Thanksgiving!!

We take a break from our Daniel series for the sake of Thanksgiving. 

Congratulations, everyone! For the past day, you got to be out of work, and spend some time with family, eating Turkey. And you probably spent some time giving thanks for some things in your life. Now you might be off spending all your time buying Christmas presents for those close to you, for whom you are most thankful.

I must admit that the whole Black Friday meme jokes are getting a little on my nerves this year. As much as I would never actually participate in Black Friday because I hate lines and crowds, I think there isn't a problem with spending money buying things for OTHERS after being thankful for what you already have. I mean, yeah.

Anyway, I want to challenge you to do something different today. You've taken some time to thank God for His blessings; now I want you to spend even more time realizing what those blessings are. Today, I want to challenge you with something that has twice gotten me through times in my life where I have irrationally made myself stressed about stupid things. It gives a rather nice perspective.

This little challenge is based on a sermon given by my pastor a little over a month ago, while I was home for Fall Break. It was a simple message, designed around people giving testimonies pertaining to the message after each of his three points. I decided to make a catalogue of how those points pertained to my life.

Writing that catalogue and looking back at it was a wonderful perspective change. Thus, today, I ask that you also take a look back at your life, and do the same through these three areas.

1. Places

There are certainly some places in your life that seem particularly meaningful, where the Lord has done wonderful things. The place where you got saved, the place where you met a special friend (I don't necessarily mean a significant other, but you can read it that way if you want), the place where you decided what you wanted to do the rest of your life, the place where you came to rededicate your life to the Lord, etc. There are so many different possibilities, and it's refreshing to think about it. 

2. People

This is the one who consistently gets me. This is where you record the people who have had a positive impact on your life. And for me, it fills a full two pages. I think you probably know what kinds of people have had an impact on your lives. People who trained you, people who led you to Jesus, people who encouraged you through suffering, your parents, people who listened to you when you needed someone etc. 

I think you might be surprised how many people you can come up who have had tremendous impact on your life. 

3. Problems

At this stage in my life, this particular category is fairly empty. But the idea is the problems that the Lord placed in your life that have ultimately ended up for your good. 

For me, the primary one is of course when I was unable to attend Grove City College as I intended. That was devastating to me, and I hated it so much, but it is now the best thing that ever happened to me. Now as I pursue the role of a pastor, I could never be happier about where my life is headed. I love it so much, and could never see myself doing anything else. 

So how about you? What places, people, or problems have had tremendous impact on your lives? I challenge you to make a catalogue of it. You might very well be surprised. 

That One Thing

I am still a little less than amused about the church's seemingly changed purpose around patriotic holidays to go from praising God to praising a nation. Sorry. I guess that's a little bit of a bitter exaggeration, but not really. But that's not what I'm going to be posting about today. I just thought you might be interested.

In today's devotional post, we are going to see something which seems to be everywhere in the Old Testament.

God returns to His people, to keep covenant and mercy. Despite all the sinfulness of the people, He is always ready to bless His people.

It's in the book of Nehemiah, Esther, even the book of Ruth, the point always seems to be that even when it doesn't seem like it, God is working things out for His people. Maybe that doesn't mean the best of circumstances. But it always means that we have something to be excited about.

So maybe it's that God really does care about His people. Crazy thing, right?

So don't give up on Him whatever your life may look like.

It's Probably your Fault

Oh, right, I forgot, I shouldn't upset readers by saying that something in their life could have been avoided. People aren't fond of being told they did something wrong. Oh, well, I'm not writing this blog to please or entertain people, so...

In my relationship with the Lord, it would seem that there has been a rough patch once again. Times are tough and the relationship doesn't seem to be growing at all. And I at once just want to know why. Why? Why? Why?

But my first reaction wasn't to look to myself. Though I did not explicitly start blaming God, by refusing to look to myself for responsibility, I implicitly said that it was the fault of the Lord that all seemed to be dead. Perhaps my feeling was just that God is not obligated to give me anything, even a solid relationship with Him, and so maybe right now, He simply isn't.

Though technically true, that God is not obligated to give His children anything, my sentiment ignores the fact that God will always want to give us an opportunity to see Him greater. Indeed, He created us so that we could enjoy Him forever.

This is a similar situation to what the Israelites found themselves in prior to the captivity. They felt their relationship with the Lord become strained. They were sacrificing and fasting, and the Lord just didn't seem to be paying any attention. It is here that Isaiah reminds them (and me yesterday morning),

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness."

Or put more bluntly, God's merciful and willing to save you or hear your cries at any time. His ears do not become heavy ever so that he cannot hear. Instead if you are separated from God, it is your fault because of your iniquities.

That is exactly what I needed to hear. We as Christians are perfectly equipped to grow in our knowledge and intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. So when we fail to grow in that relationship, it is not because of failing on God's part, but because of our own individual sinful failure. It will always be our fault.





(Note that suffering and trials are not what is being discussed here. Not all suffering and trials are the fault of man's individual sinfulness. Enjoying God does not equate with peaceful, non-hazardous conditions; instead it equates with peace and joy in Christ in the midst of dangerous and depressing circumstances.)

