Jesus drew me into Himself by placing people in my life who looked very different from the rest of the world. These people were similarly imperfect and broken, but they were also very different from all of the people that I had know to this point in my life. These Christians were not living the selfish lives devoted to idol-worship like everyone else I knew to this point in my life. These Christians epitomized what it looks like to devote a life with the goal of bringing glory to God. They renounced, by action, the worship of money/stuff, self-praise/success, a good time, etc. I became a Christian because the way that my new friends lived, boldly declared "Jesus is alive."
If we truly believe that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever; if we want to make people glad in God, our lives must look as if God, not possessions/success/worldly-happiness, is our joy. If you truly understand and are gripped by what Jesus did for YOU on the cross, if you truly have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, if you are a Christian by Jesus' definition, finding joy in Him should be easy. He freely lifted you from the eternal weeping & gnashing of teeth that you had earned by your sin (your cosmic treason against the creator of everything) and gave to you as a gift freedom, joy ..even heaven. Christian, does this excite you!?
In 1 Tim 6:17 Paul warns about setting hopes on riches, comfort, money, etc. Why? Because God offers us something better. He says that God "richly supplies us with everything to enjoy". What more do you need outside of Him? The Creator of the universe is pursuing an everlasting one-on-one relationship with you. And yet, we continue to stray. We continue to seek out temporary relationships with fallen people, to build our personal success, comfort, etc. Why? C.S. Lewis famously stated, we are "like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
Friends, no one cares that you drive an Audi, that you shop at Neiman Marcus, eat at the expensive steakhouse downtown, are friends with people in high places, or spend your weekends doing nothing but relaxing & watching football on your massive TV. Firstly, all of these worldly things will burn & you're not going to them with you when you die. Secondly, it is simply not impressive. You're worshiping the same things that everyone who is apart from Christ in this world is worshiping. John Piper wrote in Don't Waste Your Life that "The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to
God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our
riches away for Christ's sake and count it gain." Or as Donald Miller once wrote: how much would you enjoy a movie about a guy who spent years to earn enough money just to buy a Volvo? You would want your time & money back after watching that movie. It's not impressive. It's not significant.
I know that I have money/responsibilities/connections to show that these things are not my god(s), Christ is. However, practically living this out is much easier when you're a jobless college student. Unfortunately, most of us gradually transition into a job that pays in actual US currency. It has taken me almost a hear and a half to realize just how difficult it is for a Christian to faithfully live amidst such wealth. I do not indent to throw out a blanket statement demonizing money. I do believe that it can be a blessing from God and there are plenty of biblical cases to support that claim. I also believe, in more cases than not, that Satan provides excessive wealth to rip away the joy offered through the cross by Jesus and replace it with lesser-joys. Satan may also offer us wealth/comfort/success so that the difference that I noticed in the Christians who led me to Christ is not visible. Isn't that his aim? Christian or not, idols blind us from true joy.
Lecrae has some great words on the topic: "Ain't nothing wrong with havin’ it. Matter fact, go and get it
But if you find identity in it then go ‘n forget it". I do miss the encouragement of living alongside of Christians whose joy
is found in Christ alone; who look different than the rest of the world;
who could pay cash for that penthouse condo you just bought (though you
can't really afford) but instead live moderate lives because they don't
need all of these worldly things.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said in The Cost of Discipleship: "The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ". Friends, Jesus Christ is is an exponentially greater treasure than every in this world. Chose to look different and don't be deceived: you can't serve two masters (Matt 6:24).
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
"Come to Me" - Jesus
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30What an amazing invitation that Jesus offers to us! I have been repeating it to myself for the last week and each time it weighs heavier and heavier on my heart. In last week's sermon on Luke 22:47-53, Pastor Mark Driscoll noted: "It's not enough to sit under good teaching or to believe it - you have to do what it says." Yet, how rarely do I go to Jesus with my burdens?
When we think of "doing what scripture says", we often think of following some sort of a law or rule. However, here, Jesus commands us to do something quite different. He invites us to follow Him. He says that when we follow Him, we will find rest for our burdened souls. Why? Because when we follow Jesus, He offers, us freedom/rest/closure/forgiveness for our past grievances. He also offers a much greater end goal for our lives...the only perfect end goal possible, Jesus.
Our sinful hearts often try to replace a few words in verse 28 to say "I will come to myself, myself being a laborer and heavy laden, and I will give myself rest." Doesn't that sound foolish? And yet, I, along with every single non-Christian try to do this daily.
God, the creator of heaven & earth, has extended an offer to you and I to take over our burdens, debts & sins, and carry them away to nail them to the cross. We have been given an invitation to serve a God who can both figuratively and literally move the mountains (Jeremiah 4:24) and yet we pridefully toil day in and day out with futile (I mean this figuratively in most cases, yet literally in some) attempts at moving pebbles.
It doesn't stop there, Jesus offers an invitation to even more than freedom from guilt, pain, sin, etc. He extends His hand down into the pit of Hell which we ALL (Romans 3:23) deserve to burn in Hell for eternity with the likes of unrepentant sinners like Hitler, Bin Laden, Charles Manson, and quite probably Ghandi; and offers an eternal party with Him in Heaven.
Christian and non-Christian, accept the invitation, cast your burdens of Jesus Christ, accept freedom, turn from your sin and come to Jesus. He has already done the work and made the first step.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Bonhoeffer on Peace
On August 28th 1934 Dietrich Bonhoeffer delivered his famous "Peace Speech" to the assembly gathered at the Conference at Fano. The speech is (in general) in response to the official German Church pledging allegiance to Adolf Hitler. In Eric Metaxas' biography of Bonhoeffer, he says that the assembly was breathless, that they would never forget what they just heard, and they were uncomfortable, but it was hard to miss the power behind the 28 year old Bonhoeffer's words:
"There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God's commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross."Wouldn't it be incredible if we would all live up to his vision and step out in faith. If we were to use the weapons that God has given us: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, readiness given by the gospel of peace as shoes, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6).
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sin in Disgusting
This weekend I biked 65 miles (doing it in less than 4 hours is also worth mentioning) in and around the city of Seattle. It was a great ride. I particularly love these long rides by myself because it gives me a few hours to just think, pray & reflect. Often my thoughts are spurred on by something I see along my ride.
Given Seattle's 12.9% homosexual population (source) it was only a matter of time until I ran into one (or two) in public. My first reaction was surprise...I can't say that I've ever seen two grown men walking down the street holding hands. But as I continued to ride and pray about what I had just witnessed something clicked.
I grew up in a hard-working blue-collar town just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am certain that if you picked this pair of men and moved them to Pittsburgh (or any blue-collar town) they would get all sorts of strange looks and comments. If you asked many of these residents why they don't approve of the actions of these two men, many people would say "it's gross", "it's wrong", "the round peg doesn't fit in the round peg", etc.
To cut to the chase, the Bible speaks of many sinful lifestyles. 1 Corinthians 6:9 says:
My point is that when people, particularly non-believers are grossed out by two grown men holding hands I think it is ultimately a disgust of sin. Like the Gentiles in Romans 2:15, they "show that the work of the law is written on their hearts". God is disgusted by sin. We are His image bearers. Thus, we (many of us) are disgusted by sin, as we should. Because homosexuality is a sin, we should be disgusted by homosexuality. We do, however, need to be careful to not single it out as the only sin prevalent in our culture (and cultures dating back thousands of years).
Ultimately, we are all un-deserving of God's kindness and free gift of grace. Sin is sin, it is just that we all have our choice of flavor. Just as much as an axe murderer, a pedophile, US politician or a homosexual, I need to ask for God's forgiveness and turn from my sin. And it is only through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God's sinless son, dying in my place, and rising again, that I have forgiveness and freedom.
Given Seattle's 12.9% homosexual population (source) it was only a matter of time until I ran into one (or two) in public. My first reaction was surprise...I can't say that I've ever seen two grown men walking down the street holding hands. But as I continued to ride and pray about what I had just witnessed something clicked.
I grew up in a hard-working blue-collar town just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am certain that if you picked this pair of men and moved them to Pittsburgh (or any blue-collar town) they would get all sorts of strange looks and comments. If you asked many of these residents why they don't approve of the actions of these two men, many people would say "it's gross", "it's wrong", "the round peg doesn't fit in the round peg", etc.
To cut to the chase, the Bible speaks of many sinful lifestyles. 1 Corinthians 6:9 says:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality"Maybe 1 Timothy 1:9-10 makes my point more impactful:
"Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted."Many of the wonderful citizens of not only Pittsburgh but Seattle alike, would be disgusted by a petophile (sexually immoral), or a murderer (does the Casey Anthony murder trial ring a bell?), slave drivers, liars, etc. Because of our sinful nature, many seem to want the sin of homosexuality to slip by as being "okay" because it's "progressive" (all the way back to the stone-age right?).
My point is that when people, particularly non-believers are grossed out by two grown men holding hands I think it is ultimately a disgust of sin. Like the Gentiles in Romans 2:15, they "show that the work of the law is written on their hearts". God is disgusted by sin. We are His image bearers. Thus, we (many of us) are disgusted by sin, as we should. Because homosexuality is a sin, we should be disgusted by homosexuality. We do, however, need to be careful to not single it out as the only sin prevalent in our culture (and cultures dating back thousands of years).
