Books!

I have a pretty extensive library. In my mind, it's divided into basically four sections: fiction, non-fiction read, non-fiction unread, and non-fiction pre-conversion. The fiction books are ones that I like to read to unwind and have time to free think. I don't turn my brain off during these books, but I get to analyze the books the way that I want to rather than how school would want me to. It's enjoyable for me to fill in the spaces between the lines with whatever I want: worldview, Biblical comparisons, or moral lessons. I find this one of the most enjoyable pastimes.

Non-fiction make up the most of my library and all of them are either theology books, devotionals or my Bible. I read these most of all and I love them. Anything to paint the gospel in such a great light, often from different angles so that I can see the glorious sides that I may have missed. I love to read about how the gospel should affect the rest of our lives: morals, relationships, and world views. I have built my knowledge quite well, and I am trying to apply it to my life. Unfortunately, my head far exceeds my heart in this area. I am grateful that Christ has shown me this and is gracious to me to allow me to continue to pursue Him.

My non-fiction is split into read and unread like most, but I also have the category of pre-conversion. This list consists of all the theology books I read before Christ came into my life and changed my heart. Sadly, I can't remember what great truths these books share, so I am dedicated to re-reading them. My current reading is "The Gospel for Real Life" by Jerry Bridges. Pretty much any book with the gospel as it's centerpiece is worth reading.

Most of the time when I read one of these books, there are several things that just slap me in the face and remind me of how much of a sinner I am (which just makes God's grace and mercy that much more glorious). I want to share some of these face-slaps from this book:

"Every day we sin, both consciously and unconsciously, both willfully and unintentionally. We evangelical believers generally abstain from the grosser sins of society; in fact, we tend to sit in judgment of those who practice such things. But beneath the surface of our own lives we tolerate all kinds of 'refined' sins such as selfishness, covetousness, pride, resentment, envy, jealousy, self-righteousness, and a critical spirit towards others."

He goes on to talk about the greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). Going deeper, he provides a list of different aspects of this command:

"1. Your love for God transcends all other desires (Ex. 20:3)
2. Like David, you long to gaze upon His beauty and seek fellowship with Him (Ps. 27:4)
3. You rejoice in meditating on His Word, and, like Jesus, you rise early to pray (Ps. 119:97, Mark 1:35)
4. You always delight to do His will, regardless of how difficult it may ve (Ps. 40:8)
5. A regard for His glory governs and motivates everything you do - your eating and drinking, your working and playing, your buying and selling, your reading and speaking - and, dare I mention it, even your driving (1 Cor. 10:31)
6. You are never discouraged or frustrated by adverse circumstances because you are confident God is working all things together for you good (Romans 8:28)
7. You recognize His sovereignty in every event of your life and consequently receive both success and failure from His hand (1 Sam. 2:7; Ps. 75:6-7)
8. You are always content because you know He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)
9. The first petition in the Lord's Prayer, "hallowed be your name," is the most important prayer you pray (Matt. 6:9)"

Another list was written about the second greatest commandment (Love your neighbor as yourself), but I felt that this one was hefty enough for now. Pay attention to how absolute the commands are. It unveils our failure to this command in every way. It makes me so glad to know that Christ lived 33 years on this earth without sinning and with fulfilling all righteousness, so that in the great substitution we would be credited with his perfect life. Through this substitution, Jesus was credited with all of our failures and took on God's wrath. This is true love. This is what John was talking about in 1 John 4:8 when he said "God is love."

I am so thankful for this gospel and for authors that love to write about it. However, though these books are great, they can never replace the original. The Bible is the best, most important book in the world. Books written about the Bible are great and they can help us understand some parts, but they are not directly inspired by God. This word is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) as well as alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). It is our bread and our water. Don't try to live without consuming what's necessary for life!

Xmas in Jboro

Awhile back my quad (Jeffrey, Jonathan, Aaron and myself) took the girls quad (Kristi, Alesha, Leah, and Molly) to buy decorations for both of our rooms. I love pretty much every time of year; spring, summer, fall, winter. There's something great and different about each one. For winter, it's obviously Christmas! The whole feel of Christmas is great; decorations, movies, the 25 days of Christmas, being with friends and family, and most of all celebrating Christ's birth!