Psalm 23: Surely Goodness and Mercy will "Follow" You

So, with the first week of a long and busy summer done, I seem to have forgotten how to write. Seeing how I am taking an online composition class, I suppose I need to remember pretty soon.

Have you ever wondered about the blessings of God and just how much they tend to pursue those who do right? Probably not, but that does seem to be message of Psalm 23:6. Psalm 23 as a whole of course, reads, 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

This is an interesting chapter to be sure, and I believe the meaning of one Hebrew word (with touches of meaning on other words as well) is instrumental to understanding the passage.

The word translated as "follow" here in this text is generally used for purposes that involve more energy and less passive than the meaning currently given by the word "follow." Thus, I would say that the definition of rādap in Psalm 23:6 is more along the lines of actively, persistently, and energetically pursuing an individual as if one was chasing or hunting an individual within a military situation.

It would seem that in general rādap means this more active pursuit with energy, rather than the more passive, “follow.” Thus, in order to justify a translation of the word which was that weaker form of the word, we would need to see clear textual and contextual reasons why that meaning was actually directed.

However, we see no such clues. Indeed, we see quite the opposite. The chapter’s emphasis upon trusting the Lord completely and wholly because of His providential care for His people is only strengthened by the thought that the Lord’s goodness and mercy will follow us persistently. This understanding is consistent with the way the Lord’s providence is displayed throughout the rest of the passage.

For example, in verse 2, it explains that “he maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” At first this doesn’t seem to highlight anything important, but if we remember the imagery of a shepherd that David is using here. The shepherd’s job was to find grass where the sheep could eat, and then direct them to another pasture where they could have their next meal.

This aspect of lying down in green pastures is an indication that the Lord provided a pasture that was so green that it would prepare them not just for this meal, but for the next. This providence then is not a weak just getting by care, but rather an exhaustive care for all issues in life. With that in mind, it makes little sense to assume that the use of rādap is weaker than the has been translated elsewhere in the Old Testament, when the Lord’s providential care is being emphasized as being way more than sufficient.

I believe it is important to emphasize the strength of the effort of the pursuit of God’s mercy and goodness in our lives. The military pursuit that this is often translated actually highlights the word rādap in the text. Within this text, that would mean that goodness and mercy pursue us with the same fervor and diligence as a man does who is seeking revenge or carrying out military orders.

As we continually will be in sin, we will continually need the Lord’s mercy and goodness to pursue us vigorously. Simply, pleasing the LORD would be nigh impossible if goodness and mercy only half-heartedly followed us.

More to the context of Psalm 23 as a whole, though, the Lord’s persistent pursuing of His people allows us to have no excuse for not fully trusting in His name. Not only does it provide an ample reason why we should trust Him in that the LORD is interested enough in lowly us, it also provides all that we need to be able to continue to grow in our relationship with Him.

Due to the covenantal nature of the word translated as mercy (hּׅesed), it is clear that one of the other reasons this chapter gives us to trust in the LORD is that he is able to keep His promises and allow His covenantal love to energetically pursue all His people. There is never a time when our sin begins to take us outside of God’s covenantal love. The Lord will always keep His promises, this is reified by the use of rādap to indicated that God’s covenantal love will energetically pursue in this case, David.

This understanding frames the entire chapter within the context of the Lord’s faithfulness in keeping His promises. This then highlights ample reasons why we should trust the LORD in all that we do. Allow Him to be our Shepherd and bless us as He has promised to do because ultimately we can’t fall outside of His promises. But just like any other element of God’s grace, we shouldn’t treat this as license to sin, but instead look for it as another reason why the LORD deserves our worship, service, and love.

A Thank You Note

It's been an interesting and kinda difficult week. And it's not because it's Finals week either. Finals have been extremely stress-free, as I did my first one yesterday at 1. Yes, it's been a couple of good long days of studying for good old test-taking.

But there have been circumstances that are hardly ideal about my life here. And no this is not a still technically teenage boy being melodramatic about relationships with the ladies.

Sadly, it would be wrong for me to share these circumstances with you as they are not mine to tell, but what I do want to share is how well the Lord was able to equip me for them.

This blog post that I haven't exactly started (I should shave down my intros) will be simply a public expression of gratitude toward God. If that doesn't interest you, feel free to close your browser tab now.

The Lord put me in a place on Tuesday night where I was heavily realizing all the good that He had done for my life. It was a simple place to put me. I was doing mindless-dishwashing-I-get-paid-for-this-so-I-won't-complain-about-the-repetition work in the dining hall and so I had time to reflect on my life.

This reflection led to a great time to recharge with the Lord. Which was exceptional, since it would be shortly after getting back when I would begin to get hit head-first with the curse (as my beloved OT prof would say regarding trying times).

I don't know how different my perspective could have been or how much more devastated I would have been (not gonna lie, it was pretty devastating) had I not been able to reflect on God's actions to me over just the last semester. That framing was what I thought helped me cope.

But it wasn't like I was guaranteed to be working in the dining hall that day. It was only the second shift that I had elected to take this semester. Thus, it was possible that this entire area of perspective then wouldn't have happened.