Ultimately, we are all un-deserving of God's kindness and free gift of grace. Sin is sin, it is just that we all have our choice of flavor. Just as much as an axe murderer, a pedophile, US politician or a homosexual, I need to ask for God's forgiveness and turn from my sin. And it is only through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God's sinless son, dying in my place, and rising again, that I have forgiveness and freedom.
Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health
A few months ago, before moving out west, my pastor in Harrisburg handed me a really good book titled "Ten Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health" by Don Whitney. I read it soon thereafter and as I often do, took notes via computer. Tim Challies posted a link to the Kindle version of the book Amazon is offering for FREE (a used hard copy is pretty inexpensive too). I figured that I would give my plug for the book and post a few of the notes I took.
I'm sure Paul's primary motivation in giving me the book is because I mentioned how I often struggled reading through the Psalms. I've always felt as though I couldn't relate to much of the extreme lovey-dovey or persecuted church sounding psalms. Paul (and Don) suggested praying through not just the Psalms but all of scripture. In short, it really gives light and personal meaning to much of the scripture that may seems distant from us...because it's really not. Praying through Romans 8 is particularly incredible.
Here is a short excerpt from my notes of each chapter:
Chapter 1: Do You Thirst For God?
In Philippians 3:10, Paul wrote of the passion that propelled him: “that I may know Him”. Don points out that he already knew Jesus more closely than perhaps anyone else ever would. “The more Paul progressed in spiritual strength, the more thirsty for God he became.
Meditating on John 4:14 (“whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst”, John Piper says: “When you drink my water, your thirst is not destroyed forever. If it did that, would you feel any need of my water afterward? That is not my goal. I do not want self-sufficient saints. When you drink my water, it makes a spring in your. A spring satisfies thirst, not by removing the need you have for water, but by being there to give you water whenever you get thirsty. Again and again and again. Like this morning. So drink, John. Drink”
Chapter 2: Are You Governed Increasingly by God’s Word?
Don asks a few questions:
“You know that God’s Word is growing in its influence over you when you can point to increasing numbers of beliefs and actions that have been changed because of the potency of specific texts of Scripture” (35).
Chapter 3: Are You More Loving?
A predominant “badge and character” of a growing Christian is an increasing love for others. Not Paul, John the Baptist, D.A. Carson, or John Piper live up to the 1 Corinthians 13 standard of love...only Jesus Christ can/has done that.
As people living in a fallen world, we often wrongly call things “love” that are actually “natural affection” (Romans 1:31, 2 Timothy 3:3)...we naturally love certain people, like our parents or children. We also mask our self-love with “love”...before calling something love, we should ask ourselves “Does it please me first?”
Chapter 4: Are You More Sensitive To God’s Presence?
“I do not mean that we should frequently feel a supernatural presence, for that can be extremely unreliable. Nevertheless, it should not be unusual for us, wherever we are, to recognize that ‘God is here’” (56).
While God’s physical presence surrounds us just like the air (Acts 17:28), “To know the indwelling presence of Christ, one must first, in Jesus’ words, “Repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15)” (59).
“The basis of our experience with God is God-revealed truth, not our individual, idiosyncratic opinions about God. We are then much more likely to sense the presence of God as He really is rather than as a God compromised of our preferences” (61). If we take the Rob Bell approach of relativism, then how do we know that we didn’t just have an encounter with a demonic presence masterfully masquerading as an “angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14).
“it’s one thing to long for a sense of God’s presence while not experiencing it, and another to live routinely with no awareness of His absence” (64). The first is marked by the Christian’s agony (as when Jesus cried “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me” - Mat 27:24), the second of apathy.
Chapter 5: Do You Have A Growing Concern For The Spiritual And Temporal Needs Of Others?
In John 4:24, Jesus tells us to “worship in spirit and truth”; however, most of us have an emphasis on either spirit or truth. But in Mark 6:34-44, Jesus cares for the 5,000 physically. Don rephrases James 2:15-16 by saying what we say when we fail to care for people’s temporal needs: “I love you so much and am so concerned about you that I want to give you the words of eternal life, but I don’t care enough to address your basic and pressing physical need”. However, the existence of a need does not always mean a call to meet it. Not even Jesus responded to every need He could have met (Luke 12:1).
Chapter 6: Do You Delight In the Bride Of Christ
“Just as candy delights a child, so the child of God does not have to be persuaded to delight in the supernatural spiritual sweetness found only in God’s church. Delight in the church is inborn in those who are born again” (85).
“The reason why growing Christians so readily delight in being with the saints of God is the real presence of God Himself living within ordinary people we know. Ultimately, you are delighted by Him in them” (86).
Chapter 7: Are the Spiritual Disciplines Increasingly Important To You?
Spiritual Disciples - “the God-ordained means by which we bring ourselves before God, experience Him, and are changed into Christlikeness.”
1 Timothy 4:7 says “Discipline yourself, for the purpose of godliness”. But also keep in mind that these spiritual disciplines are not by themselves the marks of Christlikeness as the means to it (96). Time spent in these disciplines does not matter quite as much as how much they are influencing us.
Chapter 8: Do You Still Grieve Over Sin?
“The closer you get to Christ, the more you will hate sin; for nothing is more unlike Christ than sin” (102). The more like Christ we are, the more sincerely we can join Paul in calling ourselves the worst of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
As we grow nearer to God, we are continually convicted of sin in our lives that we previously had no clue even was sin. A.W. Pink explained, “It is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors [of faith].” Thomas Bernard said: “Our sense of sin ins in proportion to our nearness to God”. Thus, “increased sensitivity to your sin is a mark of growth” (103).
Repentance should not be heartless and mechanical. Godly sorrow is much more than admitting your imperfections - rather, it brings about repentance, a change of mind about the sin that produces a change of behavior. Without true repentance, there is no godly sorrow.
Chapter 9: Are You a Quick Forgiver?
This does not mean that we are forgiven BY forgiving others, but that the character of true Christian will be quick to forgive. KNOWING that God has forgiven me of a debt of sin that I could never repay, I am willing to forgive others.
Our forgiveness should not be dependent on repentance of the other party. As soon as the nails were driven through Jesus’ hands, he prayed “Father, forgive them”.
Chapter 10: Do you Yearn For Heaven And To Be With Jesus?
“There’s nothing uniquely Christian about longing for an end to a wearying existence and the beginning of a new and more restful one” (124)...even Buddhists, Muslims, and atheists want that. Thus the question should not be “Do you yearn for Heaven?” but rather “For which Heaven and which Jesus do you yearn?” A Christian should feel less and less at home in our sin ridden world and instead look forward a holy place, holy people, and a holy God.
Sorry that ended up being so long. I tried to abridge my notes as much as possible without losing anything significant. If you're really too lazy to read the book, I'd be happy to send you the rest of my notes.
I'm sure Paul's primary motivation in giving me the book is because I mentioned how I often struggled reading through the Psalms. I've always felt as though I couldn't relate to much of the extreme lovey-dovey or persecuted church sounding psalms. Paul (and Don) suggested praying through not just the Psalms but all of scripture. In short, it really gives light and personal meaning to much of the scripture that may seems distant from us...because it's really not. Praying through Romans 8 is particularly incredible.
Here is a short excerpt from my notes of each chapter:
Chapter 1: Do You Thirst For God?
In Philippians 3:10, Paul wrote of the passion that propelled him: “that I may know Him”. Don points out that he already knew Jesus more closely than perhaps anyone else ever would. “The more Paul progressed in spiritual strength, the more thirsty for God he became.
Meditating on John 4:14 (“whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst”, John Piper says: “When you drink my water, your thirst is not destroyed forever. If it did that, would you feel any need of my water afterward? That is not my goal. I do not want self-sufficient saints. When you drink my water, it makes a spring in your. A spring satisfies thirst, not by removing the need you have for water, but by being there to give you water whenever you get thirsty. Again and again and again. Like this morning. So drink, John. Drink”
Chapter 2: Are You Governed Increasingly by God’s Word?
Don asks a few questions:
- Do you find yourself inquiring - consciously - how the Bible speaks to specific areas of life?
- Do you ask others, perhaps those in spiritual leadership or who are mature, to help you apply Scripture in particular situations?
- Is it your practice to actually turn the pages of the Bible in search of the will of God?
“You know that God’s Word is growing in its influence over you when you can point to increasing numbers of beliefs and actions that have been changed because of the potency of specific texts of Scripture” (35).
Chapter 3: Are You More Loving?
A predominant “badge and character” of a growing Christian is an increasing love for others. Not Paul, John the Baptist, D.A. Carson, or John Piper live up to the 1 Corinthians 13 standard of love...only Jesus Christ can/has done that.
As people living in a fallen world, we often wrongly call things “love” that are actually “natural affection” (Romans 1:31, 2 Timothy 3:3)...we naturally love certain people, like our parents or children. We also mask our self-love with “love”...before calling something love, we should ask ourselves “Does it please me first?”
Chapter 4: Are You More Sensitive To God’s Presence?
“I do not mean that we should frequently feel a supernatural presence, for that can be extremely unreliable. Nevertheless, it should not be unusual for us, wherever we are, to recognize that ‘God is here’” (56).
While God’s physical presence surrounds us just like the air (Acts 17:28), “To know the indwelling presence of Christ, one must first, in Jesus’ words, “Repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15)” (59).
