Postmodern Anthem

Steve Brown is a concervative talk show host and he has a collection of comedy pieces on his website. This one, the Postmodern Anthem, I found particularly funny. I hope you enjoy it too, just click play on the player below.

Why I Proclaim Jesus Christ

I received this comment on a post a couple of weeks ago and I would like to respond to it publicly.

A question for you (and your readers), as a non-Christian that is devout to her own faith and very respectful of those who are devout to theirs (even if I don't agree with them, those genuinely religious often share common morals and values), I always find that when people go out on a public sphere and start to specifically call on Jesus and thank him, it isolates me from them because as much as I love Jesus the Prophet, I don't believe he is God.
At the same time, I'm a teacher in a public high school and two fellow teachers who I'm friends with and respect dearly are very devout Christians and we often talk about faith -- if someone is addressing an audience that is not entirely Christian (or in an institution that is not Christian), why the dogmatic approach of "I must declare my love for Jesus"? Why not just keep it to a generic "GOD" and let people make of that what they will (and I'm sure her classmates would know what God meant for her)?

It's not being ashamed of your religion, but it welcomes people to it rather than isolating them...

I appreciate the questions and understand the issue that you are addressing can be dividing. But as much as we may have common beliefs about God or may both be devoutly religious, we do not have the same faith. Yes, we follow after and love God, but your god and my God are completely different. You may not see it as important to designate between the two, but without the truth about who God is, we are eternally lost. I am not concerned about making people comfortable within their own belief system, I am committed to declaring truth.

The truth that God has revealed to man is found in His Word, the Bible. The Bible tells us that God is holy and perfect, demanding the same from mankind. It also says that ALL men has fallen short of His demands and sinned (Romans 3:23). The consequence or result of that sin is death - eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). Without a substitute to pay the penalty for our sin, we would be utterly lost with no hope of being reconciled to God. But God, being rich in mercy and abounding in love, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, from heaven to earth in order to die on a cross to take the punishment that you and I rightly deserved (John 3:16, Ephesians 4:5). Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God, innocently died for sins that He didn't commit.

It is then, through His death that we have the opportunity to go to heaven. He has reconciled us to God and provided the only way for us to have eternal life. Through His death, we have life. But we must believe (1) that we are completely lost and unable to save ourselves (2) and that God has provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and then rose from the dead, conquering death forever and giving us eternal life.Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." I love Jesus because He is my Savior, my only hope for salvation, and my God. I proclaim that truth because I want others to have the same benefit of living forever with God in heaven and that is only going to happen if they believe in the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins.This truth about Jesus is good news and the nations must hear it.

I would agree and disagree with your claim about how speaking about Jesus isolates rather than welcomes. Well, this truth welcomes people to God, rather than isolating them from Him. But it also distinguishes who are true believers of the one true God and who are not. It isn't an issue of being ashamed of the religion, so to speak, but more an issue of whether I share with you the truth that I know and the hope that I have.

If I DO use a generic "GOD" and not the specific name of Jesus Christ, then I am blurring the truth. I am not interested in letting people make God who they want Him to be, but rather letting them know about the only God in which is found hope of salvation. Out of love for others, I want to give them the whole truth, not only the partial truth for then they remain deceived about God and how He has provided for man to get to heaven.

I proclaim the name of Jesus Christ for "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Silence of the Wayfarer

I understand that I have been quite non-existant from not only the blogosphere, but the internet in general for over a week now, but a good reason for that is that I have been heavily involved in one28's World's For Sale for the past week. Being the intern, I was responsible for organizing all of the details and people to make our youth ministry's only fundraiser happen.

God graciously allowed me to survive the event, while providing necessary funds for the ministry. Thanks to all the students and parents who gave their time and energy to make WFS 06 a success.

Thursday begins our ministry's summer camping retreat, ichthus. I am speaking twice at the retreat along with Andy Bowers, Jonathan Sarr, Curtis Wentling, and SKH. The theme is "Christ is Life" and I know that God will be glorified through it.

P.S. - No, my parka was not at World's For Sale.

A Generation for God

I ran across this amazing quote by E.M. Bounds.

"Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. . . . What the church needs today in not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men - men of prayer. . .

The training of the Twelve was the great, difficult and enduring work of Christ. . . . It is not great talents or great learning or great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God - men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it. These can mold a generation for God."

On Preparing For Sunday

To go along with the series that I am preaching on Sunday morning, I refer you to my friend Bekah's blog, who has posted an article by Lance Quinn on a similar vein.

Saturday Thought For Sunday Morning

My Questions and God's Desire

My pastor, John Zimmer, has been preaching through 1 Timothy on Sunday nights and a couple of weeks ago he taught on chapter 2. Verse 3 and 4 says,

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

He explained it well, saying that God has two wills - His revealed or specific will and His permissive will. This verse shows His specific will. He wants people to repent from their sins and to turn to Him as the only One who can satisfy them for eternity, but that doesn't happen. Obviously, everyone who has ever lived has not been redeemed. I then asked myself why that didn't happen - well, because it doesn't give God the most glory. God does not save everyone because He is jealous for His own glory, and saving every man doesn't give Him all that glory. So then, my perplexing question is this:

Why does God desire something that doesn't give Him the most glory?

Why does God desire all people to be saved, when saving all people doesn't give Him the most glory?

I understand that I may be suggesting blasphemy, but I'm not entirely sure how to resolve it at this moment in time. There is either a flaw or hole in my argument or there is something else that I still have to learn about God's will and both of those could be true. I love it when I come to these texts that intially look like a contradiction or that twist my mind in knots, for God's thoughts are not our thoughts and it shows the complexity and greatness of our God. Wrestle with these texts, be completely biblical and don't give up.

Pics from the Trip

For those of you interested, I have posted pictures of my family's trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon, courtesy of Google's Picasa.

Lugg's Summer Vacation 06