Even further though, the timing is important. If I had worked the shift after I had received the news, I would have spent my time being able to reflect, reflecting solely on the negative things that were happening. I wouldn't have acknowledged the richness of God's blessings. In the end, I would likely have become bitter with God.

But God didn't allow that to happen because He knew what I needed to do. He knew where He needed me and at what time He needed me there. So He placed me there in the dining hall with time for Him.

So are the ways that the Lord is able to work in our lives. Why don't I make the time for Him more often? Why do I have to take a dining hall shift to realize the beauty of who He is and what He has done and probably still will do for Me?

And next time, I might reflect on what it means that this blog post talks almost exclusively about God doing things for me, rather than just how great He is, because of His nature. Isn't it amazing how God showed me that as I wrote this?

Why the Mighty Have Fallen: A Sequel

Last September, I was reading through the book of Job and wrote a couple of blog posts based off the lessons that my reading of the book brought me through. One of them expressed a little on how the mighty man named Job, who was "a perfect and upright man, one who feareth God and escheweth evil," fell from grace to the point of accusing God of prying into his life.

While I decently well articulated some of the ways in which Job fell from grace as it were, I spent no time explaining specifically why Job struggled with this suffering. Job was a pure man, why when suffering came, did he suddenly fall into disarray? 

The opening dialogue between Satan and God probably provides us our answer. In this dialogue, we hear God proclaim the purity of Job. To respond, Satan doesn't deny Job's character - that apparently is undeniable. Instead, he asks God a simple question, 

"Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."

Apparently, Satan is convinced that Job serves the Lord for the material gain and blessings that the Lord places upon him, rather than for the relationship itself. In other words, Satan is convinced that Job is more interested in serving Gd as a matter of a sort of economic contract - Job serves God, God serves Job - than out of a pure and true relationship or love for God.

Satan is convinced that Job loves God because Job loves Job, because Job receives a benefit.

So how would you test Satan's theory? That would be the entire book of Job, where Satan is given the opportunity to take away the "hedge" that the Lord had made around him. That indeed is what we see Satan suggesting in the passage quoted above.

So why did Job fall? It would appear obvious from the very first chapter that the book is testing Job's motivations. If Job fails that test (and he eventually does), that's probably an indication that his motivations were not where they should have been.

Which then leads to the all-important question - why do you love God? Because of your own gain, or because of God? Do you have a relationship or do you have an economic contract? Why do you serve the Lord today?

Aren't Life's Little "Coincidences" just Amazing?

"Isn't it great how God works little things like that out all the time?" 

So said a good friend of mine this last Monday night as we randomly sat in the foyer (as it were) of our dormitory here. It was a comment that is going to be the main thrust of our brief discussion today.

The comment's context came after I explained the amazingly encouraging conversation that I had at lunch that day.

The wonders of college cuisine here is that we're not just limited to a cafeteria for our meal plans, but also can use transfer meals to get meals from this fast food type place that is catered by the same food service.

Monday was the first day of the semester that it officially opened, so I thought I would repay my visits for this semester because it's slightly better than a cafeteria.

I sat down with a former fellow Biblical Studies major who is now studying Nursing and we have a chat about nice good Godly things. I phrased that sarcastically probably because I'm not used to saying it in a serious manner. #confessingyourfaultsonetoanother

So as he asked me about my devotions, I mentioned essentially what I wrote last week and how I saw it as a theme for the early chapters of Proverbs.

This was rather exciting for him because it just so happens, he was reading in the early chapters of the book of Proverbs and was hearing the same message.

The end of the lunch was then the opportunity to really get a conversation going about the spiritual walk that the Lord has with us accordingly. It was a wonderful little thing that the Lord worked out in my life precisely when I needed it.

Then of course the conversation which spurred our thesis statement was another example of it. So much that could be said about that conversation and so much that the Lord was able to work in both of our hearts at a time when both of us would normally be studying then prepping for bed (we tend to sleep early) is maybe more than a little thing that God ensured happened just right for my edification.

How exactly are we suppose to top that in our service to God?

Desires, Blessings, and Punishments

As I listened to my Pastor preach last night over Numbers 11 (yes, our mid-week service is on Thursday), I was reminded of a consistent theme in the Bible.

In this chapter, the Israelites complain a great deal about many things. Eventually, the Israelites begin to feel dissatisfied with the manna that God has provided for the last two years in the wilderness. It has always supplied their needs, but now they simply want the taste of meat.

It is here that I remembered the consistent theme of the Bible, as the Lord responds to the complaints of the Israelites by bowing to their wishes. Indeed, the Israelites are punished by getting exactly what they wanted. But as Numbers 11:18-20 indicates, when they get it, they no longer want it.

"And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?"

The theme I keep teasing without actually mentioning is this - the Lord has this tendency to punish the people of the world (especially the Israelites) by giving them exactly what they desired.

We see that at play here, but we also see it when the Israelites reject the Lord's kingship over them. They desire to have a king as all the other nations, so the Lord gives them a king as corrupt as the kings of all the other nations.

Perhaps most strikingly, in Romans 1, we see this same principle as it applies to those who have rejected the evidence of the Lord's existence entirely. As verse 28 clearly indicates,

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."

