So Long Teen Years

As many of you figured out, yesterday was my 20th birthday. I crossed a threshhold of life, sealing the lid on my second decade of life and beginning my third. As my good friend, Steve Crawford, reminded me of the fact that twenty is a strange age - not a teenager, but not a legal adult. O well, we can still live our twenty-first year of life powerfully for the glory of God.

Many people showered me with Happy Birthday's and gifts. I was happily surprised by all of the people from school and IBEX that took the time to pass on their best regards. And so, to all of you, I give one big heart-felt thank you.

Well, as we know from John Piper and C.S. Lewis, our enjoyment in things is not complete until it is expressed in praise. So I wish tell you of a few things I received yesterday.

My sister, Charissa, gave me a coffee maker, from which I am drinking some Starbucks French Roast. The glory of this experience cannot be described in words.




Mom & Dad, Ian, Nathaniel, Josiah, and Kimberly went together to get me a new speaker system for my car. What a blessing it will be to crank Steven Curtis Chapman without it sounding like he's spitting.




My sister made a killer glazed strawberry pie. I tasted glorious, especially because the strawberries were freshly picked from our garden.




I received some other things too, such as a Starbucks card, Subway in the park with my dad, and new shoes from my Grandma.

I am so blessed by the people around me and thank God above all else because it is only through His infinite love for Himself that I have any value or worth. I would be not be where I am after 20 years without His sovereign, sustaining power.

Questions We Fail To Ask

My friend from school and fellow IBEXer (and Washingtonian), Ryan, posted on some questions that he has had floating around in his mind recently. I found them very profitable and thought you could benefit from them as well.

1. Do I really understand how depraved I am and how incredible God's grace is that He gives constantly? I feel like I am painfully learning that I cannot live "successfully" even in the easy times without God. And I've tried. Over and over again. And God welcomes the prodigal.

2. Do I really understand how depraved everyone else is around me? Sometimes I realize the evil in my own soul, but somehow still think other people don't share those struggles. What a lie.

3. Am I a little boy playing at being a man, or am I a man struggling with acting like a little boy?

4. Is there more to the Bible saying "our enemy the Devil prowls around...looking for someone to devour" ( 1 Peter 5:8) that I give credence to?

5. Do I know how to give life to others by my words? Do I purposefully encourage my mom and sisters with my words, as a godly son and brother should?

6. Am I seeking to develop my practical life skills or am I lazily watching time fly by? Could I fix the car? Could I plan a budget? Could I lead a household?

7. Do I know how to rest with passion, letting go of my anxieties?

8. Am I dying to my will for the sake of Christ's will?

9. Am I willing to be wrong? Am I willing to take criticism? Am I willing to look stupid for a good reason?

10. If I'm not a good son, brother, friend, what deludes me into thinking I would be a good husband?

11. Sin starts in the mind. What's on my mind? Do I hate sin?

12. Why do I feel superior when I have been forgiven so much?

Baxter on Christian Education

I found some interesting comments by Richard Baxter in his work The Reformed Pastor about why Christian education is necessary.

"Nothing can be rightly known, if God be not known; nor is any study well managed, nor to any great purpose, if God is not studied. We know little of the creature, till we know it as it stands related to the Creator. He who overlooks Him who is the 'Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,' and sees not Him in all who is the All in all, does see nothing at all."

"None but a Christian can read one line of his Physics so as to understand it rightly."

"Your study of physics and other sciences is not worth a rush, if it be not God that you seek after in them. To see and admire, to reverence and adore, to love and delight in God, as exhibited in his works - this is the true and only philosophy. This is the sanctification of your studies, when they are devoted to God, and when He is the end, the object, and the life of them all."

"Theology must lay the foundation, and lead the way in all our studies. If God must be searched after, in our search of the creature, then tutors (or teachers) must read God to their pupils in all; and divinity must be the beginning, the middle, the end, the life, the all, of their studies."

"Our physics and metaphysics must be reduced to theology; and nature must be read as one of God's books, which is purposely written for the revelation of Himself."

"If tutors would make it their principal business to acquaint their pupils with the doctrine of salvation, and labor to set it home upon their hearts, that all might be received according to its weight, and read to their hearts as well as to their heads."

And here is his word to teachers

"You, that are schoolmasters and tutors, begin and end with the things of God. Let some piercing words fall frequently from your mouths, of God, of the state of their souls, and the life to come. Do not say, they are too young to understand and enterain them."

Stained Testimony

The Christian community has been holding up Brittany McComb as an example of suffering and taking a stand for Christ. She had been awarded the title of Valedictorian and had the opportunity to speak at her high school graduation. She submitted a script of her speech at the school's request, which was edited and given back to her. They told her that she could not make references to God and Christ because it was a school endorsed function and thus could not promote a single religion, promising her that if she did that they would turn off her microphone. She agreed to give the edited speech. But when she actually gave the speech she recited the full, unedited manuscript. The school officials then killed her microphone. For more information and some videos, click here.

