Confessions of a Young Preacher boy

Response to blog.

2011-12-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

This is in response to another blog: http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html

Quotes from the article are in "" and my comments *.

The first half of the article I agree with. The outcast should not be shunned but loved. Jesus ate with sinners and loved them dearly.

The greatest spiritual leaders in history have all preached love for others as the basis for all happiness.

*False Christianity teaches true happiness is found in Jesus Christ.

“So if this is the founding directive of all the major religions… why is it that sometimes the most “Christlike” people are they who have no religion at all?”

Don’t get me wrong. I know a lot of incredible Christians, too. I know some incredible Buddhists and Muslims and Hindus and Jews. I know a lot of amazing people, devout in their various religions, who truly love the people around them.

*The basis for life is not solely love everyone for the sake of themselves. What then is our definition? Is love then only to accept someone as they are? Then leave them where they are?

In truth, having a religion doesn’t make a person love or not love others. It doesn’t make a person accept or not accept others. It doesn’t make a person befriend or not befriend others.

*true, a religion. But not all who claim Christ are his.

I’m not here to say homosexuality is a sin or isn’t a sin. To be honest, I don’t give a rip. I don’t care. I’m not here to debate whether or not it’s natural or genetic. Again, I… don’t… care. Those debates hold no encumbrance for me.

*I get this, but as a Christian God wants to set us free from sin. Thus we love others that they might find life with Jesus.

There are things we all do or believe that other people consider “sinful.” There are things we all do or believe that other people consider “wrong.” There are things we all do or believe that other people would be disgusted or angered by.

*True others consider some things sin. And the scripture claims we are all sinner, But the Christians must repent for sin breaks our fellowship with God. There is a right and wrong. Christ came to set us free from sin. And yes this lack of love and hate is sin.

I promise you it doesn’t matter what you believe, how strongly you live your beliefs, or how true your beliefs are. Somebody else, somewhere, thinks you are in the wrong

Yet, we expect and want love anyway. We expect and want understanding. We expect and want tolerance. We expect and want humanity. We expect and want respect for our beliefs, even from those who don’t believe the same things we do. Even from those who think we’re wrong, unwise, or incorrect.

We expect all of that from the people who disagree with us and who disagree with our lifestyles and beliefs because, let’s be honest, nothing we do is actually bad enough to be worthy of disgust, anger, hatred, or cold-shouldering. Right? None of the ways in which we live our lives would warrant such behavior. Right? None of our beliefs are worthy of ugly disdain from others

*what is tolerance or acceptance? I will love someone yet have to tell him or her the truth because Jesus desires for us to be freed from sin and truly live. Truth is not relative. This argument seems to be based upon the belief that there is not absolute truth. Yet this claim is an absolute claim, which is contradictory. We can’t all be right. Yet I want to score all of this with the fact that we should love one another. Yet it seems you believe we must define love with tolerance. Yet love is not tolerance. And what is tolerance

We shouldn’t choose who we will love and who we won’t.

True. I agree that we should love all.

Just some thought I had. I agree with the hate that is shown by many religious people. Any person who claims to follow Jesus yet does not love is Not a Christian, This is found in the book of 1 John. Many people who claim it are not of God. But my question is, how do you define love? Because I have friends whom I love yet I still must tell the truth to. For Jesus came in the form of man to die for our sins and be raise again. That if we believe in Him we might have life in God, not just eternal life but true life now which is not bound to sin.

With love

Joshua

If God can do everything....

2011-10-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

One if the main characteristics of God is Omnipotence. This can be defined as "the ability to do all things in so far as they are logically possible and consistent with His nature."

Thus If God can do everything then anything that God desires is not beyond His reach correct?
Then how come in 1 Timothy 2:4 it says that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."? This verse in light of our previous conclusions seems to be very conflicting. For if God can do whatever He desires and yet all people are not saved then there must be something in His way.

While I know sin stands in God's way. Do you think our conclusion implies "Free will" might stand in Gods way?

A book Review of Making Sense of it all by: Thomas V. Morris

2011-10-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

*Warning this book review is my first of many to come so there may be much room for improvement*

Book Review

Blaise Pascal’s Pensees is reinvigorated in Morris’ book Making Sense of it all. Though I have read Pensees before and really enjoyed it, Morris’ book is a sort of modern exegesis of Pensees. He starts most of his chapters with quotes from Pensees, which he proceeds to practically apply and philosophize about throughout the chapter. Not only does he exegete Pensees he also has much reasoning and argumentation to add to Pascal’s arguments. This argumentation does not put up weak arguments from the opposition but attempts to tackle the difficult arguments head on.

In chapter one Morris goes onto give us a background to Pascal’ life. At first read one can see Morris glorifying Pascal a little too much. But then when one gets to page ten where he states “A lifetime of sickness and suffering, which had never been able to block out the light of his genius” and realized more of the humanness of Pascal. Yet even this statement seemed to elevate Pascal to genius. While Pascal was at the top of his field in mathematics and philosophy his life was still one of struggle. Morris would’ve done more justice to Pascal’ genius if he had presented both sides more thoroughly. Still it is understood that a biographical writing of Pascal was not to be the focus of Morris book therefore Morris emphasized Pascal’s accomplishments and thoughts. Besides this minor difference Morris’ presentation of Pascal in chapter one keeps him on track for the rest of the book.