The Lord punishes them by simply allowing them to continue along the paths they set for themselves, along the pathway of sin.

But if this is such a consistent thing to see within the Bible, there is one shocking statement that must be true. If man's desires can be a punishment, then man's desires are ultimately harmful to himself.

How is it that man cannot know what is actually good for him? How is it that we consistently have our hearts in the wrong place so that we desire the wrong things? How is it that our desires don't line up with what the Lord wishes in our life?

It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 6:10-12,

"That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?"

And with that simple thought I leave you with another simple question - how are your desires? If the Lord granted them, would that be a blessing or a punishment?

10 of Your Blessings (It's a Start for Counting)

1. God created humanity. There was no need for an incredibly magnificent God like ours, to take any interest into creating humans. We did not need to exist for God to find fulfillment, though yes, our purpose is to please God.

2. God placed man in an ideal world with luscious fruit and luscious fruit, and no animals hunting us humans. Wouldn't it be an incredible sight to watch dinosaurs walk with humans, and not be trying to eat them? 

3. But God wasn't a deistic type God, which would have made sense. He has no reason to be interested in us as individuals, but He stayed and communed with man.

4. (Also, God didn't just destroy the world altogether after Adam's sin. We know that one day He will create a new heaven and a new earth, so He obviously had that ability. But He didn't use it after man corrupted the ideal world that He placed them in.)

5. Indeed, even after man messed things up, He remained in a relationship with man, going to great lengths to set up a sacrificial system that allowed the Israelites to enjoy a relationship with him, albeit a broken one.

6. Further, He refused to leave it as only for the Israelites. Contrary to negative popular opinion, God allowed His covenant with Abraham to extend to non-Israelites, like the men of Gibeon, Barzillai the Gileadite, and so on.

7. Then the Lord wasn't content with keeping tne relationship as purely broken. Jesus then laid down His crown to be born from a virgin in a manger.

8. Jesus went through and lived a perfect life, then went and died on the cross to take away the punishment for all our sins, to all who will accept His death as a substitution for their punishment. Raising again the third day, we have a promise that we too will raise again to life eternal.

9. Furthermore, the Lord refused to leave it to just the Israelite, but opened up His route of salvation to the Gentiles. All people now have the opportunity to get to have that intimate relationship with Jesus Christ that brings with it salvation.

10. Even still, God doesn't just give us eternity, and then become a deistic type God when it comes to this world. He still cares for us, and tells us that He will "never leave us, nor forsake us." We have His words that through our struggles, we will have Him strengthening us.

The History of Humanity

God is awesome. We heard as much last week. We have probably had it also grounded in our very face that the Lord who sits on the throne is one who is just simply awesome in the ways that He interacts with man.

Yet today I again want to share with you a simple, yet very very true history lesson. So here goes nothing.

Once there was nothing in existence, save one being, whom we call God. He decided for some reason that despite His extreme lack of obligation or need for such a thing, to create a world. It was an ideal world, and He put his creatures like man into it.

Now let's just make one thing clear - from a purely logical standpoint, a Deist God just makes sense. After all, a God who is so great that He can literally just speak things into existence is probably too transcendent to even care about His creation. I see no reason why He shouldn't just create the world, and leave us all to our own devices.

But in the ideal world that God placed Adam and Eve, He didn't just leave them alone, but specifically made sure that they had whatever they needed to survive. He even went so far as to allow them an opportunity to have a relationship with Him.

And Adam and Eve took that great blessing that was given to them, and they defiled it, breaking the one commandment that God had given to them to keep.

At this point, God's actions also don't seem to make sense from a logical perspective (logic is so very human after all). He could have easily destroyed the earth right then and right there and start afresh (or not restart at all). But He didn't. He decided to give Adam and Eve a lighter punishment of simply banishment from the ideal world that they were living in.

At this point, a deistic God really starts to make sense. Why should God still be concerned about these people who denied the blessings He gave them in exchange for some fruit? Nonetheless, the Lord goes to great lengths to keep man in a relationship with Him, albeit a broken one.

Eventually selecting the Israelites as His people, He looks after and guides them, confronting their enemies, and giving them a way to worship Him as He deserves. As He continually blesses them, they continually defile those blessings. And yet He still continues to bless them.

Indeed He blesses them through their sin until the point that in the very last book of the Old Testament, He proclaims,

"I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts."  

These are all the blessings God has bestowed on man prior to His actually coming to earth, and taking on the punishment for our sins, so that we can truly have a restored fellowship with Him.

Pretty amazing blessings, right? Well, how exactly are you responding to this blessing? Are you defiling it like humanity has done throughout history, or are you doing your best to serve the Lord in all the ways He deserves?

Naked Came I out of the Womb

In the first chapter of the book of Job, much happens that pretty much every Christian is at least partially familiar.

The Devil comes among the "sons of God" to report on what he has been doing with his time. After giving God a vague answer (as if he could hide anything from the all-knowing God), the Lord asks him,

"Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"

We all know how Magneto would respond to this question. But Satan has an agenda to support. He wants to make Job turn his back on God. Satan is convinced that if Job didn't have so many blessings in his life, he would not be as grateful to the God who provided them.