Our quad went all out. We actually decorated before Thanksgiving because we leave the 15th for break, so we wanted to have it up long enough to appreciate it.



Joy to the World - we were proud of this riggin!









My gnome Otty (shout out to Megan) dressed for the occasion and our candy-dispensing, movie-watching M&M's. Also our Christmas tree and yes, that is Ziggy dressed as Santa.







Jonathan modeling for ladies under the mistletoe.


Aaron and Jeff's Gingerbread city






The park (left) and a church (right). The roof looks awesome!






Aaron's work







ASU Clocktower


Possibly the most annoying contraption on the planet, but it sings Christmas music and dances, so it's awesome.


You can't have Christmas without the music!



This poster is the most beloved of our decor. On the left is Grant's spiderman stocking that I bought him and on the right is my batman stocking. Both are wins in my book.


Our stash for the cold days when we don't feel like going out.


This is of course the most important part of Christmas: celebrating Christ's birth. Rejoicing that God the Son humbled himself to become like us in order to save us. This is true humility. It is the reason to live. Without Christ nothing else matters. I love Christmas, but if Christ wasn't apart of it, then we would celebrate in vain. If Christ had not come we would still be enemies of God and the target for His holy, just fury. Thankfully, Jesus loved us so much (without us deserving) to come and take the wrath for his Father's glory. This is the reason to celebrate! God has just given us these other things as blessings. He is the ultimate gift. Merry CHRISTmas!

The Wisdom of Gandalf the Grey

School is school. Sometimes I like it, but other times I really don't. Sometimes when I don't (especially when studying), I like to take breaks and give my brain a chance to rest. So I read.

I have always been a big reader. I liked mostly fantasy as a kid, but growing up I like to read all kinds of things; novels, blogs, history, etc. Most of the books I brought with me were theological books. But sometimes I just want to read some fantasy and enjoy the imagination of others.

When I was last home, I made sure to grab The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I haven't read all of them and I love the story, so I decided to from the beginning. When I read (even when it's for pleasure and to rest), I tend to analize things. I think about what the author says and I compare and contrast to world views and beliefs (mainly Christian). Today I was reading the second chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring and something stood out to me.

"'There is only one way: to find the Cracks of Doom in the depths of Orodruin, the Fire-mountain, and cast the Ring in there, if you really wish to destroy it, to put it beyond the grasp of the Enemy for ever.'

'I do really wish to destroy it!' cried Frodo. 'Or, well to have it destroyed. I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?

'Such questions cannot be answered,' said Gandalf. 'You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.'

'But I have so little of any of these things! You are wise and powerful. Will you not take the Ring?

'No!' cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. 'With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.' His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. 'Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I date not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great for my strength. I shall have such a need of it. Great perils lie before me.'"


Most of that is just context for the last paragraph. When I read Gandalf's response to being offered the ring, I was struck by his passion and fear of giving in to temptation. He is scared of what would happen if he gives in and takes the Ring. That got me thinking about my response to my sin.

I wondered about the response to temptation in this life. My reaction to sin and temptation (more often than not) is that it's not that serious; especially the "respectable sins." They're common. Everyone does them. Surely they aren't that serious.

In Matthew 5, Jesus shows people their sinfulness, not through there sinful actions, but through their sinful thoughts. He one-ups the view of sin by taking what they knew about it through the law and showing them that their hearts are corrupt. Even those "little sins" (those "little thoughts") are sins that issue us a one-way ticket to Hell.

Sin should scare us. Consider this line: "Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good." Sin affects us in our weakest areas and just spreads around. It's seductive. One thing that Gandalf does here, that I wish I could apply more, is that he identifies the lie that sin tells him. Sin tells us that what we are doing is right, when it is clearly wrong. Or it tells us that it is better than what Jesus promises. And it all leads to destruction. This should make us react fearful of sins affects and defensively as Gandalf did.

But there is a remedy to both our fear and our sin: the cross of Christ. Christ died to bear the punishment for our sins. We will not experience the lasting, condemning affects of sin in our lives. Christ has paid that price. We no longer have to.