Folly of indifference is the title of chapter two and rightly so for it is that which Morris desires to explain to us. Apathy and indifference plagued man of Pascal’s unbelieving friend and Morris also seeks to point out how modern day peoples are entrenched in this belief as well. This problem addressed by Pascal stating that those who deny truth on the grounds that it is disputed are not really lovers of truth. While it is understood when Morris and Pascal call it unreasonable to not seek answer to life’s hard question yet one can see that some people may be blind. It is true that those who refuse to seek truth on the ground of it’s disputation are not lovers of truth but it might also be possible that these persons have demonic/personal blindness due to sin.[1] Thus it could be sin that makes a person’s heart apathetic to truth and an inquiry of truth. If this is true then how could man who is dead in sin review his heart to seek truth?

Though spiritual blindness due to sin might be the answer to indifference (and Jesus the only answer, not reasoning) Morris’ reasoning is understandable. His reasoning about people being apathetic due to their desire to be free and not bound by anything higher is definitely true. [2] Morris then jumps into explain the different types of questions there are concerning truth. The first are label the existential peripheral questions which are those questions which are hotly debated yet are not crucial for my understanding of life. The other category is also widely debated questions but is essential for our understanding of life, existentially central disputed questions. Upon the latter is where Morris wishes to make his appeal to the Apathetic.

Next Morris brings an important point into view that he calls the Context Principle which is that the appropriateness of a form of behavior is always a function of the context. He appeals to the fact that in every occasion we as humans would act accordingly in different situations such as being quiet in the library, dressing up for special occasion and all of our daily experiences. Thus in the Context of our lives it matters how we act and in the context of life after death we should act appropriately. This means that the question of whether or not there is a God sets the context for the rest of reality. Thus we should all examine if we are being true to the context of reality as we do in every situation we approach. This context principle when applied to the existentially central disputed questions is very effective at showing the apathetic their lostness in a world without God.

Diversion is the Morris’ next of focus as he moves into chapter 3. This is a somewhat simple concept for is people have and indifference to truth then they also will be immersed in other things which keep them away from truth. This he says is not just a problem of the common man but also the intellect who is not immersed in the totality of life but only one level of it. Morris’ point here is not to tell us to forsake all areas of life but the philosophical but is rather saying that all things are good place in their rightful place. When we use things as a diversion to truth we become blind.

Morris then explores the meaning of life through the mid-life crisis of Leo Tolstoy. This chapter simply is trying to cement the conclusions at the end of the last chapters, which were that; a person without God has no basis for reality. Thus the person diverting apathetically is one, who if he looks reality in the face, will see he has no meaning and purpose without God. Tolstoy concluded that he could make his own meaning yet Morris rightly points out that we can’t impose meaning upon all things. For we can’t impose meaning upon things of other cultures, we have no control over the meaning of past, or death, we can only endow some meaning to the things we have control. Then one could also conclude that we truly only control a miniscule piece of reality if any. This leads Morris to point out that only a complete controller or sovereign who is God would give true completeness and meaning.

Though the last four chapters Morris seems clear and precise is argumentation which build upon itself Chapter 5 seems good at times and unclear in others. Giving a summary of the main historical arguments is clear. Though as he moves onto page 69 says that some people see desires as their obstacle for happiness yet he doesn’t give clarity as to if it is the problem. Yet he seems to give some ways that people have dealt with changing their desires. These explanations on the onset are a bit confusing to me. For he says type a person is a world conqueror or someone who conforms their desires to the worlds. This needs more clarity. Then type b is where he focuses most of his attention for they are the desire deniers that take many forms. Then he does get it right when saying that Christianity is that system, which says our beliefs inform our actions. But our beliefs and reason work hand in hand as we submit to truth.

As Morris moves into the next chapter he begins to answer the question of God being hidden. He answers well by appealing to God being non-material, transcendent, and omnipresent. Though his logic when it comes to Gods omnipresence being an explanation of God’s hiddenness seems a bit fuzzy. But the better argument made by Morris is the fact that God knows how much revelation to give each person in order that they would willingly choose Him. For if some reached him by reason they would get proud. God does not wish to force the will but to humble his or her pride thus He gives everyone the perfect dose of revelation.

Unlike the pervious chapter, Chapter 7 is not so clear. For the author goes on about wagering and tries to explain and analogy about racehorse that is a bit confusing. Yet when he compares the two worldviews of atheism and Christianity then it seems to make more sense. That the Apathetic diverting person referenced in the beginning is to compare a worldview of meaning making from themselves with no hopes after death to Christianities eternal hopes. Yet this argument could only work for those whose religion did not promise a lot in the life and the next. For instance if all pleasures for eternity were promised to me in heaven after death then this wage would not convince me. Morris did a great job of showing that this wager was to get a person past whatever barriers held them back in order to examine the argumentation. These arguments lead me to conclude that Morris is writing to convince solely those Apathetic diverted functionally Atheists. Yet this book seems to make a lot of assumption that lead me to conclude that it was written as a guide for discussion with them.

In chapter 8 Morris is just going on to explain how Christianity lines up with the wretchedness of man and yet his greatness in the same vein. This chapter is pretty straightforward and had not much to argue against except when it came to human guilt on page 140. Morris says that he disagrees with Pascal but never really gives and argument against him but instead just lays his belief of guilt along side of Pascal’s. This chapter he ends with showing that Jesus is the answer to man’s guilt and sin.