“The basis of our experience with God is God-revealed truth, not our individual, idiosyncratic opinions about God. We are then much more likely to sense the presence of God as He really is rather than as a God compromised of our preferences” (61). If we take the Rob Bell approach of relativism, then how do we know that we didn’t just have an encounter with a demonic presence masterfully masquerading as an “angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14).
“it’s one thing to long for a sense of God’s presence while not experiencing it, and another to live routinely with no awareness of His absence” (64). The first is marked by the Christian’s agony (as when Jesus cried “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me” - Mat 27:24), the second of apathy.
Chapter 5: Do You Have A Growing Concern For The Spiritual And Temporal Needs Of Others?
In John 4:24, Jesus tells us to “worship in spirit and truth”; however, most of us have an emphasis on either spirit or truth. But in Mark 6:34-44, Jesus cares for the 5,000 physically. Don rephrases James 2:15-16 by saying what we say when we fail to care for people’s temporal needs: “I love you so much and am so concerned about you that I want to give you the words of eternal life, but I don’t care enough to address your basic and pressing physical need”. However, the existence of a need does not always mean a call to meet it. Not even Jesus responded to every need He could have met (Luke 12:1).
Chapter 6: Do You Delight In the Bride Of Christ
“Just as candy delights a child, so the child of God does not have to be persuaded to delight in the supernatural spiritual sweetness found only in God’s church. Delight in the church is inborn in those who are born again” (85).
“The reason why growing Christians so readily delight in being with the saints of God is the real presence of God Himself living within ordinary people we know. Ultimately, you are delighted by Him in them” (86).
Chapter 7: Are the Spiritual Disciplines Increasingly Important To You?
Spiritual Disciples - “the God-ordained means by which we bring ourselves before God, experience Him, and are changed into Christlikeness.”
1 Timothy 4:7 says “Discipline yourself, for the purpose of godliness”. But also keep in mind that these spiritual disciplines are not by themselves the marks of Christlikeness as the means to it (96). Time spent in these disciplines does not matter quite as much as how much they are influencing us.
Chapter 8: Do You Still Grieve Over Sin?
“The closer you get to Christ, the more you will hate sin; for nothing is more unlike Christ than sin” (102). The more like Christ we are, the more sincerely we can join Paul in calling ourselves the worst of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
As we grow nearer to God, we are continually convicted of sin in our lives that we previously had no clue even was sin. A.W. Pink explained, “It is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors [of faith].” Thomas Bernard said: “Our sense of sin ins in proportion to our nearness to God”. Thus, “increased sensitivity to your sin is a mark of growth” (103).
Repentance should not be heartless and mechanical. Godly sorrow is much more than admitting your imperfections - rather, it brings about repentance, a change of mind about the sin that produces a change of behavior. Without true repentance, there is no godly sorrow.
Chapter 9: Are You a Quick Forgiver?
This does not mean that we are forgiven BY forgiving others, but that the character of true Christian will be quick to forgive. KNOWING that God has forgiven me of a debt of sin that I could never repay, I am willing to forgive others.
Our forgiveness should not be dependent on repentance of the other party. As soon as the nails were driven through Jesus’ hands, he prayed “Father, forgive them”.
Chapter 10: Do you Yearn For Heaven And To Be With Jesus?
“There’s nothing uniquely Christian about longing for an end to a wearying existence and the beginning of a new and more restful one” (124)...even Buddhists, Muslims, and atheists want that. Thus the question should not be “Do you yearn for Heaven?” but rather “For which Heaven and which Jesus do you yearn?” A Christian should feel less and less at home in our sin ridden world and instead look forward a holy place, holy people, and a holy God.
Sorry that ended up being so long. I tried to abridge my notes as much as possible without losing anything significant. If you're really too lazy to read the book, I'd be happy to send you the rest of my notes.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Changes
It would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed in my life since my last post. I would first like apologize to anyone that may have thought that I fell off the face of the earth...I'm still here. Here's a very brief life update:
My last day of work in our Harrisburg office was April 17th. I left for Pittsburgh later that day, to begin a 5 day cross country road trip to my new home in Seattle, WA. You can see some pictures HERE. The trip was amazing and something that I wish every US citizen could/would do. It is amazing what our country has to offer...I would much rather do that drive again than spend a week on some Caribbean island.
After living in a Bellevue, WA hotel for 2 weeks I headed to China (Shanghai, Kunshan, Shenzhen, Longhau, Zhuhai, Hong Kong) for another 2 weeks (for work). This was an amazing experience and was certainly eye opening. Three things stick out in my mind: (1) The food usually tasted pretty good but there are heads and bones on/in everything. It's not much of a stretch to say that I ate in a Petco while there. When you walk in they hand you a net and you pull out what you want to eat from a room full of aquariums. Then they cook and serve it...eyes still glaring up at you. (2) Several places in China have far worst pollution than LA. I wish I had worn ski goggles because it burns your eyes. (3) The Chinese are some of the most friendly, caring people that I've ever met. I'm looking forward to a return trip...hopefully I'll be able to speak a little more Mandarin by then.
On Memorial Day weekend I moved into my new high-rise downtown Bellevue (eastside of Seattle) apartment as soon as my flight home landed...and I slept on the floor in my unfurnished apartment for a few days...literally, I didn't move for a few days (good thing I had Monday off!). I've since furnished my apartment, found a church (that was a tough one...Mars Hill being so close and all), found great community at Mars Hill, have gotten settled into the area & work, and have even gotten back into the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook...if only I could get back into that mass-reading plan.
I'll hopefully get back into this in the next few days.
I'll hopefully get back into this in the next few days.
Monday, April 18, 2011
My Cross Country Road Trip
I guess by now most of you know that I recently accepted a relocation offer from my company to Redmond, WA (east-side of Seattle). While most all of my belongings are being taken by truck, I was given the option to take 3 extra vacation days and drive across the country from Harrisburg, PA to Redmond, WA. I'm also incredibly fortunate to have a friend coming along for the ride. Even more fortunately, his hilarity will undoubtedly make this a trip to remember for a lifetime.
Here's my tentative route:
View Larger Map
First evening (187 miles): Harrisburg, PA to my parent's house - need to do a quick last minute cosmetic car repair and it's on the way.
Day 1 (540 miles): Belle Vernon, PA to Chicago, IL - meeting up with some friends from Shure at an amazing blues bar
Day 2 (934 miles): Chicago, IL to Mt Rushmore, SD - who doesn't want to see some giant faces carved into a mountain? Though, I can say with near certainty we're not making it all the way there in one day and will probably stop 3/4th way.
Day 3 (590 miles): Mt Rushmore to Yellowstone, WY - 'nuff said
Day 4: Spend the day in the park
Day 5 (771 miles): Yellowstone to Seattle, WA
All in all, that's just over 3000 miles through 11 states...I'll post some pictures when it's over.
Here's my tentative route:
View Larger Map
First evening (187 miles): Harrisburg, PA to my parent's house - need to do a quick last minute cosmetic car repair and it's on the way.
Day 1 (540 miles): Belle Vernon, PA to Chicago, IL - meeting up with some friends from Shure at an amazing blues bar
Day 2 (934 miles): Chicago, IL to Mt Rushmore, SD - who doesn't want to see some giant faces carved into a mountain? Though, I can say with near certainty we're not making it all the way there in one day and will probably stop 3/4th way.
Day 3 (590 miles): Mt Rushmore to Yellowstone, WY - 'nuff said
Day 4: Spend the day in the park
Day 5 (771 miles): Yellowstone to Seattle, WA
All in all, that's just over 3000 miles through 11 states...I'll post some pictures when it's over.
Creation that Points to Glory
I am constantly being floored by the beauty and perfection of God's creation that points to His glory.
The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
Though, let us not fall into the sin of worshiping created things over Creator.
"Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing." (Isaiah 40:26)
The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
Though, let us not fall into the sin of worshiping created things over Creator.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Called to Work
In thinking about my recent decision to relocate from Harrisburg, PA, clear across the country to Seattle, WA, the topic of being 'called to work' seemed to be a common theme. A recent 4-part post on the Gospel Coalition web page was particularly helpful. It paints a very clear picture of why we work: "You work because it glorifies God."
Here are a few highlights:
Work is not merely a means to an end.
(1) "Go to work tomorrow or next month or next year and do your absolute best."
(2) "[D]on’t expect life at work to be peachy...Work doesn’t always work the way it should."
(3) "[L]earn the Ten Commandments. Especially the fourth one: the Sabbath."
(4) "[G]et yourself into the discipline of praying the Lord’s Prayer before work and after work and during work. Not to get God to do something for you, but to get yourself into a God-centered rhythm of life."
You can read the whole thing: here
Here are a few highlights:
Work is not merely a means to an end.
"If we are to live all of life for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), then we need a God-centered view of work. It’s not enough that we try to honor God in how we do our work, or that we try to be Christlike to people at work, or that we support God’s kingdom with the money we make from work. The glory of God must inform and transform our view of work itself....We are using work. We’re in it for what we get out of it. God may be honored in the results of our work, but he is not supreme in our view of work itself"We were made for work.
"The most notable thing about this passage [Gen 2:7-9; 15] is that it takes place before the Fall. Work is not a result of sin. It is part of God’s original design for humanity... God put Adam in the garden of Eden to work it and to care for it. Let this sink in: Work is what we were created for."