After all, it is easier to be grateful to the Lord when one is enrolled in an excellent institution, surrounded by tons of loyal family and friends, and generally, everything is going well. But is it as easy to thank the Lord when your friends hurt you, when your circumstances just keep seeming to not go your way?

So Satan is granted permission to be able to go back to Earth, and takes the lives of his sons, servants, and livestock. Ultimately, when that doesn't cause Job to turn his back on God, Satan petitions the Lord for permission to touch Job's health. After the Lord grants His permission, Job is now so overwhelmed by how God turned His back on Job that he cannot help but to curse God and die.

Except that's not what happens at all. Job is asked by his not-so-Proverbs 31 wife to curse God and die, and his response is recorded for us in Job 1:21,

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

You see, Job understood a simple concept that I tend to struggle with. The Lord was under no obligation to give us any blessing in this world. He was under no obligation to even give us life to begin with. Thus, He is under no obligation to maintain and continue to provide those blessings that He has provided. (Caveat: because the Lord promised in the Bible that once saved is always saved, that blessing He is obligated to continue to provide.)

Job illustrates that we can't take for granted what the Lord has given us, and ultimately our thankfulness to Him needs to be less based on the material things He has provided, and more based off of who He is, and what eternal blessings He has promised to those who call upon His name.

Internet, Iron Man, and Indebtedness

I get to write this blog post from the comfort of my desk in my dorm room. That shouldn't excite me that much, but let's just say it took going to the Tech Help desk again to get that rolling. Let me tell you, I didn't think it was possible to go anywhere with inferior wi-fi to that of my house. I was wrong.

Still, it has given me a greater appreciation for the internet in general. Knowing that much work was put in place by the Technology personnel to fix the internet connection on my computer has given me an appreciation for how I should use this particular benefit appropriately, and not waste time playing with my lanyard in front of an open blog post. The internet was worked for, and so I must take the advantage of it.

But this magical bit of internet I have here from the comfort of my desk is limited in comparison to some of the other gifts that have been worked for on my behalf. You know, there are many things that happen in life that change us directly and just make us have to respond in a different way.

For this internet's purpose, it is a small change in my life. I desire to be more responsible and not waste time looking at social media (I'm on a fast as of writing this anyway; it will be over by the time I publish it though). But for other gifts, it can be more significant of a change.

Take, for instance, the great hero Tony Stark. In the movie Iron Man. Mr. Stark is fatally injured and should very well die. Through the surgery of one Yinsen, Tony's life has been saved. Stark and Yinsen plan a daring escape from their imprisonment (by the way, they've been imprisoned), and in the process, Yinsen dies. His last words to Tony are simple.

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." 

Tony's life has been spared twice by the man Yinsen, and the last words seem to have an effect on Tony. He understands that he is greatly blessed, and responds accordingly. In an important point of the film, he tells Pepper simply,

"I shouldn't be alive... I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

I know the deepness of what I'm about to say is going to blow your mind, but here goes anyway. Jesus gave Himself to give us a blessing far greater than Tony's. Instead of having a chance at happiness in temporal life, Jesus died to give us guaranteed happiness for all eternity.

Tony responded to his blessing with a changed outlook and different behavior choices to pass on a better world to those around him. We as Christians should respond to our blessings with a different focus in life, and a strong desire and great boldness to better people's eternal (and temporal) situations.

But do we? Are we truly living lives that express gratitude to God for saving us? Are we trying to serve Him in all that we do? Or does our every moment become occupied with thoughts of work, fashion, culture, or community?

Not one of those four things I mentioned are bad, but my goodness is there more in life! I think we've all heard this quite clearly a gazillion times, but just think a moment. When I got my internet fixed, I set to work on getting tasks I needed to do done. When Tony's life was saved, he wasted no time turning his life around.

But do we react the same in response to our great blessing of eternal life? That's really all I want to challenge you with today. Look at your response to the almighty God's most gracious gift. Is it living a life of gratitude or do your actions say you just don't care?

I leave you with a quotation from C.T. Stubb,

"If Jesus Christ be God, and He died for me, there is nothing too big for me to do for Him." 

"All This Availeth Me Nothing"

Are you ready to do something scary? I want you to put yourselves in the station of Haman. Now let's not worry about the questions regarding his morals at the moment. Let's instead look solely at the privileges King Ahasuerus has given him.

You are practically second in command of the Persian Empire. The king has gone so far as to tell those in the king's gate to bow down to you when you pass by. The king has delegated his legislative powers to you with limited discretion. You carry the king's ring that seals all official documents on your own finger. On top of all that, you have been invited twice to a banquet where only the king and queen are present (remember that you know nothing of the queen's plot to expose you as the enemy of her people).

So why with so much privilege and wealth would you possibly be upset? The king subjects to all your will! What could make you say that, "All this availeth me nothing."

Well, let's find out. In Esther 5:11-13, we find our answer.

"And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."

You see, Mordecai has refused to bow to Haman. Now that this has been brought to his attention, he can't seem to be content.

This hurt pride has even caused him to seek the lives of all of Mordecai's people. But that decree is not being implemented fast enough for Haman at this point. He decided that he must hang Mordecai as soon as possible.