Morris then goes into a longer chapter about truth. He begins by reiterating why people avoid truth and explaining it a little more. He then goes on to explain how Pascal believed that Christianity was the only religion that covered the gambit of the human condition. In some ways this subject seems to be covered in previous chapters yet in other ways he attempts to better explain this. It seems a little pointless to bring up Athanasius’s arguments about the supremacy of the Christian religion due to the fact of the arguments relativity and uselessness to contribute to Morris’ focus. He does give a great flow of reasoning when it comes to past religions having similar beliefs previous to Christianity. This argument he rightly adds to the idea of general revelation. Putting a cap upon the marks of truth in Christianity Morris does a great job of pointing to the witnesses of Prophecy and the Apostles martyrdom.

Ending the book Morris points deeper to the truths in Christianity. In chapter 11 Morris does a good job of seeking to explain that Pascal saw arguments as limited. Though they are truly necessary, Pascal realized that the heart is what believes. For it acts upon reason and must have some basis for truth, yet the heart can obscure even the clearest argumentation. The last chapter Morris ends somewhat repetitive and not very powerfully. For the chapter can be summed up in that True satisfaction is found in God alone through a self hate and love of God and others.

The book on a whole is very good. It presents Blaise Pascal relatively clear and brings his reasoning into the modern world. Yet this book is not written for the unbeliever, as was Pascal’s for it is geared at how to use Pascal’s arguments. Not only is it shown to be for the Christian philosopher due to its how to nature but the set up of explanation is in such a way that unbelievers might not understand. This book is a good book for anyone desiring to understand Pascal and have some basic arguments for Unbelievers. In Making sense of it all Morris explains how Christianity is the answer for modern mans condition through a presentation of Pascal’s argumentation and a adding of his own.

[1] Ephesians 2:1-2

[2] Romans 1:21-22

Foreknowledge

2011-09-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

This was a post in one of my classes where be have been reading the following authors:
Boethius, Augustine and Aquinas in reference to Free will and God's sovereignty seem to focus majorly upon How God foreknows all things and yet it does not imply necessity to mans will. Yet I wonder why they don't address Ephesians 1:4 "⁴^(H) even as he^(I) chose us in him^(J) before the foundation of the world, that we should be^(K) holy and blameless before him." The fact that God chose us. Any idea of choosing something in reality implies that Person A the Choosers has the power and Person B the chosen are without power.
To bring this argument even further Paul goes on to say that we are predestined in vs. 11 "¹¹In him we have obtained^(AA) an inheritance,^(AB) having been predestined^(AC) according to the purpose of him who works all things according to^(AD) the counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be^(AE) to the praise of his glory." This seems to not only imply that God foreknows all things but that he is active in choosing us through Predestination.
Not only this passage but later in ch. 2:1 Paul says we were "dead in the trespasses and sins". How can a dead man bring himself back to life unless one who is powerful helps those who are powerless in choosing.

I have a disclaimer. I do see some of the logic in Boethius' arguments yet am still stuck with a desire to be obedient to the Scripture above all. Also I went to a dispensational school Word of life bible institute and was not reformed at all until I got to SWBTS 3 years ago and have been wrestling with these Scriptures.

Stumbling Block

2011-09-22T19:21:00.001-07:00

I have been wondering about the Stumbling block which is mentioned in 1 Cor. 8.

In my past some people have used the weaker brother argument in a few ways:

A.) They have claimed that someone has done a neutral act to make the sin.
Ex. Person A takes Person B's laundry out because there are no more washers open. Then Person B gets very angry and says that Person A made them stumble.

B.) When someone has been a Christian for quiet some time but doesn't like younger Christians styles.
Ex. Older Christian calls the youth pastor and tells them that guitars being used in Worship is making them stumble.

The list could go on and on with examples and scenario's.

My first question is:
What is to be considered a legitimate Stumbling Block?

With that question I wanna ask. Can a older Christian have a legitimate stumbling block if they have read 1 cor. 8?

My Critique

2011-02-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

This is my Critique of This article: http://www.slate.com/id/2285350#add-comment

*Please pardon the mistakes and ask for clarification if needed for I wrote this Critique and have not gotten any review of it yet.

Article Critique

The article that is in question brings into question the majority Republican ruled Congress’s first steps in office. Author David Weigel’s Thesis is that the Democratic party wishes to use the Republican majorities decision to Change the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act to no longer counting “rape” as federally funded for abortions but only counting “Forcible rape”. This decision by the Republican’s Wiegel says will be the primary focus for the Democrats to win favor.

Wiegel’s primary focus is on Democratic Rep. Steve Israel’s tactics to discredit the Republicans. Though Wiegel clearly presents his Thesis, which can’t really be argued with due to it’s explanatory nature, the really force of argument should and will in this Critique be place upon Rep. Israel’s, the Democratic GOP and Wegiel’s arguments against the Republican actions. Their approach is very clearly laid out in this arguments but their arguments fail when poked at with simple questions. Many things are presumed when they are making their defense that need be called into question when intelligent men and women are seeking the truth. The truth that I wish to bring out is the reality of their arguments and the truth that Christianity brings to the table.

In his first attempt to make an argument against the Republicans Weigel points out the fact that this step that they have made has “started the biggest backlash in the short, otherwise happy life of the new Republican House. “He then goes on the sight The Daily Show as proof of this backlash. This support doesn’t seem very weighty due to the fact that this show slants towards his view. Another reason this proof isn’t valid is due to the shows treatment of the issue that is very cynical one and doesn’t even reason out how the Republicans change might have been rational to save infants lives.