And because of that we no longer have to be fearful. Jesus has given us the power to fight sin. We don't have to fear anymore, because we can fight it. Why can we fight it? Because Jesus has destroyed it already. This is the great hope of the gospel! We live no longer in fear, but in hope! We no longer are dead, but alive! We no longer fight in vain, but trust in God's grace!

The Fall

Right now I'm going through three books of the Bible: Genesis, Matthew and Romans. I alternate chapters so that I can get into different parts of the Bible while actually studying it, rather than just reading it. My Reformation Study Bible has been very helpful in explaining difficult passages.

Today I am reading in Genesis 3. Between the beginning of Genesis and Romans, I've been getting a lot on the sinfulness of man and condemnation that follows. It's been very sobering and good to reflect on my sin the way God sees it. Verse 6 says:

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."

Here are some of the notes that I have in my Bible:

"tree...wise - Her decision was based on practical values, aesthetic appreciation, and intellectual gratification."

"took of its fruit - By this act, she sealed an alliance with the prince of death and darkness. God's loving election and plan of redemption are her only hope."

Notice that this isn't said of "and ate" it is said of "she took the fruit." If we intend to sin, we have allied with the devil. Sin doesn't start with an action. It starts with our heart, thoughts and intensions. Eve first sinned when she commit to sin, not when she committed the sin. Her heart desired the forbidden, even if she hadn't eaten yet.

"he ate - Man becomes a rebel: surrounded with sufficient motives to trust and obey God, he chooses disobedience against God (6:5, 8:21). Salvation depends entirely upon the Lord, not the rebel. By God's appointment Adam represented the race as its federal head and brought death upon all (Romans 5:12-19). He also represents, as a model and prototype, mankind's hostility against God.

I want to dwell on these things to get an accurate view of myself. Too often sin is not serious to us. Gossip is normal, prideful thoughts are expected (after all you're only human), and anger is the fault of others. There is no excuse. Yes we are human and we do sin, but this reality isn't supposed to make us think that certain sins ("little sins" or "respectable sins") are alright. It's supposed to make us turn and run to God because He is the only one who can save us from those sins.

Those thoughts and intents have condemned us to hell, but Christ has saved us! He has taken the punishment for those sins and now we can run to the Father. We are no longer under condemnation. We are under Christ's blood, which has the power over our sins. And he has given us this power. He has promised us his Spirit and that he would never leave us or forsake us. He can help fight those "little sins" that have cause so much damage. He already destroyed them on the cross! They have no power! Christ has the ultimate power! This should give us joy!

Word of God

I have been reading through "Desiring God" by John Piper. The whole point of the book is for us to view our Christian life as Hedonistic. Hedonism means to pursue your own happiness. Most Christians would say that we are not to do this but we should seek to glorify God. Piper argues that we are to pursue our joy (which isn't necessarily the same as happiness) by asking God to change our desires to want to glorify Him. Obeying God is the only way we will have true joy.

I have come to a chapter called "Scripture: Kindling for Christian Hedonism" and this quote stuck out to me:

"Satan's number-one objective is to destroy our joy of faith. We have one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). But what many Christians fail to realize is that we can't draw the sword from someone else's scabbard. If we don't wear it, we can't wield it. If the Word of God does not abide in us (John 15:7), we will reach for it in vain when the enemy strikes. But if we do wear it, if if lives within us, what mighty warriors we can be!"

When I read this, a couple thoughts came to me. First, that it is foolish for someone to go into battle without a sword. We can't expect to fight against sin without anything to fight with. Sin will win every time and very easily.

Second, was that a sword must always be kept up. It must be cleaned after every battle; polished and always kept in the best condition. Battles occur often, and the sword must be tended to even more so. This doesn't mean that we fix any problems in the Bible (by the way, there aren't any), but that we keep up our knowledge of them. Memorization and meditation is key to fighting against sin. Memorizing it keeps it in your mind and helps you to always have your sword with you. Even if you don't have the hard copy, it's still just as effective.