"One of my seminary professors used to say, “God expected Adam and Eve to split the atom.” He didn’t just intend for them to have babies and plant trees. They were meant to exercise dominion over all of creation, turning the entire earth into a showcase of the glory and beauty and majesty of God—and then working it and caring for it for all of eternity."Work is good, but because of the Fall, work is hard.
"It’s important that we see both the goodness of work in God’s original creation and the struggle of work under the Fall. If we only see the good, we’ll be frustrated when things don’t go as they should. If we only see the bad, we’ll have a hard time doing our work to the glory of God."Tips for Monday morning:
(1) "Go to work tomorrow or next month or next year and do your absolute best."
(2) "[D]on’t expect life at work to be peachy...Work doesn’t always work the way it should."
(3) "[L]earn the Ten Commandments. Especially the fourth one: the Sabbath."
(4) "[G]et yourself into the discipline of praying the Lord’s Prayer before work and after work and during work. Not to get God to do something for you, but to get yourself into a God-centered rhythm of life."
You can read the whole thing: here
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
How Does Your Understanding of the Gospel Affect Your Evangelism?
This past weekend I attended a world missions conference. The conference was certainly geared toward a young audience, though I really found Bob Lenz's messages both encouraging, challenging, and even humorous. I also found it very refreshing worshiping for hours with the band Reilly. Lecrae really topped off the evening by boldly preaching the gospel with more passion that I've even seen from Piper...the man sure has a gift and I'm really thankful he's using it for the glory of God.
Nonetheless, in one of his messages, Bob Lenz shared the following statistic:
I want to first be very clear that I do NOT mean to discourage youth ministry in any way. It is indeed a very important calling and one that must be done. Christian parents, especially have an enormous responsibility. My reason for writing this post is that I cannot help but look at that statistic as though the cup were half empty: we, as Christian adults are only reaching 15% of those who didn't grow up in a Christian family. As someone who had never heard the gospel until I was 20 years old, that statistic breaks my heart. Had God not brought someone into my life to share with me who God was and what He had done...I would have remained dead in my sin.
Again, not to discredit the importance of reaching out to the youth that we are given the opportunity to evangelize, but have we (the church as a whole) given up on unbelieving adults? Bob shared another statistic: "9 out of 10 Christians will never lead another person to Christ." That statistic might break my heart even more than the first. Is our faith really that stale and unfruitful?
I'm currently reading Bonhoeffer's biography (which I'm having a LOT of trouble putting down). The book is worth buying even for the 2 page foreword by Tim Keller. He writes:
If our eyes are actually on the gospel, I am certain that we would be so excited about it, so clear on God's absolute hatred of sin and it's resulting consequences, and so amazed by God's love for us, that we could do nothing more than proclaim Christ with the passion that would make anyone who sees us, ask about our joy.
Nonetheless, in one of his messages, Bob Lenz shared the following statistic:
85% of all Christians in the Church were saved before the age of 18. Furthermore, 75% of that 85% [i.e. 64%] came to know Christ before the age of 14.In this particular message, Bob was talking about youth missions...how we should not overlook America's youth as the most unreached people group in the world (less than 2% of youth under age 14 are in church).
I want to first be very clear that I do NOT mean to discourage youth ministry in any way. It is indeed a very important calling and one that must be done. Christian parents, especially have an enormous responsibility. My reason for writing this post is that I cannot help but look at that statistic as though the cup were half empty: we, as Christian adults are only reaching 15% of those who didn't grow up in a Christian family. As someone who had never heard the gospel until I was 20 years old, that statistic breaks my heart. Had God not brought someone into my life to share with me who God was and what He had done...I would have remained dead in my sin.
Again, not to discredit the importance of reaching out to the youth that we are given the opportunity to evangelize, but have we (the church as a whole) given up on unbelieving adults? Bob shared another statistic: "9 out of 10 Christians will never lead another person to Christ." That statistic might break my heart even more than the first. Is our faith really that stale and unfruitful?
I'm currently reading Bonhoeffer's biography (which I'm having a LOT of trouble putting down). The book is worth buying even for the 2 page foreword by Tim Keller. He writes:
"True grace comes to us by costly sacrifice. And if God was willing to go to the cross and endure such pain and absorb such a cost in order to save us, then we must live sacrificially as we serve others. Anyone who truly understands how God's grace comes to us will have a changed life. That's the gospel, not salvation by law, or by cheap grace, but by costly grace. Costly grace changes you from the inside out."Now, if we really have been affected by the gospel; if we really do understand it...why do only 10% of Christians end up leading another to Christ? How are we not so excited about Christ, and so understanding of what they are missing that we don't time-and-time-again share the gospel and disciple them, even when it is uncomfortable? If we really understand the gospel, how are our hearts not so set ablaze by what He has done for us that Christ is not our single all-consuming passion? I have to admit that I am as guilty of pursuing other passions (often godly passions) as the next guy. I think we, as a church, really need to take the time to focus ourselves solely on the gospel. I know that I need to meditate on it with no outside distractions until I really get it. And even when we do think we "get it", we need to not glance away, lest we might lose sight of it.
If our eyes are actually on the gospel, I am certain that we would be so excited about it, so clear on God's absolute hatred of sin and it's resulting consequences, and so amazed by God's love for us, that we could do nothing more than proclaim Christ with the passion that would make anyone who sees us, ask about our joy.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
What I Learned From the Rob Bell Debacle
I’m sure by now, you’ve heard of Rob Bell’s new book titled “Love Wins” and the vast amount of criticism surrounding the book. Beginning with Justin Taylor’s initial comments based on a video that Bell release to promote the book, to Tim Challies initial review, to Kevin DeYoung’s review, etc. Ultimately, I think Driscoll has the BEST response on the TOPIC. The statistics of people writing on Bell over the past few weeks is remarkable. When Tim Challies posted his book review, he reported that 50k more people than usual stopped by his site to read his review. This is not a small or a light matter.
I really don’t think there is much question that Rob Bell has fallen off the deep end into liberal theology. As he did in Velvet Elvis, he interprets the Bible to conform to his own worldview based on what feels good or comfortable to him. As Driscoll has been pointing out, there have been quite a few heretics preaching the same universalistic views as Bell is for centuries (my grandmother being one of them).
My first reaction is pure disbelief of how anyone could read the Bible and and come to Bell’s conclusion. Jesus bluntly said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” in John 14:6. Scripture is full of this truth...and without scripture, you are no longer left with Christianity, but rather some self-centered ideological spirituality.
My second reaction was anger/disgust and admittedly sinful. I thought: “wow, Rob Bell, it’s too bad that once in hell, you won’t be able to report back that you were wrong, to the thousands of followers that you are dragging down with you”. Ultimately, we need him to know that he is wrong and to admit to his followers that he is leading them astray, in order to not further undo the immense amount of gospel work that he has already wrecked.
My third reaction was back to confusion. I want to camp out here for a minute. How do we have so many people that not only study, but teach the Bible on a daily basis that know so little about the character of God? I understand that it’s the same case as was with the Pharisees who never “knew” God. But why do we have people like Richard Mouw, the president of Fuller Theological Seminary, calling Love Wins “a great book, well within the bounds of orthodox Christianity and passionate about Jesus”...to that statement my response is: only if those bounds are so far away that we can’t see either end and the Jesus he is referring to is actually the name of the Latin fruit salesman on a low-budget Spanish soap opera. Mouw went on to say “There are stingy people who just want to consign many others to hell and only a few to heaven and take delight in the idea.” You can read more of this crap, here. This is the point where I get really confused in their logic. God does not delight in sending anyone to hell; I don’t delight in seeing (figuratively) anyone sent there. Yes, Mathhew 7:14 says “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few”. Unlike many liberals are willing to, I’m not going to pull a Thomas Jefferson and cut that verse out of the Bible with a razor blade because it’s difficult to grasp. Rob Bell, Richard Mouw, etc., if you really do love people and don’t secretly delight in seeing people sent to hell...stop lying to the lost, preach the true gospel of the Bible, and stop leading people away from Christ and into hell.
Now, here’s the part that really has be confused. When someone like John Piper joins the discussion, the liberal side of the discussion always seems to wind up attacking him, saying that he is a fundamentalist, he is hateful, unloving, and un-passionate about Christ...the absolute opposite description that anyone would give who has ever listened to or read the man. Have you ever heard a Piper sermon that didn’t have at least one hefty encouragement to world missions? There is no inclusivism whatsoever in his, or many Reformed ministries. Driscoll is a great example of this; if Mars Hill (Driscoll’s, not Rob Bell’s) was inclusive, how could you explain the enormous growth in believers while preaching this so called “inclusive and offensive message”? Additionally, Mouw states: “But Rob Bell allows for a lot of mystery in how Jesus reaches people"...buddy, if there is one thing the Bible is dead nuts clear on, it is of our need for Jesus. There are many ways to Jesus, but only one way to the Father...that being Jesus. I find it absolutely amazing how Bell and his buddies always seem to follow a pattern of “let’s talk” and then when the questions get tough, duck out the back door with no accountability or need to engage and respond to any questions or opposing view.