Throughout this article they continue to bash while only considering the issues core with a few quotes from Pro-Choice heads. They bash them by saying the changing of terms in a ”mess”, that the Republican’s have “dunked” themselves. And this might be a possibility for maybe they should’ve tried primarily to fix the economy. But the one difference in this whole argument is the Democratic view of life. For they see financial freedom above that of that of giving people more jobs. This is proved in the whole basis of the argument for if they saw “killing a unborn child” less important than money they would not attack with such fervor the Republican’s choice. Instead they focus, as Wiegel quotes at the end of the article, that a man “tends to vote with his pocketbook” and thus their tactic is to prosper man and lay waste all of his inconvenience regardless of the cost, even when it comes to a human life.

A Christian views each person even unborn as having value and worth. For we are all made in the image of God. Abortion advocates while claiming to love humans, only support those functioning humans, which is evidenced in the mothers’ choice to get an abortion. But this view is even faulty in view of the sheer facts that a fetus will one day be a functioning human and should be treated as thus. The Republicans in their adding of the word “Forcible rape” have only placed responsibility upon those who have put themselves in the situation to get raped. This for the Christian is good in a sense that people are force to be morally responsible and bad in the sense that we have still not eliminated the killing of the unborn.

While jobs are important and Republicans are flawed in many ways the human life is not to be killed for the greater good of the society. We must not misplace our values. With misplaced values we some slander of reality, for it was not by accident (as the Wiegel alludes to) that these leaders been placed into their office but it was by the vote of the people. While the strategy of the Congress is in question, I as a Christian must be honest that I don’t agree with their tactic 100% but can not say that they have sinned in proposing these changes. For by changing the “Rape” to “Forcible Rape” they have made a distinction between those who have willingly placed themselves into rape potential situation and those who did not. With this distinction will make many people gnash their teeth but it is a fact of reality that people place themselves in rape potential situations and thus should be held responsible.

Slandering and accusing without facing the issues is an improper handling of the issues at hand. For these issues must be faced head on and not given up to suit our comforts. As Christians we must be honest that the Republican Party isn’t perfect and should better tackle the economic Crisis at hand. But we can’t shy away from calling our love of materialism what it is. For the economy our country should not be placed as primary above human life.

Solution or Answer

2009-10-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

Solutions

I would answer the question BOTH.

You may ask why?

Well here you go.

1.) Why are they condemned for their unbelief?

Answer: Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

2.) Why are they condemned foe their nature?

Answer: The second one is easy to explain because it’s the reason of the fall. Man fell because he sinned and thus sin separated him from God. God said that they would die which is restated in the book Romans “The wages of sin is death”. Thus for their rebellion man receives death and is condemned. Also why would we need the remedy of salvation if our sin didn’t condemn us?

Also an example in scripture is: Rev 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

So those who said one or the other could you defend your position from scripture?

The Question

2009-10-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

As I ask this question please keep in mind a few things:
1.) Jesus is King, Sovereign God!!
2.) Don't let this question sway you from your pursuit of God because it does have an answer.

Is a person condemned to hell for their essence for who they are at the core of their being(dead in sin rebels against God) or for their unbelief in Jesus Christ as their savior and only way to heaven?

I Love Homosexuals Part 2: Can a Homosexual be a Christian?

2009-10-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Please Read Part 1 First if you haven't already.

By giving the following answer I am attempting to combat the idea which says You can be a christian and still live however you want.
So I believe the answer is No, a Homosexual cannot be a Christian. But a Homosexual can become a Christian. The reason for this impossibility is shown in the identity of the person or what the person is identifying with. For when someone calls themselves a homosexual they are saying that their greatest joy is found in same sex relationships. They are placing their whole identity under the domain of that lifestyle. And in a biblical sense when someone was called a Christian of follower of Christ what they were saying was that their greatest joy was found in Jesus Christ part of the Trinitarian God of the bible.

So how could there be two greatest joys in one’s life? Or how could one really say that they are a follower of Christ and yet live a life not identified with Him? You can’t, It’s impossible. This is like saying can an elephant be a mouse at the same time, or an apple an orange, or a light bulb a radio. It’s a matter of the identity of these objects as it is a matter of identity with a person. In this taking of Identity you are choosing to submit to that particular title in your life and thus it shapes the rest of your life.

In a Christian’s life he is submitting to the title of Follower of Christ the God/man and the Trinitarian God of the bible. Thus in a Homosexuals life they are choosing to be wed to the identity of passions and love towards people of the same sex. This shapes their drives, motivations, thoughts, friends, hobbies, etc. And in comparison when a Christian takes on the identity of a follower of Christ he is to love God by obeying his commands, find rest in God and hope and pleasure, He is to love his neighbors who are made in the image of God.

But sadly to make a disclaimer not all Christians submit to this truth and even in my own life if I had to be totally honest I don’t always pursue God and submit to him and obey Him. But this is the idea of Grace, that God draws us in and love us based off of the sacrifice of this son. God’s Grace or God giving us what we do not deserve in the sacrifice of his perfect sinless son Jesus for our sin is what draws us into a pursuit of Him. For we are not perfect but our God is and desires to draws us closer and change us to be more like Him.

But hear me out before you stone me. What I’m not saying is that a person who is a follower of Jesus doesn’t struggle with attractions to a person of the same sex. But if they were once a homosexual and now are a follower of Christ they will struggle with these desires. But ultimately their identity is not in submission to the lifestyle characterize by homosexuality but to be characterized by a lifestyle in the pursuit of God which leads to a love of Him and obedience to what He commands.

Now many maybe question: How & why is Homosexuality a sin and opposite of the bible?