Third, you have to know how to use a sword. You would grab the blade and swing the handle around, otherwise you will cut yourself. So it is with the Bible. We can't throw verses around flippantly if we don't know what the context is, or what it is really saying. This is where meditation comes in. Meditating (on your already memorized scripture) helps you understand your weapon. It shows you how to use it so that you know the moves to use on different enemies. Don't fool yourself or condemn others because you assume on the scriptures. Know what they say, then live by them.

The Word of God is just that; God speaking to us. We need to listen. It's the only thing worth listening to. And it should give us joy to hear God speak. Honor Him and reap joy for yourself by knowing and understanding His Word. It's useless otherwise.

Just As I Am

Just as I am, without one plea
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind,
Sight, riches, healing of the mind
Yea, all I need in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am! Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am! Thy love unknown
Has broken ev’ry barrier down;
Now, to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

- Charlotte Elliot

Reflecting on the Pastoral Position

"Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears."
-Acts 20:28-31

"So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when tthe chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
-1 Peter 5:1-11

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
-John 10:1-18

Meditate on the role of your pastor. Think about how much responsibility he has in the lives of others. He experiences the highest joys of his flock's lives and the lowest griefs when they are in trial and sin. Next time you see your pastor, thank them for their sacrifice and ministry. It is a very heavy responsibility, but one that (and I'm sure they'd tell you this) they gladly take on to serve both God and His people.

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."
-James 3:1

Killa

I wanted to post some lyrics from Lecrae's album Rehab. It is a great album with awesome truths. This song is called "Killa" and it talks about our sin. Please look up the song. There are girls that sing parts of it to illustrate the seductiveness of sin. It really captures how dangerous it is.

Uh, I know it's going to kill me but I just can't let it go
And the taste so appealing got a grip upon my soul
These honey dip lies mesmerize me
Pride's got it's crooked fingers twisted all inside in me
Fools walk the path I'm on, never to be seen again
Sipping on seduction while we eating on some secret sin
(Not a lot of love and mercy) says the whisper in my ear
And I know I should be over this, but I ain't seeing clear
And I ain't leaving here, unless somebody save me
Walking to my grave letting evilness enslave me
Evil looks so lovely covered in her lace of lies
And the silky smooth seduction just manipulates my mind
Her fabrical fabrication is fueling my fascination
While I'm intoxicated she starts her assassination
I'm losing all my honor and my years to the merciless
Giving all my life away but I'm just so immersed in this (killa)

[Hook:]
Baby this is innocent (Killa) it won't even hurt a little bit (Killa)
I'm only here for your benefit (killa) I'm your every wish (Killa)
Come on and let me in (killa), baby this is innocent (Killa)
And it won't even hurt a little bit (Killa) Close your eyes and let's get lost tonight
(Killa) Would it be alright? You'll see (killa)

Her feet go down to DEATH, so don't let her consume you
Even though her heart is black, her exterior's beautiful
She'll take your life away, strip away your joy
Pretends that she gon build you up but she's just gon destroy you
My friends fell low, when they was so high
Got me running scared of myself, no lie
And I know I'm gon die, I tried cold turkey
But when I'm feeling worthy, Satan's sure trying to merk me
I'm doing myself dirty, flirting with what's perverted
I should follow the word but I guess I'd rather be murdered
Excuse me I mean martyred 'cause I'm killing myself
My sin conceived a baby, and we gon name it death, breath
(Gasps) -Taker, she take my breath away
Replaces it with poison and I'm so swept away
I need some bread today hope I wake up
Before they start my wake up somebody make me break up
I'm dating a (Killa)

Sinners

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
-Ephesians 2:1-10

This was one of the passages that I was dwelling on the week of scatter. As we were dealing with the kids, I was tempting to judge them and I needed to preach the gospel to myself. I needed to remember that I am no different from them outside the blood of Christ. We had the tendency to pair the kids off into "good kids" and "bad kids." The gospel says there are no "good" and "bad" people; there are just sinners.

One thing I really like about these verses is that Paul tries to capture the wickedness of our hearts. It should be very sobering to read the first three verses. We were spiritually "dead." We "followed the the prince of the power of the air (Satan)." We were "sons of disobedience, living in the passions of our flesh." We were children of wrath. These are very graphic descriptions that Paul is giving trying to show how sinful we are.