Update: Rob Bell was on MSNBC for a few short minutes and pretty much got ripped apart by a reporter this evening. I’m amazed how he couldn’t answer a simple question regarding suffering (maybe he should have paid a little more attention to Piper -- he could have at least referenced Romans 8:28). I’m also amazed at the number of times that he seemingly contradicts himself in the brief interview.
My final reaction is a realization that we are utterly dependent on God to get us through this and every situation. I am clueless, not to mention incapable of persuading those with hardened hearts of the truth, only God can do that. Thankfully, there are enough people, who can actually speak logically, who can see what an idiot Rob Bell is, who refuse to follow him down to hell, who God can use to speak truth to those who are not discerning enough to divert from Bell's lead. Thankfully, because of God's providence, His will, will be done. I am completely dependent through prayer that God would open the eyes of the millions of people with erroneous views of the gospel and the Bible. Buddah’s not going to save you, Allah is nothing more than a demon (if not an imaginary character), Star Trek is just a TV show, your money will burn, you car will rust, at some point you will retire from your job (if you don't die first), and there is no saving gospel in Rob Bell’s message. Jesus is the one and only way to Heaven. Pray with me that God would use the discussion sparked by this crappy book to grow in numbers and faith people with a passion for Christ.
As for my one and only response to the book itself, I offer a single quotation by J. Gresham Machen in 'Christianity & Liberalism'. He states: “Religion cannot be made joyful simply by looking on the bright side of God. For a one-sided God is not a real God, and it is the real God alone who can satisfy the longing of our soul. God is love, but is He only love? God is love, but is love God?” (HT: Justin Taylor). God is more than love. God, will win.
I really don’t think there is much question that Rob Bell has fallen off the deep end into liberal theology. As he did in Velvet Elvis, he interprets the Bible to conform to his own worldview based on what feels good or comfortable to him. As Driscoll has been pointing out, there have been quite a few heretics preaching the same universalistic views as Bell is for centuries (my grandmother being one of them).
My first reaction is pure disbelief of how anyone could read the Bible and and come to Bell’s conclusion. Jesus bluntly said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” in John 14:6. Scripture is full of this truth...and without scripture, you are no longer left with Christianity, but rather some self-centered ideological spirituality.
My second reaction was anger/disgust and admittedly sinful. I thought: “wow, Rob Bell, it’s too bad that once in hell, you won’t be able to report back that you were wrong, to the thousands of followers that you are dragging down with you”. Ultimately, we need him to know that he is wrong and to admit to his followers that he is leading them astray, in order to not further undo the immense amount of gospel work that he has already wrecked.
My third reaction was back to confusion. I want to camp out here for a minute. How do we have so many people that not only study, but teach the Bible on a daily basis that know so little about the character of God? I understand that it’s the same case as was with the Pharisees who never “knew” God. But why do we have people like Richard Mouw, the president of Fuller Theological Seminary, calling Love Wins “a great book, well within the bounds of orthodox Christianity and passionate about Jesus”...to that statement my response is: only if those bounds are so far away that we can’t see either end and the Jesus he is referring to is actually the name of the Latin fruit salesman on a low-budget Spanish soap opera. Mouw went on to say “There are stingy people who just want to consign many others to hell and only a few to heaven and take delight in the idea.” You can read more of this crap, here. This is the point where I get really confused in their logic. God does not delight in sending anyone to hell; I don’t delight in seeing (figuratively) anyone sent there. Yes, Mathhew 7:14 says “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few”. Unlike many liberals are willing to, I’m not going to pull a Thomas Jefferson and cut that verse out of the Bible with a razor blade because it’s difficult to grasp. Rob Bell, Richard Mouw, etc., if you really do love people and don’t secretly delight in seeing people sent to hell...stop lying to the lost, preach the true gospel of the Bible, and stop leading people away from Christ and into hell.
Now, here’s the part that really has be confused. When someone like John Piper joins the discussion, the liberal side of the discussion always seems to wind up attacking him, saying that he is a fundamentalist, he is hateful, unloving, and un-passionate about Christ...the absolute opposite description that anyone would give who has ever listened to or read the man. Have you ever heard a Piper sermon that didn’t have at least one hefty encouragement to world missions? There is no inclusivism whatsoever in his, or many Reformed ministries. Driscoll is a great example of this; if Mars Hill (Driscoll’s, not Rob Bell’s) was inclusive, how could you explain the enormous growth in believers while preaching this so called “inclusive and offensive message”? Additionally, Mouw states: “But Rob Bell allows for a lot of mystery in how Jesus reaches people"...buddy, if there is one thing the Bible is dead nuts clear on, it is of our need for Jesus. There are many ways to Jesus, but only one way to the Father...that being Jesus. I find it absolutely amazing how Bell and his buddies always seem to follow a pattern of “let’s talk” and then when the questions get tough, duck out the back door with no accountability or need to engage and respond to any questions or opposing view.
Update: Rob Bell was on MSNBC for a few short minutes and pretty much got ripped apart by a reporter this evening. I’m amazed how he couldn’t answer a simple question regarding suffering (maybe he should have paid a little more attention to Piper -- he could have at least referenced Romans 8:28). I’m also amazed at the number of times that he seemingly contradicts himself in the brief interview.
My final reaction is a realization that we are utterly dependent on God to get us through this and every situation. I am clueless, not to mention incapable of persuading those with hardened hearts of the truth, only God can do that. Thankfully, there are enough people, who can actually speak logically, who can see what an idiot Rob Bell is, who refuse to follow him down to hell, who God can use to speak truth to those who are not discerning enough to divert from Bell's lead. Thankfully, because of God's providence, His will, will be done. I am completely dependent through prayer that God would open the eyes of the millions of people with erroneous views of the gospel and the Bible. Buddah’s not going to save you, Allah is nothing more than a demon (if not an imaginary character), Star Trek is just a TV show, your money will burn, you car will rust, at some point you will retire from your job (if you don't die first), and there is no saving gospel in Rob Bell’s message. Jesus is the one and only way to Heaven. Pray with me that God would use the discussion sparked by this crappy book to grow in numbers and faith people with a passion for Christ.
As for my one and only response to the book itself, I offer a single quotation by J. Gresham Machen in 'Christianity & Liberalism'. He states: “Religion cannot be made joyful simply by looking on the bright side of God. For a one-sided God is not a real God, and it is the real God alone who can satisfy the longing of our soul. God is love, but is He only love? God is love, but is love God?” (HT: Justin Taylor). God is more than love. God, will win.
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Sobering Evening
As most people that read this consistently know, one year ago this week, I went with the Penn State Navigators on a spring break missions trip to Atlanta, GA to serve (more like, to be served) the homeless. I wrote more about that experience and how it really affected my life, here.
I often find it funny how God chooses to answer prayer. Very shortly after moving to Harrisburg I noticed a surprisingly large homeless population downtown. Given my experience in Atlanta I felt called do something to serve these people. I prayed that God would give me the boldness to meet the homeless in my neighborhood, and that he would guide me in doing so (especially in finding them and for a mission partner). Long story short, it has been 196 days since I moved here, and this evening I had my first interaction with the homeless living only a few blocks from my upscale loft apartment (the contrast in that makes me feel a slight bit guilty).
This evening I got coffee with a friend, who lives just a few blocks from me. Later in our conversation he mentioned that he had been going out to get to know, bring food to, and care for the homeless. I was convicted by much of what he had to say about how we live our lives with little faith and compensate with our wall of money for protection. I doubt that God could have ordained this any better than he did. My friend asked if I would be interested in heading downtown with him to give a homeless man who had developed a pretty nasty cough, named Chuck, some cough drops and water. Having prayed for someone to do this with I agreed and we headed to the location that he knew many of the homeless would be.
We never found Chuck; a few of the regulars indicated that he had another location that he often stayed when it was really cold. Please pray for his health. We were also looking for a woman named Jenifer. A man named Keith informed us that Jenifer had passed away the night before. It rained hard for the entirety of the previous day and turned to sleet and snow later in the night. My friend had talked to this woman the evening before. What struck him the most was that all that Jenifer wanted from him is for my friend to simply sit and talk with her for 5 minutes. It sure is sobering when you go out to meet a homeless friend and you find out that she passed away due to the cold/snow the night before.
We also met an 18 year old couple, Mike and Brandy who had been living with Mike's parents, but had since been kicked out because of their dislike of his wife. Please pray for their protection, soft hearts seeking the gospel, and for my boldness to share what I have been given with them.
I often find it funny how God chooses to answer prayer. Very shortly after moving to Harrisburg I noticed a surprisingly large homeless population downtown. Given my experience in Atlanta I felt called do something to serve these people. I prayed that God would give me the boldness to meet the homeless in my neighborhood, and that he would guide me in doing so (especially in finding them and for a mission partner). Long story short, it has been 196 days since I moved here, and this evening I had my first interaction with the homeless living only a few blocks from my upscale loft apartment (the contrast in that makes me feel a slight bit guilty).
This evening I got coffee with a friend, who lives just a few blocks from me. Later in our conversation he mentioned that he had been going out to get to know, bring food to, and care for the homeless. I was convicted by much of what he had to say about how we live our lives with little faith and compensate with our wall of money for protection. I doubt that God could have ordained this any better than he did. My friend asked if I would be interested in heading downtown with him to give a homeless man who had developed a pretty nasty cough, named Chuck, some cough drops and water. Having prayed for someone to do this with I agreed and we headed to the location that he knew many of the homeless would be.