Now don't worry, Haman's plans to hang Mordecai are instead turned into him praising Mordecai for saving the king's life. Ultimately, Haman is even hanged upon the gallows he prepared for Mordecai. The Lord does love some poetic justice.

But today I am more interested in the desire to hang Mordecai itself rather than the way the Lord protected Mordecai in this situation.

Haman has everything that anyone could ever really ask for. He had no reason to complain about anything at all. But the simple truth is, greed is never satisfied. When our goal is our own benefit and station, no matter how many privileges we find, we will always be able to find something that is wrong in our life. There is always something that can bring you down.

In Haman's case it was his pride being insulted and his position disrespected. But what is it in our lives today?

We may even have received many blessings from the Lord and yet found one thing in our life that God has chosen for whatever reason to withhold. What is our focus then in this point? Is it on all that he has provided or is it on that which we don't have?

Typical human nature would have us focus upon that which we don't have and on the struggles in our life. But we can strive to not be like Haman in this way, and acknowledge the Lord's blessings instead.

It's as the Doctor says,

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant."

Yes, I did just quote the Doctor to make a spiritual point. He never intended it that way, but hey, the Lord can always have greater use for such things. If you want a more spiritual admonition, look to I Thessalonians 5:18,

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Now I may not be a Bible scholar yet, but I'm pretty sure that means that in every circumstance (no matter how trying) we should be giving thanks for the Lord. And that maybe just maybe we should acknowledge what God has provided for us and thank Him for that, rather than accuse Him of being a tyrant for withholding one thing from our life.

It's an outlook change. An outlook change that is very pleasing to the Lord. Trust me, although it's easy to act like Haman, it is possible and beneficial to search for the good things in life. As a good friend of mine constantly says,

"There's always something to smile about."  

Trials and Persecution 6: Together for Good

Many Christians like to point to the truths included in Romans 8:28 in a time of trial.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

This verse is commonly used as encouragement to those suffering, that ultimately all of the persecution we have in our life will ultimately work to provide us with a happier, more fulfilled life. But this is not a proper interpretation of this verse.

Yes it is true that occasionally we will see suffering working in order to save us from further harm, but nowhere does this verse truly tell us that we are to receive a fulfilled and abundant life on earth. If we examine the rest of Scriptures (particularly the New Testament) we learn that we are to live our lives for the glory and honor of God, and that truly that is the only purpose we have in life.

Thus, when it says that all things work together for good, why do we start to selfishly think that this good is something that is good for us? Nowhere in Scripture does it guarantee that our lives will be pleasant. They certainly can be joyful despite what we go through. But we have to acknowledge that our lives will bring persecution if we are truly living for God. Remember the words of 2 Timothy 3:12,

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

That persecution is in my mind, a small price in order to please the Lord, but it is a price. Pleasing the Lord does not promise rewards in this life.

In this life. That one phrase highlights a few deeper problem in Christian culture in relation to this verse. Since when have we become so concerned with the rewards we can receive temporarily on Earth anyway? Shouldn't we be more focused upon eternal rewards?

Yes, our eternal life is presented purely on the basis of the works of Jesus and our faith in Him. But our works can have an impact on the rewards that we will receive in Heaven. For instance, in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, we read,

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

We are promised rewards throughout Scripture for our service to the Lord, but they are always promised in eternity. In this world, we will have tribulation. In this world, we might not have the most enjoyable time. But in the next, we will have rewards.

I know this isn't the popular thing to say. Perhaps it is because it is a depressing subject that nobody wants to hear about.

But if there is one thing the Bible is clear about, it is this - the end of Christianity, the reason Christ came and died, was for our eternal benefit and not our temporal one.

When we interpret Romans 8:28 to refer to our temporal gain, we have divorced Christian life from its entire purpose. We have started to gain the wrong perspective on how we are to live our lives. Our ultimate goal has become to store up treasures on Earth, and not in Heaven. But Matthew 6:19-33 admonishes us,

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? ... Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

So as we go through our suffering in today's society, we do have this consolation from Romans 8:28, all things work together for the Lord's and our eternal gain. That's still a pretty encouraging thought to me.

Continue to Trials and Persecution 7: Day of Reflection

Trials and Persecution 4: Proper Focus

Last Thursday night, I heard an elementary-age child preach a short sermon to our church's congregation. If you can believe it, he actually presented a truth that I think many Christians desperately need to hear. As he preached on faith, he proclaimed simply,

"Does faith have a reward? Yes you can please God." 

It is not everyday that we consider the very act of pleasing God a reward in and of itself. Typically we think of pleasing the Lord as a means to an end. We consider it a prerequisite for receiving blessings in this life and the next.

Now indeed there is nothing wrong with desiring blessings in your lives, but why is that the sole reason we serve God? Shouldn't pleasing the Lord truly be a reward unto itself?

After all, when we make our friends or spouses laugh, we accept that smile as a reward for our efforts. We take joy in pleasing those that we care about and that are important to us. Indeed we will go to great lengths to ensure that we please those close to us, not for some ulterior motive, but just for the purpose of seeing them happy.