Then we have the gracious words "but God". Paul heaps praises and praises upon God through His work, giving Him all the glory. As Paul shares the good news of salvation, he can't do it without trying his best (with our feeble vocabulary) to exalt God to the place he should be in our minds. It's all to glorify God. But the kicker for me was in verses eight and nine:

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

I have read these verses a million times and have known them from Awana, but this time it was different. Paul went from describing how sinful we are, to glorifying God, and then goes back to warning us about sin. He glorifies God, but he knows that we are so sinful that we will try to take credit for God's great gift! How wicked are our hearts to boast and be prideful of the change in our life, when it is God that is gracious enough to cause the change that happens at salvation.

I was hit with this especially when dealing with Tyler (for the story click here). It was very humbling to me. We go from sinning, into God's grace, then right back to sinning. God indeed in gracious to save a wretched people like ourselves. Praise Him and give Him the credit.

Seeing Christ

Wednesday was a hard day for everyone. The kids were hard to deal with at the DreamCenter and it seemed to wear on everyone. We had a kid named Tyler who was very rebellious and liked to make fun of us anyway he could. He would cuss at us, call us names and then cut up with his friends about us. We tried to ignore the rude comments, letting him know that we didn't say those things and if he continued we would have to go get the director.

Seth Singleton(18) and Andrew Etherington(15?) were watching over the sound equipment so that none of the kids would mess with it. Tyler and his posse came over and starting asking if they could play with some of the stuff. When Seth told them no, they began to call names and say things they shouldn't. Seth kept his cool, but held his ground on the rules.

A little later when we were packing up, Tyler starting making more trouble; throwing food on the ground, lying about it, and getting mad at those who told him to pick it up. I was coming back from putting a canopy away when George Lawson (youth pastor and leader of the trip) came looking for the director. Tyler had received his last warning and was getting kicked out. As I watched them take him out of the pavilion, I saw Andrew in the distance. He was sitting at a picnic table crying.

Alan Thornton (youth leader) was already headed his way when I started over. Andrew could hardly say anything as Alan asked him if he was crying because of the language and the things Tyler had been saying. He nodded, and I was immediately overcome. It was all I could do not to break down and start crying with Andrew.

As I had watched Tyler, all I could think about was how terribly misbehaved he was and how he needed to be punished. Both of these things were true, but it drove me to anger. This knowledge that he needed judgement elicited a response from me; anger. Jesus was put in a similar position, only his was more gruesome and the sin more disgusting. He saw all the sin of man. He didn't just see it but he experienced it as they denied him, beat him, and nailed him to a cross.

This triggered a response from Christ. He wept. He felt pity for humanity as they mocked him and spit upon him. They forsook the very God they claimed to follow and yet when Jesus hung on the cross he said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Tyler doesn't understand that what he is doing will land him in hell where he will pay the punishment for all his sins by spending eternity apart from God. Christ pleads on our behalf, "Father, forgive them." He had every right to be mad for the sin that humanity commits and yet he takes the punishment for us and appeals to God for us.

When I sat next to Andrew, as he tried to stop his sobs, I saw Christ. I saw Christ weeping over the sins of the world. The very sins that condemn us to death. The difference was that I got mad at Tyler for his wrong doing, whereas Christ died for him, so that if he believes he won't have to. Christ was moved to pity and compassion for everyone, including me. I have believed and I am now covered by Christ's blood. I should be moved to compassion for the unbelievers, because I was just as lost as they were.

Jesus said, "Father, forgive Luke for he knows not what he does." God forgave me and showed me the wrong that I did and continue to do. Tyler hasn't been shown yet. He is still in the dark, and that should make me sorrowful for him, because without Christ he has nothing. He is dead in his trespasses and sins just like I was. Have pity on the lost, because without Christ you would be no different.

Please keep Tyler in your prayers. He did not come back to the DreamCenter after that day, so we don't know where he is. All we know is that he needs Christ. Pray for him and the rest of the kids there.