We never found Chuck; a few of the regulars indicated that he had another location that he often stayed when it was really cold. Please pray for his health. We were also looking for a woman named Jenifer. A man named Keith informed us that Jenifer had passed away the night before. It rained hard for the entirety of the previous day and turned to sleet and snow later in the night. My friend had talked to this woman the evening before. What struck him the most was that all that Jenifer wanted from him is for my friend to simply sit and talk with her for 5 minutes. It sure is sobering when you go out to meet a homeless friend and you find out that she passed away due to the cold/snow the night before.
We also met an 18 year old couple, Mike and Brandy who had been living with Mike's parents, but had since been kicked out because of their dislike of his wife. Please pray for their protection, soft hearts seeking the gospel, and for my boldness to share what I have been given with them.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Worst Generation's war in America
I read an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette while I was home this weekend titled "The Worst Generation's war in Wisconsin". On one hand I found Ruth Ann's summary of what is going on in Wisconsin (with regards to the protests of public employees) dead-nuts accurate and insightful, on the other, it was also convicting.
She refers to her generation (baby boomers born between 1945 and 1964) as "The Worst Generation" (a pun of "The Greatest Generation"). She sites former Clinton adviser Paul Begala (born 1961), as "the most self-centered, self-seeking, self-interested, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing generation" in US history. She asks: "Will the boomers finally step up, as their parents did, and do what's best for the next generation?" Ruth Ann says the question at the heart of the Wisconsin budget battle is a demand of things for ourselves without regard for the cost to our children or our less privileged peers. If you're interested, read the rest of the article - it's really good.
I wish Richard Winters (Band of Brothers) or William Wallace (Braveheart) could just come out of the past and slap each and every public servant employee chanting that they will "overcome" the voters and tax payers of Wisconsin. Though I'd still be happy seeing newly elected governor Scott Walker do just that.
Even in writing this (given the rant against teachers that I just deleted) I am convicted of the same thing that this article convicted me of. Americans have one incredible sense of entitlement. Teachers somehow have a sense of entitlement that they can be glorified baby-sitters who work 180 days/year yet complain that they aren't paid enough and work too hard. (If you want to see what hard work is take a trip to one of the blue-collar steel mills in Pittsburgh after a piece of equipment goes down...that's hard work). I somehow have a sense of entitlement that I shouldn't have to pay a government $24k/year in taxes which supports these people. Really, neither of us are right, regardless of how lazy or how much of a workaholic we are. Really, both of us deserve to be born homeless in some impoverished nation, sold into slavery, be beaten for years, thrown in prison, never told the gospel, and to eternally burn in hell...that's what we are entitled to. Yet, I can't even keep my focus away from ranting against teachers and public "service" employees long enough to make it through this paragraph because I, like "The Worst Generation" public service employees in Wisconsin, feel that I am entitled to something that "I've worked for".
I want to take this time to simply acknowledge my (and your) need for a savior, renounce my entitlement to anything but death, and thank God for providing not only that savior in Jesus Christ, but also thank Him for all of the incredible gifts that he has given me...and in His irony, even teacher friends.
She refers to her generation (baby boomers born between 1945 and 1964) as "The Worst Generation" (a pun of "The Greatest Generation"). She sites former Clinton adviser Paul Begala (born 1961), as "the most self-centered, self-seeking, self-interested, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing generation" in US history. She asks: "Will the boomers finally step up, as their parents did, and do what's best for the next generation?" Ruth Ann says the question at the heart of the Wisconsin budget battle is a demand of things for ourselves without regard for the cost to our children or our less privileged peers. If you're interested, read the rest of the article - it's really good.
I wish Richard Winters (Band of Brothers) or William Wallace (Braveheart) could just come out of the past and slap each and every public servant employee chanting that they will "overcome" the voters and tax payers of Wisconsin. Though I'd still be happy seeing newly elected governor Scott Walker do just that.
Even in writing this (given the rant against teachers that I just deleted) I am convicted of the same thing that this article convicted me of. Americans have one incredible sense of entitlement. Teachers somehow have a sense of entitlement that they can be glorified baby-sitters who work 180 days/year yet complain that they aren't paid enough and work too hard. (If you want to see what hard work is take a trip to one of the blue-collar steel mills in Pittsburgh after a piece of equipment goes down...that's hard work). I somehow have a sense of entitlement that I shouldn't have to pay a government $24k/year in taxes which supports these people. Really, neither of us are right, regardless of how lazy or how much of a workaholic we are. Really, both of us deserve to be born homeless in some impoverished nation, sold into slavery, be beaten for years, thrown in prison, never told the gospel, and to eternally burn in hell...that's what we are entitled to. Yet, I can't even keep my focus away from ranting against teachers and public "service" employees long enough to make it through this paragraph because I, like "The Worst Generation" public service employees in Wisconsin, feel that I am entitled to something that "I've worked for".
I want to take this time to simply acknowledge my (and your) need for a savior, renounce my entitlement to anything but death, and thank God for providing not only that savior in Jesus Christ, but also thank Him for all of the incredible gifts that he has given me...and in His irony, even teacher friends.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Career Fair & Interview Tips
As a Product Development Engineer fresh out of college, the possibility of an occasional recruiting or interviewing trip wasn't something I expected to be doing. The career fair part, maybe. But I was rather surprised to have been given the responsibility of interviewing potential new hires after being with my current company for about a month. This week, I'm heading up to Penn State for my 3rd recruiting trip. I am very much looking forward to it (as any other trip to State College). Surprisingly, I really enjoy recruiting & interviewing. Most of all, I enjoy learning about what other people are working on. In light of this trip, I thought it would be helpful to offer a few pointers to anyone who might stop by our booth.
That's pretty much all I have. Feel free to post a question or comment. And, Penn Staters looking for a job, good luck.
- First and foremost, if you want a job, your stature and excitement better reflect it. If you aren't confident in how you present yourself, you will be among the first that I throw in the trash pile. You might be a 4.0 Ph.D. student with a 3 page list of publications, but if your excitement level matches that of watching pro-bowling of TV, and I need to hold a megaphone up to your mouth just to hear what you’re saying, I'm not interested. If I don't enjoy talking with you for our 1 minute conversation, I REALLY don't want to draw it out to an hour long interview. Standing around all day giving the same spiel once every 2 minutes for 6 hours gets to be rather tedious when 98% of the students that come up to you all sound exactly the same and really don't sound or look like they want to be there.
- At least have an idea of what we do before you hand me a resume and ask for a job. We're one of the world's largest companies, if you haven't heard of us, you're out of touch with the industry and you sound desperate. I definitely underestimated the value of this in the past, but simply writing the name of the company with whom you want a job with goes a LONG way. Plan ahead, you look much more interested and prepared (even if you're not). At my first career fair, my boss gave an interview to a guy simply because he wrote our name on the "purpose" section of his resume - his background had nothing of what we were looking for.
- Resume buzz words are a waste. Avoid like the plague cliché phrases such as "I'm a hard worker", "I am awesome", "I want to excel in the industry"...according to 97% of the resumes that I've seen, so does everyone else. Odds are that I'm going to breeze through your resume. Focus on what you did. Be specific. Don't fill your space with cliché phrases, you will blend in with everyone else.
- What do you do besides school? Sure, first and foremost we want to hire someone who can work. But we also don't want to hire a zombie. Don't focus on this, but if you were a part of the Navigators, put it on your resume - it shows that you're versatile and can potentially give a little more common ground to talk about which WILL result in me remembering you.
- If you took 5 years to finish your B.S., or if you have a large gap between school and full time employment be prepared to say why. If you were just being lazy, come up a good story or something, but please don't lie or make excuses. If you screwed around in your freshman or sophomore year, admit it, tell me what you learned and we can move on. If there was one person who had no shot of getting a decent job, it's someone who comes across as lazy (either if they are or I perceive them to be)
- If you end up getting an interview, and they ask you to do a quick presentation of a project that you worked on, print out your presentation (4 slides to a page is preferred, by me anyway) and emphasize what YOU did (keep the emphasis away from "we"). Also, make sure you have a copy of your resume for everyone that you're interviewing with.
- I always thought that I had to use that fancy resume paper. I now realize that no one cares if you do or don’t. We want to hire a person, not find a new office supply store. Multiple pages is fine for us, because we're not scanning resumes and the ability to fill up 2 pages is a plus in my book. However, Intel, GM, or Raytheon might not like your unorthodox staple. More important to me is that you don't hand me a piece of paper with size 6 font. My boss is a grandfather - he can't read that, you could have written the Declaration of Independence and he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.
- This isn't as big of a deal to me as most older recruiters, but get a haircut, shave, and look presentable. If you smell bad, I'm going to do my best to get away from you.
- Two weeks ago at the University of Illinois, one girl kept bad mouthing everyone else on one of her projects. My boss still keeps laughing about it. I wish I was in the interview room at the time. I can only imagine how terrible it must be to work with her. She might have had terrible partners, but a good leader will straighten them out. Odds are good that an interviewer will ask about a time where you were placed in a team environment or had to work with a difficult person, rather than focusing on their flaws, focus on your strengths.