But who in our lives should we care about the most or be the closest to, but the Lord? We all know that the Lord has made many wonderful provisions for us whether in suffering or not. He with no obligation to whatsoever, has gone out of his way to make our lives worthwhile while we are basically nothing in comparison to him.

I John 4:10 states simply,

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

God loving us is not a trivial matter. It's not what one would expect in such a situation. It's not the norm for someone so magnificent to condescend to love someone so below his station.

At risk of belittling this love, look at class divisions today. It can be hard for a pastor to respect a prostitute, but it is usually not difficult for a prostitute to respect a pastor. Amplify that by infinity, and you have Jesus and us.

It should be very easy for us to love the Lord for what he has done for us. In so doing, we would have no other purpose than to sit and think about living entirely for him. As the banner I've mentioned previously states,

"He died for me. The least I can do is live for Him." 

If we truly understand these principles when we are in a trial in our lives, the trial begins to be inconsequential. It becomes rather light in comparison to the goal that is dominating our lives to serve and please the Lord, no matter the cost.

And that should be our focus, whether we're in a trial or not.

Continue to Trials and Persecution 5: Surviving Suffering

Trials and Persecutions 2: It's Just not Fair!

When faced with trials and suffering, our first thought is often, "Why, Lord, why would you do this? It's just not fair!"

Perhaps though we are applying the blame in the wrong place here. It would be wise for us to examine the history of suffering. Let us start at the very beginning.

In 6 days, God created the world, and all that is therein. As he created it, he saw that it was good. Indeed it was perfect - with no tears, no suffering, and no persecution. But alas, that state of blissful perfection wouldn't last.

The Lord put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden with one rule, and of course, they broke that rule. They were now sinners who were no longer worthy of being in the land of perfection. They were shown out of the garden and would soon find themselves in a life of travail.

In Genesis 3:17-19, we hear more specific details about the curse that fell upon all of mankind because of the sin of Adam.

"Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

R.C. Sproul further explains,

"God's immediate response to the transgression of the human race against his rule and authority was to curse the earth and human life. Death and suffering entered the world as a direct result of sin. We see the concrete manifestation of this in the realm of nature, where thorns become part of the garden and human life is now characterized by the sweat of the brow and the pain that attends even the birth of the baby."

Thus, if you want to be angry at someone when you are in the midst of a trial, your anger should be directed at Adam and Eve and not the Lord.

Indeed the Lord has been nothing but gracious throughout this situation. He would have had every right to just give up on humanity right then, to destroy us, or just to leave us to handle the struggles on our own, knowing the end would only cause us eternal suffering.

As such, every breath we take is a blessing from the Lord. We deserve nothing of this life! But the Lord has granted it to us anyway.

Even further, the Lord decided to save us from our eternal suffering by coming down to die on the cross! To go through physical and emotional agony just to allow us an opportunity to come into His presence eternally.

And just as if He hadn't done enough, he promises to strengthen us in our struggles in this world if we just cast our cares upon Him. As Christians, we don't have to go through this life alone. As Sarah Arthur explains,

"Jesus fought the war and came back to help us win the battles."

With these three great gifts from the Lord, it is so easy to see why James 1:17 declares,

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights."

I know that you might not want to listen to me. After all, I am just an 18 year-old man, who has probably never experienced true suffering in my life. Perhaps this is why at the moment, I only understand these things in my mind, but not yet the heart. But if we examine the words of Scripture as they come, we know that this is true, despite the fact that you are reading from a man with limited experience.

That which we have received of the Lord, we simply don't deserve. We are certainly right in this regard when we would sit and ask, "Why, Lord, why would you do this? It's just not fair!"

But when He takes material blessings from us, we feel hurt, even betrayed. But since we are not entitled to these blessings, why can't we be content with the blessings the Lord promises to never take away: walking in the presence of the Lord on this Earth and the next.

I pray that as I do find more trials in my life, I am able to believe the words of Job 1:21,

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Continue to Trials and Persecutions 3: Purpose

Trials and Persecution 1: The Inevitability of Suffering

There seems to be a trend emerging in our churches. There is a lesson that is being taught that goes like this - all the pleasures of this world can never satisfy you, and that the only way to prosperity and contentment is through recognizing the wonderful plan of Jesus Christ in your lives.

This narrative is completely accurate, but a bit misleading. You share this lesson with anyone, they will immediately think that living for God will allow us to find prosperity and success here on this Earth, that we will never truly have another trouble in the world. 

But that image is completely wrong. Indeed a careful examination of the Scriptures reveals to us quite the opposite. We are promised in 2 Timothy 3:12, 

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

Jesus himself was persecuted, tortured, and then crucified. He definitely did not live a prosperous life by the world's standards. Some might argue that he did all of that, so that we could enjoy life more abundantly. Yes, that is true, but not without persecution. Jesus specifically tells his disciples (that includes us) in John 15:18-21,

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me."