Many people, youth and adult alike, are applauding Brittany for her testimony for Christ. In the face of opposition (the school board), she dared to take the risk and talk about the the impact that Jesus Christ had in her life. Although I don't think that the school did the right thing by turning off her mic, I don't think that Brittany was entirely in the right.

What do unbelievers think when they see this girl who claims to be a Christian, who rebels against authority, and who goes back on her word? She said that she would give the unedited speech, but then without informing anyone, gave the other one instead. So, the very mouth that said that Christ was her greatest influence, lied directly in the face of her authority.

I understand that we must disobey our earthly authority if it is commanding us to disobey our heavenly authority, but you must decide which one you are going to obey. Don't switch your allegience half-way through. Show from start to finish that you answer only to God.

Widows

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
James 1:27

I'm struck once again by the bluntness of Scripture. Christians today try so many different ways to act out their religion. They try Bible studies, support groups, outreach events, and potlucks. God's Word doesn't prohibit or condemn any of those things, but it does give us specfic instructions as to what our responsibilities are as believers.

James says that if we want to present to God religion that is pure and holy, undefiled by sin, then we are to do the two things listed. I first thought that it presented some conflict with the teaching of Jesus and the apostles because they focused on the heart - the issue with all of Christianity is who you love, God or yourself. It seemed that this statement that the religion that God wanted was concerned with actions rather than the heart.

This initial incongruency turned into perfect fusion of how obedience to the first and second commandments given by Jesus is fleshed out in visiting orphans and widows in their affliction and keeping oneself unstained from the world. James is not saying that these things are the only thing that will constitute true piety or that nothing else is essential to religion, but holds these up as examples. If one is truely worshipping God in way that is "pure and undefiled" from wrong motives then that worship will be practiced and bear fruit in these two ways. That true worship will show itself in many other ways too, but the apostle James holds these two up as important and necessary. If these two characteristics are absent from one's life, then true religion does not exist.

This passage was on my mind today because I spent most of the day with two widows in our church: my grandma, Jeannie Marzolf and Jan Leaf. One of them lost their husband almost 15 years ago and the other one, only a month ago. Both women are faithfully serving their God in the absence of their soul mate. In both of my conversations with them, their husbands came up
and my heart went out to these two women who have to deal everyday with the fact that the man that they loved so much and gave themselves completely to . . . was no longer there. They have to do things on their own and live by themselves.

What a great opportunity the church has to minister to these faithful women. Most of the time, they are old and cannot do many of the things that the younger generations can do. Let us apply the words of Scripture and to take the initiative to visit such people and not wait until they tell us about a pressing need.

God Will Satisfy

Psalm 80:10,16 - "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

A couple of observations:

1. God identifies the problem. He saw that Israel was bowing down and worshipping other gods. They were not looking to God to provide and they put their satisfaction in their own hands, which ultimately came up empty.

2. God promises the solution. God says that He will fill them. The satisfaction and the delight will come from no one but God Himself. He doesn't say that He will give them something else to satisfy them, but that He will fill them, for He is the Lord your God.

3. God promises the best. He promises to give the finest wheat and the honey which is a delight. Their wanton craving God would satisfy with the best things. But the things that God gave them were not to be rejoiced in, but were given to point back to God. God must be glorified as the one who provides the satisfaction.

4. God commands the action. We must open our mouths for God to fill them. If we are unwilling to let God bring our satisfaction, then He will not fill us. The picture here is that of a robin feeding her young, who are scrambling and shouting for the food that their mother has brought. It would be foolish for one of the babies to refuse the worm. The difference with man is that when we refuse God, it is wicked and evil, not just foolish. O turn to the Great Provider and Satisfier! Let Him fill you with Himself that you may not be lacking. With Him are pleasures forevermore.

Commending Comments

Thanks for the comments.

meChurch

Below is a comical video about people wanting church their own way.

Not Bound by Scripture

While reading the transcript from Dr. Mohler's appearance on Larry King Live, I came across this statement by man who wants to become a bishop in the Episcopal Church, but he is openly homoosexual. When told that his life does not follow the guidelines laid out for leaders, he responded with this:

Well, I would say that none of us are able to conform our lives to scriptural standards. In the gospel of Luke, for instance, Jesus said if you want to be a follower of mine you must give up all your possessions. I don't see many of us doing that. We all fall short in one way or another. The miracle, the good news, is that we're not worthy, but we're made worthy by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the good news we have to give to the world and God has said to me and to all of God's children what God said to Jesus at his baptism, you are my beloved. In you, I am well pleased. The world is desperate to know a God like that.