1.) In Genesis God makes man & woman and all throughout scripture marriage is defined by a man & a women.( Genesis 1, Matthew 19:4, Mark 10:6 Ephesians 5:22-33,6:2, Colossians 3:18-19) Two of them form Matthew and Mark are straight from Jesus’ mouth.

2.) Some would say well what if they don’t get married? Well then that is adultery and is condemned all throughout the scriptures. Even to lust after a women or person in your heart is sin.( Matthew 5, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:19, James 2:11) Its also fornication and you can look it up in http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/ it will show you how it is condemned by God.

3.) God’s way is Marriage and sex inside of marriage. Anything else is sin and not his way. It will breed problems in your life and cannot be tolerated if you are to follow Jesus.

4.) Also Homosexuality is outright condemned in the bible. ( 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 timothy 1:10, Romans 1, Revelation 21)

Clearly God has set up sex to be only in marriage. This clears up any other arguments which would stem. And clearly He had shown us that to identify with Homosexuality is just like identifying with any other sin of Choice. They are equally sinful as shown in my past blog. One must Trust Christ to save him from the coming wrath due to our rebellion and sin and trust in His death on the cross to cover our sins and restore us back to God.

So will you identify with God or your sin? Will you choose Death or Life? Sin or God? God promises life thru him and loves us so much to come and die that we might have true life in Him and forgiveness or sins and a relationship with Him. This is what he promises, Life in Him and thru him, True joy not just temporary pleasures that fleet away, Forgiveness of Sin, And eternal life with Him who loves us.

Colossians 1: 20-23 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. ²¹ And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²² in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister”.

If you’re a person who struggles with Homosexuality there is help and ministries to give you more information: https://livehope.org/ , Can a Homosexual become a Christian? Yes: Find out how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFTX80TpZ_4

Intentional Lovers Of God

2009-10-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

As Christian we are Children of the most high, The Bride of Christ, His Beloved, His Redeemed, Friends of God, Lovers of God, Rescued and so much more. God has came in the form of the man, Jesus, 2000 years ago, to live a sinless and perfect life in Obedience to God the Father, that he might die a humiliating death on the cross, from which wood he created and was spit upon by man whom he created and was holding together at that very moment. That on that cross he might take All of Our sin and shame and rise again on the third day to prove he had defeated Death and was the author of Salvation. That now we who trust in Him should not die but live forever more with Him!!

So we claim these things as truth. That God was the reconciler of the rebellious even when they didn’t was him.

Col 1:19-23 “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

O what a Great God we have that even though we were Hostile towards Him he brought us into His home to be His Children! Have you ever had anyone blow up with hostility towards you? I know I have and I didn’t exactly overflow or even feel remotely love towards them. But if only I would seen it from Gods perspective that All are or were once hostile towards Him then my love would flow towards them. When I meditate on this what he has done for me I can help but share!

2Co 5:11-19 “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. “

My Point is that now since we have been reconciled to God He has given us this ministry. Every Christian is entrusted with this ministry! Meditate on what he has done. Do you truly believe it? If you do you will share is. Let the Love of God control you and compel you!!

God has been convicting me more and more about this. Thru not only witnessing but also restoring sinning brothers if you will read my note on Confrontation it will explain it more. See my generation makes fun of “track boomers” and people who stand out with signs, yet we do nothing ourselves. Who are to judge them if we aren’t doing anything ourselves? I do agree that just passing out tracks to get it out there is missing the point of the person and letting love compel us. But let’s look at Jesus:

1.) With the woman at the well he took time to talk and know where she was coming from, cross cultural barriers and dialogue with her. John 4

2.) He Spent time with “Sinners” eating and drink and sharing the truth. Imagine if we got this idea that Jesus had of not only talking with unbelievers but eating and building relationships with them. He also wasn’t afraid of his reputation because of the accusations of the Pharisees towards him. Jesus came for the sinner not the righteous. Matt. 11:19

3.) Also one of the keys of church leaders in the book of Titus was Hospitality which is inviting unbelievers into your house. Also in Romans 12:13, Hebrew 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9

4.) Jesus shows us continuously about his love and patience with all of the people around them. He told the truth even when it diminished the crowd. John 6:53

So my challenge to you is this Be Intentional in your witness and love of non-believers, find a group or talk with your group of fellow believers to keep each other accountable and spur each other on. This is something I need desperately more and I hope you will wrestle with it in your heart and pray and search the scriptures of how God can use you. We need to be compelled by His love and desire to reconcile others to the God he love and claim as Truth!! Let the Love of God Compel you to Him and him ministry of Reconciliation!!

2009-10-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

Here is some better explainations of why the shack is heresy:

The Shack

2009-10-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

This is a short explanation of The Heresy the book The Shack:

I Love Homosexual people

2009-09-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

I love homosexual people. I have a good friend who is one and an aunt. They are just like everyone else in the fact that they are people made in the image of God. All peoples are made in the image of God no matter who you are and should be thus treated with value. Not even a full blown evolutionist could say that because in the system of evolution: the strong prevail over the weak and what doesn’t allow for the furtherance of a race is allowed to die of. Thus also from a Christian perspective All of us share the same heritage coming from our father Adam.

So this brings me to my next point of our Father Adam. In the book of Genesis chapter 1 God makes man from the dust of the earth and breathes life into him and makes male and female in his image. So why aren’t we all perfect if God is perfect you might ask? Well God is a just God and is not a dictator who forces people to love Him but gives them a choice. Thus he set a tree in the garden which he commanded them not to eat from. But they ate and then because God is perfect and His person demands in and of itself perfection man was cursed for his disobedience and sent out from the Garden.