We know from history that Jesus' prophecy rings true. Every single one of the disciples endured much persecution. They were banished, stoned, beheaded, and crucified. Ray Comfort in his book, God has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message, wrote,

"Church tradition tells us the fate of several apostles and early evangelists:

Philip: Crucified, Phrygia, A.D. 54

Matthew: Beheaded, Ethiopia, A.D. 60

Barnabus: Burned to death, Cyprus, A.D. 64

Mark: Dragged to death, Alexandria, A.D. 64

James (the Less): Clubbed to death, Jerusalem, A.D. 66

Paul: Beheaded, Rome, A.D. 66

Peter: Crucified, Rome, A.D. 69

Andrew: Crucified, Rome, A.D. 70

Thomas: Speared to death, Calamina, A.D. 70

Luke: Hanged, Athens, A.D. 93"

Some might try to say that it's different these days. That the people of this age are not as evil as they were back then to persecute Christians. But that conflicts with the words of 2 Timothy 3:13,

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."

It may invoke a wonderful emotional response to say that our lives here on Earth will be all full of happiness if we accept Christ, but I believe it is more important to make sure our words are accurate than touching.

Yes, we will have the benefit of having Someone powerful in our lives to strengthen us through our trials and persecution, but we will still have such trials and persecutions.

Perhaps we should first understand the inevitability of struggles in our life before we begin to learn of the wonderful plan Jesus has for us. He does have one, but it isn't necessarily one that we might at first consider wonderful. It might not be comfortable, but I think we can all admit that God's presence in our lives (and the true purpose of salvation, eternal life) is much more valuable than the luxuries and comfort in this world.

Continue to Trials and Persecution 2: Just Not Fair

Trust in the Lord

Whenever I see lack of faith in mine or someone else's life, my first reaction is to think, "Hey, we're Christians here. We trust the Lord with eternity, why can't we seem to trust him for our everyday life?"

There is no clear answer. Perhaps it is because we desire autonomy in our life. Perhaps it is because we can see our everyday life more easily than we can eternity. Perhaps it is because we know we can't do anything for eternity, but think that we do have something to add to our own life. 

Of course, none of these excuses hold any water. We must fight against the urge to handle everything ourselves. Our flesh cannot please the Lord. It requires us to go a step beyond. Hebrews 11:6 tells us simply, 

"But without faith, it is impossible to please him because he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." 

If we can see so much of our everyday life, we should see that the Lord has wrought great miracles throughout it. He just doesn't save us and leave us to our own devices. No, he spends time creating a relationship and providing our every need. It may not always be what we want, it may not always be pleasant, but the Lord promises to preserve us unto his heavenly kingdom. 2 Timothy 4:18 says,

"The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom. To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

I think we all honestly know deep down that the Lord's plans for our life will always be better than our own. I Corinthians 1:25 states,

"The foolishness of God is wiser than man; and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

For instance, this last fall, my God made a move in my life I never would have considered good.  I had a very solid plan to attend Grove City College starting last year. Due to extraneous circumstances, I was unable to do that. At first, I was sad. And I was sad for a while. I grew over it soon enough and grew content to stay at home (for the most part). Then the Lord did things in my life here in Cincinnati that I doubt would ever have happened at Grove City. His plan regardless of how hopeless it initially looked to me was probably the best thing that's ever happened to me.

(Note: I would still recommend Grove City to anyone. The preceding paragraph should not be interpreted as bashing the college. It is a great school, but it wasn't the best option for me.)

So you see, this is why we should be so ready to live our life by Proverbs 3:5-6,

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."  

America's Biggest Problem

When we examine our government, we can outline several problems. We have a too strong central government. We have a nation whose people are content living off the government. We have a inconceivable tax burden. We have chosen economic winners and losers in our country. We have furthermore tried to determine on several occasions who wins and loses in conflicts on the opposite ends of the world.

Some wouldn't consider these problems. I do. Whether you do, or not is not the purpose of this post. No matter what you consider problems in America today, the biggest one is the lack of moral compass.

You may think this is no big deal, or that it is a problem with our culture, but certainly wouldn't affect our government, right? Our Founding Fathers would disagree.

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -John Adams

"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." -Benjamin Franklin

Our freedom according to these men is linked to our morality. Our morality, as we have discussed before, is linked with God and Christianity. Thus, our freedom is linked to Christianity and the Christian God.

What is the biggest problem our country faces? That we are not abiding by Psalm 33:12,

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

Count your Blessings

Thanksgiving. The day in which we feast and feast and feast. Oh and I think there's something to do with celebrating the blessings God has bestowed upon us, too. Obviously everyday should include us thanking God for his blessings, but during the hustle and bustle of this weekend, jumping from feast to feast (or store to store), take extra time to remember what God has done for each of us.

He has no need to do anything for us whatsoever. He is an all-powerful being, who could have just walked away from this world after He created it. Although he had the power to do whatever He wanted throughout the evil history of man, He has decided instead to show mercy unto this world, in instance such as Noah and the flood and Jesus on Calvary.  

Beyond showing us mercy and granting us eternal life, He has taken the opportunity to make himself approachable to us. He's made himself real to us, so we can craft a relationship with him.  

As if that wasn't enough, He has gone a step further. He has been sure to be there for us through all our need, 

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19

So I urge you today, to take some time to "Count your Blessings,"

"Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God hath done!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."