The world is desperately looking for God to accept them in their sin, not to save them from it. They want to be able to continue to live a way that brings them pleasure and they want God to be pleased with their choice of lifestyle. They say that they want God to love them. They desire God to love them by making much of them, rather than much of Himself. God wants the best thing for us, namely Himself. So, out of God's infinite love for us, He gives us Himself that we might be satisfied eternally.

Anyone can eventually come to believe that he can live how he wants, if he convinces himself that he is no longer required to obey Scripture, and this is the fatal flaw of this man.

Attack on Biblical Authority

My semester in Israel created within me a love for biblical archaeology. It was much easier to get excited about something that could be seen a few minutes away compared it now being half a world away. My Land and Bible professor, Todd, introduced us to the magazine - Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR). It is a great magazine that has scholarly articles and great pictures. It is a great way to stay informed with what is happening in the field (I would also suggest frequenting this blog for the same purpose, but from a conservative, evangelical perspective).

In the most recent edition of BAR, Michael D. Coogan, professor of religious studies at Stonehill College, wrote an article entitled Question Authority!, in which he says that the Bible can not be held up as an authority on history and life. He has several errors in his argument, but he clearly exemplifies one who doubts the inspiration and authority of the Bible and thus concludes that it is fallible, weak, and equal with all other literary works. His misquote of Scripture is horrendous, but if you can interpret the Bible how you want to, I guess it doesn't matter. Here are some excerpts:

"Knowledge increases, interpretations change. Biblical interpretation is a conversation, a debate, that has been going on for millennia, and one often learns most from those with whom one disagrees."

"'The Bible says' is often regarded as decisive in contemporary debates about such issues as abortion, assisted suicide, the status of women, same-sex relationships, capital punishment and war and peace. The problem is that the Bible is often inconsistent, so much that Shakespeare observed, even "the Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose." No individual believer or community of faith has ever fully followed every Biblical teaching because the Bible does not speak with one voice. It incorporates many different views of different Biblical writers."

"Whether it concerns the Bible itself or the interpretation of the Bible or of archaeological data, there is almost always more than one perspective. Professors, preachers and bloggers who cite only the authorities that support their own presupposition mislead their audiences. Just because something is written on your computer screen, in a book, in the Bible or even in this magazine doesn't mean that it's the only possible view or even that it's true. As one eminent Jewish Christian authority put it, "Judge for yourselves!" (1 Corinthians 11:13)."

Costly Love

While running last night, I listened to a sermon by John Piper in which he told the following story. It illustrated well how love for God dictates love for others and allows the one to count all things in this life as loss.

An illustration of costly love

Chuck Colson told the story of a group of American prisoners of war during the second World War, who were made to do hard labor in a prison camp. Each had a shovel and would dig all day, then come in and give an account of his tool in the evening. One evening twenty prisoners were lined up by the guard and the shovels were counted. The guard counted nineteen shovels and turned in rage on the twenty prisoners demanding to know which one did not bring his shovel back. No one responded. The guard took out his gun and said that he would shoot five men if the guilty prisoner did not step forward. After a moment of tense silence, a nineteen-year- old soldier stepped forward with his head bowed down. The guard grabbed him, took him to the side and shot him in the head, and turned to warn the others that they better be more careful than he was. When he left the men counted the shovels and there were twenty. The guard had miscounted. And the boy had given his life for his friends.

Can you imagine the emotions that must have filled their hearts as they knelt down over his body? In the five or ten seconds of silence the boy had weighed his whole future in the balance—a future wife, an education, a new truck, children, a career, fishing with his dad—and he chose death so that others might live. Jesus said in John 15:13, ""Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." To love is to choose suffering for the sake of another.

An infinitely more costly love

Jesus has loved you this way. Only, O so much more! Consider the life he laid down. One of the reasons that story hits us so hard is because the boy was nineteen years old. If he had been 89 years old and the others nineteen, we might say it was a beautiful act of love, but with a full life behind him it would not feel like the same kind of sacrifice as when your whole life stretches in front of you. So consider the life that Jesus sacrificed for you.

1. First of all, he was young too.

2. Second, he was the oldest son of a widowed mother.

3. Third, he was the most kind and caring and wise and courageous man who ever lived.

4. Fourth, he was the Son of God. This life was of infinite value—not the way other humans are of value, but the way God is of infinite value, namely, as the basis of all human value.

5. Fifth, as the Son of God Jesus was supremely loved by his Father in heaven. He left the glory of heaven and took on human nature so that he could hunger and get weary and in the end suffer and die.

The nineteen-year-old boy was a wonderful picture of love. But compared to Jesus he was only a picture. His death was quick and relatively painless. Jesus' death was one of the worst kinds of torture devised for human pain. So when Ephesians 5:2 says, "Christ loved you and gave himself up for us," don't breeze over the words: "gave himself up." His love is great in proportion to the costliness of his sacrifice. And his sacrifice was horrendous.