Thus “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All peoples were thus born separated from God and sinful. No one sin was greater than another. And so the sin of lusting after or having sex with a person of the same sex is just as sinful as lying, stealing, having sex outside of marriage, and many other. See sin is the opposite of God’s character and thus since we sinned we were all marred. If I lust after a women in my heart it is no different than another person lusting after someone of the same sex. Before God we all stand equally guilty and there is no way to pay God off with works because God’s person demands perfection.

Thus all persons are left hopeless if we are left to try to please God on our own. But God loved us so much that He came in the form of a man and died for us!! That if we believe that the only way he can stand before God is based solely off of the death Jesus and not our own works as:

Ephesians 2: 8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

So its by Grace which is defined as “God giving us something freely that we don’t deserve”. Through Faith or Trust or Belief in God to save us, Not by our own Works or effort, But solely based on God’s Gift we are be saved and brought back to God.

So all are equal before God and should be treated as so. It is no harder for a person who struggles with same sex issues to be saved then is a man who struggles with chronic masturbation. They both have to deal with their lifestyles as sin. So I don’t believe I should call people who struggle with Homosexuality Homosexuals or gays anymore because that is like calling a man who masturbates a Masturbator or labeling a person who lies as a liar.

For we are all sinners before God. But God loves us so much that he calls us into a relationship with him. And instead of labeling us Homosexual or Liar or Thief He wants to call us Sons and Daughters of the Most High God. He calls us thus into a relationship with him who is Creator, All-powerful- All-knowing, love and holy. He will meet all are true needs that the things of this earth can’t trust in Him for He is perfect and knows best and loves you, for he made you to dance in his presence and to enjoy him and his creation. And the real reason He has these standards is because it lines up with who He is and the way He wired the Universe. So will you embrace this loving God who desires to call you His Sons and Daughters?

Two Need to Have Books

2009-09-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

These are two books which you must have:

10 Books which Screwed up the world By: Benjamin Wicker
This book will help you to understand what thinkers helped to shape our views in the western world.

& The Universe Next door By: James Sire:
This book will help you to understand what people believe and what thoughts under gird their actions.

Why all of these Rules?

2009-09-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

Commands, Authority, Rules, Restrictions.

These are all words that we in American especially dislike. We dislike them because since we come out of the womb we have been told that life is all about us. From Fast food, to Televisions, to Ads, etc. We are driven by freedom or power. We want power and control over our own lives. All of us, me included. That’s why we complain so much if things don’t go our way. And whenever we have bosses, parents, teachers etc, telling us what to do us we try to duck them every chance we get.

This mindset is no different in the heart of many Christians. And honestly it is in my heart in so many ways. The reason for this is that we have taken our examples of Authority and placed them as labels upon God. And when God commands something we begin to question it and try to duck it. What we are really saying is that God is wicked and has no idea what you need. But isn’t that insane that We think the God of the universe who holds all things together with His hands and yet came down in the form of man to die for us, doesn’t know what we need? How can this be?

So when I came to a scripture in first John I too began to question my initial reaction to this verse:
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.“

My initial reaction was a wow, How can this be? Because you see in my own life I have so many times done what is contrary to what God has commanded. In essence I have called Him wicked. See when someone commands something it is a direct expression of who they are. Take for example Adolf Hitler. He commanded the thousands to be killed yet never did it with his own hands. But in his commands he shows his heart. Thus in God commands he shows his Person and Heart.

This then leads me to a claim that the apostle John makes in First John about who God is, that “God is Love”. Thus if God is love then anything he tells us to do will be out of love and for our good. Let’s take for example the one of the Ten Commandments. “Thou shalt not commit adultery” which Jesus takes even further “Do not lust after a woman in your heart”. We could see this command as God being Authoritarian and not letting us have sex. Really what He is saying is Lust/Sex outside of marriage is not the way I made things to be and if you go against it things will be bad. This has been proven by millions of experiences of hurt and pain from sex outside of marriage and how it keeps you in its cords. But what God is also saying is that the things he commands against are opposite of His Person and thus sin. See sin is just the opposite of God’s person and God must punish it. That is why Jesus came to take our punishment for sin and reconcile us to God! That when we trust in Christ alone to save us He will and as Christians we continue to come back to who God is, and Submit to His Ruling in our lives.

So in conclusion, Will you see God’s rules as a Burden or will you see God behind them pleading to your heart to go His way and fall deeper in love with Him and not yourself and sin?

The Power of Words.

2009-09-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

As Christians we are called to a higher standard in our speech.

Engagement & Marriage

2009-08-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

Engagement & Marriage

So now that I am Engaged things have begun to change. Some things hard but it has always been for the better as we have pushed thru the barriers of life.
Many guys think of getting married as a loss of themselves and a loss of true happiness. You know how I know this? Because I have had a lot of discouraging comments from numerous men, such as “things are gonna change” (in a bad tone) “Just give her what she wants, she’s always gotta be right,” and many others. All of these statements have a root to them which I believe has been built into men’s minds by our culture.

Many men think also that they are just going to move into a house with their wife and they will just be roommates. Though they don’t always voice these things so obviously, they do come out it conversation.

One of the main reasons I believe this mindset has crept into so many men from the Christian to non-Christian, from the rich to the poor. Is because of porn and the massive amount of images shown to us every time we turn the corner. It has made women out to be objects which we are to use, whether used sexually, emotionally, for our image, or many other reasons. Our so called “Love” is not truly love at all but it is what Jesus says about the robber who comes “to steal, and pillage”. Deeply imbedded in our hearts is not love!! Its lust and overflowing of wickedness.