- Finally, if you still have the pockets of your suit sewed together, odds are that my boss is going to laugh at you. He might also laugh if you wear white socks with a black suit. I might laugh with him.
That's pretty much all I have. Feel free to post a question or comment. And, Penn Staters looking for a job, good luck.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Healthcare Reform, part 1
I've had the privilege of discussing "Obama-care" with a few co-workers over the past few days which gave me the idea to assemble our thoughts (plus a few outside sources) on "free" public healthcare. Spoiler alert: I'm no fan of Obama-care. For the next few posts, I will bring up a pro-Obama-care point, and then refute them. Please note that I doubt that I'm going to bring any new ideas to the table here and much of this will simply be summarizing many good arguments that I've read/heard.
One common argument for government controlled healthcare is that "We are one of the only developed countries that doesn't offer free government controlled healthcare". Not to sound like captain obvious, but, NOTHING is free, someone has to pay for it. I'm going to discuss this point more in a later post, so I'll move on for now. Wayne Grudem refutes the larger point of this argument in Politics According to the Bible, quite well. He says:
"If a nation's government controls health care, then some rationing system will be necessary to decide who gets treatment and who does not, and there will be widespread instances of denial of care (for a government simply cannot provide an infinite supply of care for everyone who asks for it). While the quality of medical care in the United States in 2009 was the best that was available in the entire world (which is why foreign people who can afford to do so often come to the United States for specialized medical care), critics fear that Obama's plan will lead to rapid decline in the quality of care."
He goes on to quote Peter Ferrara who points out how numerous doctors are either refusing to treat Medicare/Medicaid patients or dropping the plans altogether because doctors and hospitals are paid 20-30%/30-40%, respectively, less than market rates for the care and services they provide. This ultimately results in a lower quality of care for these patients.
Additionally, a lot of other countries will throw you in prison for being a Christian, or chop of your head for talking smack on their leader. It doesn't mean they're right.
In summary, with a government run healthcare program, we would ultimately end up with a decrease in the quality of care. Due to the lack of incentive to provide top-notch care (remember, doctors are paid the same a fixed rate), medical advances will slow and the doctors will never find that pesky gene that makes you ugly.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Format Police
If you have been following the Reformed blog scene this week you've by now seen the Slate article about the angry English major condemning those who, heaven forbid, put two spaces between sentences so as to emphasize the end of one sentence and the beginning of another. And so Mr. IHaveNothingWorthwhileToWriteAbout...this is my counter-rant to you.
The point that I want to make by writing this is that our education system in this country quickly prancing down the road to dismal failure. It quite honestly is no surprise to me to see American students' test scores steadily falling behind those of students in other countries. The majority of our teachers have become more baby-sitter than educator. It is an absolute disgrace that someone who may one day teach my child (God willing) math is incapable of using the Pythagorean Theorem (a^2+b^2=c^2). You might laugh, but I could not tell you how many college students aspiring to become teachers there were in one particular college class that simply couldn't figure it out. Please, Mr. Anderson, don't waste my child's time counting spaces between sentences.
Personally, I love how easy it is to pick on these format people. If you were actually hoping for a case against the one period format I'd pretty much just agree with this guy. In case you weren't paying attention; yes, there are two spaces between every sentence that I've just written…and it WILL stay like that.
I remember getting a completely worthless book in middle school written by the Modern Language Association. The 'MLA Handbook' was 300 or so pages of their absolute crap about how every minute detail of your page should be formatted. Much of my middle school and early high school English/grammar classes focused on this bible for a dude with half a ball and an intense case of OCD. It was near this time when I really began to dislike the subject. I really enjoy reading and writing...strange for a guy with an engineering degree, I know. But my sweater-vest wearing, blood sucking, feminist, neat-freak teacher made me want nothing to do with either topic. Her emphasis on format over content was definitely to blame.
I do want to be clear that I'm all for teaching grammar. It is really nice to talk to or read an email from someone who understands past, present, & future tense, or knows the difference between a noun and a verb, or (at least in my line of work) doesn't speak Chinese to you. However, I think it is an enormous waste of time to concern ourselves with spending years of schooling memorizing the MLA (or APA) format for citing an encyclopedia article - which will likely change when this cult of an organization decides to sell a new edition. It is bad enough that someone thinks that a printed encyclopedia has much value to begin with...but to have students memorize and be tested on where to underline, what to italicize, where to place periods, and what order to put all of the necessary information is an utter waste of time.
As the author of 3 published academic papers and a 250 page masters thesis (with more citations than I care to remember), I can say for certain that no one actually gives a rip what format your citations are in, let alone where your figures are located in relation to the margin, and definitely not how many spaces you left between your sentences. While I'm on the topic of citations, I have to ask: Does anyone actually format these things without using easybib.com or endNote? To point out how absolutely worthless teaching students to write strictly according to the MLA format, do the following: take 10 books off of your shelf (preferably by different authors) - do more than 2 of them share the exact same format? Just to confirm my suspicion, I checked around 30 books…no 2 have exactly the same format. So why preach it? Instead, why not loosely say "kids, I want a 1 inch margin on all edges, size 12 black Times New Roman font, and as long as I can find your source if I decide to look at it we're golden." Let's spend our time focusing on content rather than counting spaces between words.
As the author of 3 published academic papers and a 250 page masters thesis (with more citations than I care to remember), I can say for certain that no one actually gives a rip what format your citations are in, let alone where your figures are located in relation to the margin, and definitely not how many spaces you left between your sentences. While I'm on the topic of citations, I have to ask: Does anyone actually format these things without using easybib.com or endNote? To point out how absolutely worthless teaching students to write strictly according to the MLA format, do the following: take 10 books off of your shelf (preferably by different authors) - do more than 2 of them share the exact same format? Just to confirm my suspicion, I checked around 30 books…no 2 have exactly the same format. So why preach it? Instead, why not loosely say "kids, I want a 1 inch margin on all edges, size 12 black Times New Roman font, and as long as I can find your source if I decide to look at it we're golden." Let's spend our time focusing on content rather than counting spaces between words.
The point that I want to make by writing this is that our education system in this country quickly prancing down the road to dismal failure. It quite honestly is no surprise to me to see American students' test scores steadily falling behind those of students in other countries. The majority of our teachers have become more baby-sitter than educator. It is an absolute disgrace that someone who may one day teach my child (God willing) math is incapable of using the Pythagorean Theorem (a^2+b^2=c^2). You might laugh, but I could not tell you how many college students aspiring to become teachers there were in one particular college class that simply couldn't figure it out. Please, Mr. Anderson, don't waste my child's time counting spaces between sentences.
Personally, I love how easy it is to pick on these format people. If you were actually hoping for a case against the one period format I'd pretty much just agree with this guy. In case you weren't paying attention; yes, there are two spaces between every sentence that I've just written…and it WILL stay like that.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
What Profit Is an Idol?
In my "Cliche first 'why blog?' post" I stated that I would explain the title of my blog: "What profit is an idol?" 46 posts and 280 days later, I suppose that would make a good post.
As written on the top of this page, the question comes from Habakkuk 3:18 which says:
"What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise!" (ESV)
Habakkuk is easily one of my favorite OT books. It's short, sweet, and very easy to apply to our lives. I love that in this book we see the main character, author, and prophet, Habakkuk, change from a dude questioning the sovereignty of God and his justice to a man who trusts God to work all things for His glory. Habakkuk is petitioning for something righteous, for God's glory, for the wicked to be punished. Interestingly, I find myself in the shoes of both Habakkuk and of the wicked that he prays judgement for.
The Lord's responses to Habakkuk are simply amazing (as we should expect a response from God to be). After Habakkuk complains to God for the first time, the Lord tells him:
"Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." (Habakkuk 1:5 ESV)
I also, often find myself seemingly complaining to God while my 'enemies' prosper. Take for example, my often prayer for a wife which has obviously not yet been answered. I've really been struggling to meet a single, Proverbs 31 women since moving to Harrisburg...let alone one that I could see myself marrying. And because, I, like Habakkuk, have prayed so often, yet don't see God moving in the situation at the current moment, I become discontent and I complain. And it is at this point where I seem to find myself in the shoes of the 'wicked' who Habakkuk is praying that God would punish.
Rather than wait and be patient I tend to trust myself and lean on my own abilities rather than my Savior God. Since Mark Driscoll tells me that what a woman should find attractive is a Bible and a job...I'll be sure to study my Bible inside an out and try to look as though I have it all together and I'll work as hard as I possibly can to not only get the best job that I possibly can, but then I'll compare myself to others (other Christian men) to make sure I'm ahead of the game. And if I'm not the best...I'll just work harder. Additionally, it is also probable that I make having a wife into an idol, and that once married all of my problems will disappear.
The problem with my response isn't that I'm pursuing evil. As a matter of fact, seeking to understand God's Word and working hard are certainly good things. But, the problem is that I'm leaning on my own abilities. I'm 'trusting in my own creation' rather than God. I worship an idol of my own performance. And so the question arises: why? What profit is there in worshiping anything other than The creator? How can I possibly convince the God who created this entire universe (mountains, stars, animals, humans, etc) that the equations that I derive, or the incredibly looking dinner I just cooked (no really, it was great!), or the consumer electronics that I design in my job are in the least bit impressive. I can't. They're not impressive to God. Its just as foolish as giving an account of my life to God by saying "look at my boat God...and look at my shell collection..." (John Piper). While you can't put a scale on us to God...think of whatever lame story I could possibly tell compared to the claim: "I walked on the moon" (Brian Regan). I'm simply not impressive and nothing I do should be worshipped by myself or anyone else.
