the first. I quoted Philippians 4:8 as my basis for not wanting to hear the song and for not wanting him to play it for others. His claim that perhaps these guys weren’t necessarily spreading a bad message through the song was almost more than I could take. After praying that God would grant me more grace and mercy than I would, in my flesh, immediately respond with, I told him that I believe that the musicians performing that song were spreading the lies of Satan.

He began to challenge me again with his naïve “this is a call to action for Christians” speech, but I wasn’t going to allow him to continue in his errant thinking. I informed him that the Bible is very clear in that “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34-37 and Luke 6:45) and that by the mere words that he had told me were in the song, I felt confident in my assessment of their message. I then spent a few minutes explaining to this young man why I felt that he should no longer listen to the song in question. I once again encouraged him to not dwell on things that are blatantly against God (Philippians 4:8 again).

At the end of the conversation, he seemed to understand where I was coming from and what I was trying to convey. I walked away from this interaction somewhat befuddled and exasperated. It was hard for me to understand how someone could hear such an outright hate-filled message against God and somehow think and honestly believe that sharing it with others would be a source of encouragement to others.

I’m prayerful that my words of correction and instruction spoken in love were received and heeded (2 Timothy 3:16), but I cannot control the response to what I said. I can only control my words and actions in the situations that present themselves to me. I’m thankful that God reminded me of specific Scriptures to help teach through this somewhat odd conversation.

I pray that God would continue to work in me and help me to capitalize on such opportunities in every area of my life.

REALMnotes - Relationships and Dating (Week 1)

Here is the basis of the brief introductory talk I gave last week for our college ministry.

At the foundation of all of our relationships, we have to realize and recognize that everyone is made in the image of God (this concept is theologically referred to as the doctrine of “Imago Dei”). This is evident in Genesis 1:26-27.

Because of Genesis 1:31, we know that at the end of the day, God was pleased with what He had created. However, if we continue reading, we see in Genesis 2:18, God declares that it is not good for man to be alone. God is not bipolar or misleading when in chapter 1 He declares what he created good and then in chapter 2 he says “It is not good for man to be alone.” What we see here is God, in His infinite wisdom, declaring the importance of relationships in a person’s life before Adam knew he needed them.

God is a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He has always been a triune God and always will be. That means that within Himself, God the Father has always been in a perfect relationship with the Son and Holy Spirit. He was that way before He created anything in our universe and will remain that way long after He returns to Earth. Therefore, we should not be surprised by the fact that God understands the need for relationships in our lives and was determined to provide us with a means to experience a glimmer of what He Himself experiences.

The often-quoted-during-weddings verse of Genesis 2:24 tells us how God determined for our most intimate earthly relationship to be completely separate and unique from all of our other human relationships and that is lived out in a healthy marriage. However, before we can have a healthy marriage and before we can experience the sort of relationship that God calls most people to have in marriage, we have to sort through a bunch of misconceptions and lies we have been fed by Satan about every relationship we are a part of.

In our pursuit of a “significant other”, as well as any other relationship, we must always be mindful of the fact that God created us for His Glory. We were made to worship Him. We are commanded to love Him first and foremost above all else. It would be foolish to attempt to discuss relationships without first pointing out that the most important relationship we have in our lives is our relationship with God. Throughout the Bible we are reminded of this, time and time again. In Luke 10:27, Jesus summed up all of the commandments in the Old Testament by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. We are commanded to love God and then love other people. In doing so, we will be fulfilling our created purpose, while building and maintaining healthy relationships at every stage of our lives.

Over the course of the next two weeks we will be answering questions about relationships and dating. We will attempt to answer some pretty typical questions on the topic, while taking time to specifically answer the questions you have submitted in the previous weeks. There are some things that we will say that may not be popular and may go against the culture in which we live, but we believe them to be True as stated in God’s Holy Word. Some of what we share may be informed opinion, but our intent and desire is to base our answers on our understanding of the Bible and what it says about relationships and dating. As with any topic of potential division, we plead and pray for an extra amount of grace and mercy to be woven throughout our conversations on this important topic.

He Must Have Done Something

In our small group at church last night, we were discussing Hell and various things about it. At one point, the thought of "how can people be sent to Hell when they have never heard of Christ?" was brought up. In our brief discussion, the following verses were mentioned:

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." - Psalm 19:1

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." - Romans 1:20

One of the members of the group then mentioned that she was reminded of a scene from a movie where this was presented in a dramatic way. I immediately knew what movie she was talking about(Amistad) and wanted to post this scene today:

"Then He was born and everything changed."...
"But then something happened. He was captured. Accused of some crime. Here He is with His hands tied."
"He must have done something."
"Why? What did we do?"...
"But look. That's not the end of it."

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5

Passion Week Resources

If you are like most people and have a hard time following where the different events of the Passion week occurred, here is a map with the events located on it. (Of course, certain exact locations are unknown and so I believe this tool is utilizing the most popular traditional locations.)

I am also finding Justin Taylor's Holy Week series to be helpful during this time. In this series, he is capturing all Scriptural references to events that happened on each day this week in the life of Jesus Christ, using the ESV.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

The Gospel Often Offends

"In other words, the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees was not that they had differing customs regarding how to observe the Sabbath; it was that they held contradictory views on the way of salvation. That truth was too important to bury under the blanket of artificial civility. The gospel must be defended against lies and false teaching, and the fact that gospel truth often offends event he most distinguished religios people is never a reason for trying to tame the message or tone it down. Jesus Himself is our model for that."

-- p.126, The Jesus You Can't Ignore by John MacArthur

Jesus' Miraculous Power

The Bible tells us that God did not originally make the world to have disease, hunger and death in it. Jesus has come to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world of here it is broken. His miracles are not just proofs that He has power but also wonderful foretastes of what He is going to do with that power. Jesus' miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming.
- Tim Keller in "The Reason for God" (page 99)