I know much of this because I am a man who has grown up in this culture experienced it all and is not too far in my walk with Jesus(about 3ish years) so I have been dealing with a lot of baggage. If you read my blog post “a serial Confessionist & the holiness of God” you will see part of the way I have overcome many of these mindsets.

But before I got engaged a dear friend and mentor Spencer Plumlee set me down and called me out. He brought my selfishness to the light and exposed much of this attitude that I have thus explained to you previously about using girls. Now don’t get me wrong I love Jennifer with my whole heart. But deep down inside I still had the stench of Selfishness growing. That day when Spencer sat me down we talked about my decision to die to self and serve Jennifer. And that day I made the decision and since then it has been hard but it has truly reaped a better reward in the long run and has brought me so much closer to Jen and God. Much of what we talked about came from this verse.

Ephesians 5:25-33 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,So that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. “

I want to focus on the first part of this verse. God has been teaching me so much concerning my duties and my heart with this verse.

1.) He has shown me that if I humbly serve Jennifer and love her then I am following Christ.

2.) If I take responsibility as Christ did this is truly the way things are supposed to work.

First if I love her and serve her this is truly the way that God changes her not me calling her out and trying to change her. See if we both want our own ways and expect things our way we will always have disagreement and always be fighting over whose way we should follow. But if I consistently model an attitude of service to her this frees us both up to love for each other and makes her more willing to want to serve me. See Christ didn’t wait for us to come to Him but he came to us and was the initiator of Love towards us that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” therefore we should love and serve even without the right response. And every time we don’t get the right response we should remember how we have done the same to Christ and yet he Responds with Love.

Second, This is a key thing I have been learning. A reason why we as males think it’s the end of our lives because of RESPONSIBILITY. We think that responsibility is the devil and the kill-joy of our free lives in where we can do whatever we want. See we get the desire to not take responsibility or not be committed from our first Father Adam. See when Adam and Eve sinned God came to Adam first as the Responsible one and asked what he had done and instead of taking responsibility he blame shifted and said “it was the woman” and since that day men have been blaming women for their lack of taking Responsibility!

But responsibility is not the kill-joy but it is a key which sets us free. See Christ was perfect and sinless yet he took responsibility for OUR sins on the cross. He also took responsibility for the Church and took her as his Bride. In the same way men when we get married we are to take responsibility for the woman and realize its following after Christ. Even when you fight and have done nothing wrong you still take the responsibility for the sin and ask her for forgiveness. I know this takes a lot of humility, something we as men lack. I will be honest this is not easy. But I will also be honest it is the most freeing thing ever and it brings me deeper into identity with Christ! I’m not always perfect, so don’t hear me say that. But God is working and I know this is the ways.

So before you get married men realize what you are called to. Don’t You Dare Get Married If You Haven’t Made Up Your Mind To Die To Self!! I know you won’t be perfect, but it’s the only way. If you think she is going to be your toy or your roommate you are in for some hurt. Truly love her as Christ did and take responsibility! And serve her! This is what True love is and it’s the way of Jesus.

Confrontation. Good or Evil?

2009-07-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

Christian Brothers/Sisters don’t let other Christian Brothers/Sisters continue in sin.

Confrontation.

A word which most people hate and even think it to be sinfully wicked. But I have been persuaded otherwise by God’s words in scripture.

Our culture says that to truly love someone is to let them live their life and you live your life. So the individual has say over his own life and no one can say anything against his decisions or force their opinions upon others.

I believe this attitude has crept into our churches and has been dealt with in two main ways:

1.) People come to church and act like everything is okay so that no one has to deal with each other’s baggage.

2.) People call each other out to show spiritual superiority or to shame the other person and to get them to step back in line and act perfect again.

By God’s standard both of these responses are wrong/wicked and even sinful.

The first response is one which totally contradicts Gods ways for his followers and just neglects His word totally. Here is one we can examine:

Mat 18:12-20 what do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

The reason I put verses 12-14 in as well was to give context and to show you that Jesus’ heart is for People, his desire is not for them to go astray into sin. Now when he starts talking about a brother, it is true that this passage specifically is talking about when a brother sins against you and not directly talking about confrontation in any other instance.

But one can see in the section that begins “truly”, that the power of people to overcome sin is stronger when more than one Christian is gathers to overcome it. If you look at the passage that way, to say that when you are confronting them you are desiring for that brother to be restored you can truly see how this passage shows that confrontation is really love and not hate and that love must be in Confrontation.

Another reason that I believe Confrontation is truly loving is shown in an example:

“Thoughts flooded the man’s mind as he walked down the musty road. Contemplating whether to just finish his life or not. His life had come crashing down the last couple of days and the weight had brought him to this point, where he thought he could never go again. See he had been through counseling and tried to help himself past this depression many times before. But now he was in this same familiar place again. He flashed back on his life and felt no worth in it. He saw no real reason to live. But yet his feet continued to walk down this back road. He was in a constant state of daze just walking with no real purpose and constantly fiddling with the knife in his pocket.

But suddenly, as he walked he snapped back into reality and realized he smelled smoke. He looked up and saw a trail in the sky and as he listened he heard people screaming for help. He wondered how a house could be out here in the middle of nowhere. But he couldn’t even help the screaming people if he wanted to. See he couldn’t even help himself how could he ever help those people?”