Thus, the question: "What profit is an idol?" is one in which I must often ask myself. First, am I genuinely doing this out of a love for God? Or am I doing it because I trust myself and would rather worship my own performance. Seeing that question at the top of the page is a great reminder to me whenever I go to post something and a question which I must commit to asking myself in everything I do.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
A Review of "Republocrat"
While I don't have the time or energy to write a review/summary for every book I read, I think it may be worthwhile to do so for a book that (a) isn't quite as popular as Piper's Desiring God or (b) makes a really good point or (c) is very bad. Republocrat, qualifies to (a). I don't find all of Carl Trueman's political points convincing - nor do I think that his intent was to give extensive arguments for many of his political stances. However, I do find his point that evangelical Christians really have no true political party (which historically should be the left) to side with, of particular interest - thus qualifying (b).
The book was very slow to get started...by all means, skip the foreword and acknowledgements. Trueman proclaims that his thesis for the book is "that conservative Christianity does not require conservative politics or conservative cultural agendas" (page xix). I think that this point is very well defended. Trueman is a history professor at Westminster Theological Seminary and from everything that I've read from and of him, his theology has been spot on. Interestingly, unlike many Christians, he is a Democrat, yet one that opposes abortion and gay marriage.
Trueman did an absolutely incredibly job explaining the following point: "the Left has been hijacked by special-interest groups, and is frequently less concerned than even the parties of the Right with those for whom it should really speak up" (page 2). He provides a very good historical outline describing the Left's concern for the oppressed, the person without a voice, and the subsequent abandonment in the 1960's. I loved this part of the book. He explains:
- Gay rights: Pre-1960 the left was a party for the oppressed working class, however "it has often been the case that the most intolerant groups with regard to homosexuality are working-class [i.e. they oppose it]; the issue of gay rights is, by and large, the preoccupation of the middle class. So in advocating gay rights, the Left frequently finds itself opposed to the values of the very people it was originally designed to help" (page 12).
- Abortion: "while the Left in origin was supposed to provide a voice to the voiceless"..."the most voiceless of all - the unborn - are those most vigorously silenced by those who should be speaking for them" (page 12-13).
- War: "The Left's opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is odd, given that both represented feudal regimes with despicable records on human rights" (page 13-14).
Keep in mind that his purpose was not to build a Biblical case for any political views - he rightly saves that for Grudem - though they do seem disagree on gun control. Rather his point is that just because a guy Boehner calls himself a Christian (a claim that I would seriously question) does not mean that his political views are necessarily Biblical and should not be assumed to be so by Christians. Likewise, Democrats certainly take the true Christian stance on issues such as caring for the poor - though they do manage to royally screw up their execution.
Nonetheless, if you're looking for something different/interesting to read I would recommend the book, but I wouldn't put it very high in the queue.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A Gospel Primer
I have really been enjoying the amount of time that I've had to read over the past few months. At the strong recommendation of several members of my church, last evening I read A Gospel Primer. I want to pass that same recommendation along to you.
First off, it is a very quick and easy read...hence my ability to read it in a single evening. Even more so, I found it more encouraging to my faith than possibly any other book that I've read up to this point in my life. It was simply page after page of gospel pertaining to our everyday lives. If you were wondering, Jerry Bridges' The Gospel For Real Life, is certainly very similar, but I found A Gospel Primer even more of a page-turning, edifying, and convicting book.
Here's a short blurb:
First off, it is a very quick and easy read...hence my ability to read it in a single evening. Even more so, I found it more encouraging to my faith than possibly any other book that I've read up to this point in my life. It was simply page after page of gospel pertaining to our everyday lives. If you were wondering, Jerry Bridges' The Gospel For Real Life, is certainly very similar, but I found A Gospel Primer even more of a page-turning, edifying, and convicting book.
Here's a short blurb:
"The gospel is not simply the story of "Christ, and Him crucified"; it is also the story of my own crucifixion. For the Bible tells me that I, too, was crucified on Christ's cross. My old self was slain there, and my love affair with the world was crucified there too. The cross is also the place where I crucify my flesh and all its sinful desires. Truly, Christ's death and my death are so intertwined as to be inseparable.
God is committed to my dying every day, and He calls me to that same commitment. He insists that every hour be my dying hour, and He wants my death on the cross to be as central to my own life story as is Christ's death to the gospel story. "Let this same attitude be in you," He says, "which was also in Christ Jesus...who became obedient unto death, even death on a cross".
Crucifixion hurts. In fact, its heart-wrenching brutality can numb the senses. It is a gasping and bloody affair, and there is nothing nice, pretty, or easy about it. It is not merely death, but excruciating death.
Nevertheless, I must set my face like a flint toward the cross and embrace this crucifixion in everything I do. I should expect every day to encounter circumstantial evidence of God's commitment to my dying; and I must seize upon every God-given opportunity to be conformed more fully to Christ's death, no matter the pain involved.
When my flesh yearns for some prohibited thing, I must die. When called to do something I don't want to do, I must die. When I wish to be selfish and serve no one, I must die. When shattered by hardships that I despise, I must die. When wanting to cling to wrongs done against me, I must die. When enticed by allurements of the world, I must die. When wishing to keep besetting sins secret, I must die. When wants that are borderline needs are left unmet, I must die. When dreams that are good seem shoved aside, I must die.
"Not My will, but Yours be done," Christ trustingly prayed on the eve of His crucifixion; and preaching His story to myself each day puts me in a frame of mind to trust God and embrace the cross of my own dying also.
Thankfully, the gospel teaches me that dying is not an end, but a beginning."
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Praying For the Nations
Several weeks ago, another single dude and myself started meeting up weekly to intentionally pray for one another and for the nations. Most of us have a significant amount of experience praying for one another...and in most cases that time spent praying for one another is great for building one another up, encouraging each other in whatever we are currently walking through, etc. But what about praying for the nations? Can that encourage and convict us as well?
I feel as though praying for the gospel to move throughout the nations is something that most of us neglect. This neglect is easy to understand; to most of us, countries such as Belarus, Eritrea, Mauritania, Qatar, and Tajikistan probably sound as though I just made them up. These countries and their problems seem so incredibly distant from us that from the comfort of our great nation, we can all together forget that they even exist, if we even knew that they existed in the first place. I plead with you to (a) not forget these nations and (b) realize that praying for the nations will drastically effect your biblical Christian worldview.
To briefly touch on point (a), God desires for all the ends of the earth to remember and turn to the Lord - he rules over all the nations, even those in rebellion against Him (Psalm 22:27-28). We are commanded to declare His glory among the nations, to share of His marvelous works among all the peoples, to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded you (Psalm 96:3,10, Matthew 28:18-20). Though we may not presently be fighting on the frontier mission battlefield, because God is sovereign over all the nations, people, governments, etc. we need to pray that He would stir movements in the nations and watch and be amazed at what He does.
The point that I really want to make in this post is that praying for the nations will be an incredible experience. I would suggest praying for one specific country at a time. Subscribe to the Voice Of the Martyrs newsletter, or buy Operation World. Read about the country. Read what prevents the gospel from moving through that country. Read a few stories of how Christians are being persecuted in that nation. Then...pray.
This time of prayer has been so absolutely incredible for me because each and every time, I find myself utterly amazed of how the Spirit is working in that nation through even a few individuals and also how applicable and encouraging those stories are to my life in a polar opposite culture. Let me explain:
- The first week we prayed for Afghanistan. The VOM 2010 global report told of a few stories of Christians who were severely beaten (with the intent on death) when radicals/al Qaeda found they were sharing Christ with others...but both men remain firm in their faith even after multiple death threats if they don't stop evangelizing. Application: how often do we back down from boldly proclaiming Christ because of a slight emotional discomfort?
- Second up was Algeria. The government has ended an era of relative religious liberty in 2006...a new law states that house churches are not permitted. This law was passed in an effort to stop evangelism and church growth in this nation. VOM tells the story of one church who stopped meeting briefly, seeking God's desire for their church, but decided to resume meeting and face any consequences. They were threatened many times by police but gathering together melted their fear and renewed their courage. Application: how are we being encouraged by gathering. How excited am I to get up and worship my creator each morning.
- Third was Azerbaijan. This country's government limits religious freedom, owns (literally) the media and uses it to encourage people to return to Islam. Application: why do we abuse our freedom of the press and endorse programing that defames Christ and encourages sin. Religious organizations have to register with the government. VOM tells the story of officials raiding a home where 12 children had gathered to listen to Bible stories - their names were recorded, 508 books and 40 films were confiscated. VOM tells the story of 3 believers that were fined for "illegally spreading Christianity and other faiths". Application: Thank you Jesus that we are not persecuted for encouraging one another and sharing the good news that Christ lived THE sinless life, and bore ALL of OUR sins on the cross so that we could have access to an eternity of fellowship with our creator.
I don't recall any prayer for the nations where I was not left incredibly encouraged, convicted, and thankful. Each week my eyes have leaked uncontrollably (though I try my best to hide it). And each week I see a difference in how I look at the world. I pray that you would experience the same.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)