I believe most Christians are much like the suicidal man. They commit constant spiritual suicide and they have lost hope, they have tried to fix themselves to make themselves pleasing to God but all the time they have forgotten that Jesus is the only way and he paid it all and He is who they pursue. But they just wallow in self pity and guilt all the while Jesus is standing their waiting to take the chains off of them. Since a lot of Christians are like this they are also like the man in another way in that they see so much sin in their lives and see no hope so why should they call out anyone else? And I understand because there is a scripture that says:

Luke 6:39-42 He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

So you shouldn’t call out people’s sin if you aren’t dealing with your own. This is true. But why should we hesitate to deal with our own sin? Do we love our sin more than Jesus? Do we truly believe that Jesus dies to save us from them and he can give us victory over them? If we take sin seriously as Jesus did when he died on the Cross we will first take care of it in our own lives then we will lovingly take our brother aside and help him be restored to the freedom of the cross in a pursuit of the God.

So now that we have seen the reason why reaction 1 is wrong now we can examine reaction 2:

First let’s take a look at that verse in Luke above. In this verse we see that you shouldn’t arrogantly call someone out on anything. You should first look at the sin in your own life.

Second from the passage we also looked at before with the sheep and the shepherd, We see that we must confront in love and that isn’t shown in just confronting someone and leaving them their but leading the towards Christ and helping them!

I believe as we have looked at the word we see Jesus was serious about sin being taken care of first in our own lives and then lovingly in the lives of others. Jesus took sin so seriously to go on the cross for it and die to defeat it that we may live thru Him. Will you take sin seriously and live like Jesus? Or will you not truly love people and live an independent life away from God?

Here are some more verses for you to check out. 1 Cor. 5,

Heb 3:13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

A Serial Confessionist & The Holiness of God

2009-07-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Often in the early days of my walk with God I walked under many misconceptions which plagued me deeply. First of all when I sinned I would just confess my sin and pour out guilt upon myself continuously. See I believed that I was supposed to master my sin all alone, that I was “supposed” to be strong enough to win the “Victory”. But misconception was very deadly for one BIG reason. Christ had already paid for my sin on the Cross!! See God had come down into human history as a man, Jesus, and lived a sinless life and died on the Cross for my sin.
So as I began to grasp Christ’s forgiveness of me because I truly confessed my sin as 1 John 1:9 says “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I felt the weight of his forgiveness and Grace which was poured out upon me. But I quickly became what I like to call a “Serial Confessionist” which was someone who confessed their sins and truly believed that they were forgiven but never truly walked in freedom.
In many ways I still feel as though I walk in that serial confessionist way. I had known about the Holiness of God before but it never really sunk in until we began to talk about it and look at the text. But as we have been going thru 1 John in the college group at my church I have begun to realize a part of freedom that I had been missing and that is the Holiness of God.

1 John 1:5-10”This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

A lot of theses concept I had heard and studied but never really personalized them until recently. I knew that a Christian had to live a life of repentance but what did that look like? I thought it looked like confession and me fixing myself. But now I see that the Holiness of God is why Jesus came to die, not only for forgiveness.
See The Wrath of God and the Forgiveness of God or Grace collide at the Cross. And that is what gives us freedom as we receive His Forgiveness and pursue God, we also forsake our sin and pursue God’s holiness because we cant be in fellowship wit Him unless we are living holy lives. So will you confess and forsake and pursue God in holiness and forgiveness?

Apologies for dis-unity

2009-07-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

I guess I should have done this before my other blog but o well. I wanted to apologies to all the people back home that I hurt when I first recommitted my life. Because back then I was very overbearing and didn't know what hill to die on and how to truly love others. I hope I can be reconciled with the bridges I possible burned. I don't remember most of them because it has been so long but if there are any I'm sorry. Have a good July 4Th. God bless!

Unity and Centrality around Christ.

2009-07-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

Along my walk with Jesus thru Word of life, many churches, Swbts and hearing many speakers I have came to some conclusions.

1.) Many Christians divide over little details that aren't central.

2.)Alot of Sermons that are preached don't even have the right focus.

So what does Jesus Say about what should be central?:
"John 17:20-23 "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."
It's clear that Jesus prays for unity around himself and God the father. That we would be one as God is one. Man that is a deep truth to think about because How many of us truly have relationships with other believers that are "one". What does that even look like? Something I see is that the Calvinist and non-Calvinists fight over side issues when they both believe the Gospel, that God came in human form and died for sinful man to be set free from sin and death and set free unto Him. And the kjv only guys fight with everyone who doesn't have one and the Pentecostals fight with the Conservatives or the baptist with the non-baptists. But all this time Jesus prayed for our unity. So what does that look like in our lives? What hills are worth dieing on?

Another Thing is What should are Sermons be centered around? Well i believe Jesus answers that one too:
" John 5:38-40 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."

This passage is unique in that Jesus is talking about the Witnesses that Testify to who he is. His audience is the disciples and the Pharisees. This direct quote was to the Pharisees who were the religious elite. They memorize mostly all of their bibles and studied it daily. Yet Jesus is saying they know nothing about it. Wow that's insane.
What does that say about us? I mean for me even before when I preached He wasn't always the Center. And a lot of preaching I have noticed tends to be around commands which are disconnected from the God who said them. Or we water down the truth and miss his word all together. But the truth is that our preaching should always have Christ at the Center and his Gospel as the main point. Do we read his word and miss Him? Or do we truly see Christ on the pages?