Little Rock Missions Trip

Today is saturday; day six of our missions trip. We have a cookout at the Boys and Girls club and then we are done. It has definitely been one of the best missions trips I have ever been on, but it has also been one of the hardest; physically, mentally, and spiritually.

We get up and meet at the church by eight o'clock. We usually get to our individual backyard Bible clubs at ten til nine to set up. My crew (led by Allen Thornton), Lauren Howell, Rebekah Magnus, Alyssa Romand, and Andrew Etherington were at Jessica Bunting's house. The first day we had a girl named Justis come and towards the end of the day two brothers, Brent and Javon.

Then we pack up and head to the DreamCenter around eleven. We are there playing with the kids from 11:30 to 3:30. We have music, a lesson, games, crafts, and a lot of time to hang out. Most of the boys from our team would get there and start running and wouldn't stop until we left.

Next was the Boys and Girls club. Our team then split into about half. One have went into the gym to help with the basketball camp while the other half stayed in the craft room, snack room and game rooms to play with the kids that didn't want to play basketball.

While this trip was trying physically, it was more trying spiritually. These kids weren't the good, bible belt Christians that we were used to. Some of them were rude, disrepectful (especially to women), and openly selfish. We faced the smae things everyday. "Hey, We don't say those words." "No, you can't have that. I said no. Give it back." "Don't hit that kid." It was a lot of repeating ourselves just for them to barely obey us.

In all that though, we did have great conversations and we began to impact them. Most of these kids don't have fathers or any authority figures. That being said they are still faced with rules (from the dreamcenter, etc.). When faced with rules they will do everything in their power to kick and fight against them. Even if they do end up obeying, they let you know they don't like it.

They also take advantage of the weak spined. They would ask for things we were instructed not to give them. They would try to tell us that the leaders said it was alright. Anyone that gave in a bit were preyed upon. Most of the people I saw on the trip did well. They loved on the kids. They played with them. But when they needed to they stood strong. They spoke strong and confident telling the kids what they could not do. The kids seemed to respect that and eventually started to submit more.

This is a brief overview of what we were doing and some of the things we were faced with, but I will be writing more about our trip. The second day was a very impactful day for me. I got to see a team member go through something and God taught me through it. I will write about that tomorrow.

Artwork

So I didn't get my project done over break so I will have to finish it this summer. For now I thought I would post some of my artwork. Feel free to say whatever you want about them. I'm just a beginner and my art doesn't define me. I love art and I love Christ and in this project that I haven't finished I will bring those together. These are just some of my work from Drawing I last semester:






This was a picture taken in my dorm that I drew. It's my first charcoal drawing.






This is a pencil drawing I did from a picture off the Internet. I liked the idea that the flower was her skirt.






This is a sharpie cross-hatch of a flower.






I drew four pencil drawings of body parts of different animals. Placing the boxes next to each other so that it looks like a griffin.






We had to drawing nine four by four drawings in a box form and the pictures had to correlate to each other. I chose nine of my favorite movies. Below are a larger view of the pictures.






Braveheart






The Dark Knight






Gladiator






Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows






The Last Samurai






The Lord of the Rings






The Sixth Sense






Spiderman






Star Wars






This is just a random pencil drawing of a friend.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Our God

A couple of weeks to go, I had the privilege to go to a Chris Tomlin/Louie Giglio concert at ASU. It was a very refreshing night and I learned quite a bit. It was amazing to see so many people worshipping God corporately on a state college campus. It was really good to be encouraged in the Lord and have a night set apart for worshipping God. One song that we sang was Chris Tomlin's Our God.

I love this song and recommend that you look it up. This past friday I got to go to the detention center with some of my old friends from Bible Church and Crystal Hill. It was different than any other time I had been. Most of the members from the band Across the Valley were there playing and Michael Friesen encouraged the kids there to stand/clap/ get into the music. Most of the kids know what we want to hear and will try to give us the right answers so it can be difficult to know whether they are genuine or not. Our job isn't to judge whether they are or not. We are just supposed to love them and share the message with them.

Anyway that night we played the same song that I had heard at the concert; Our God. The kids stood up, danced, clapped, and played beats on the desk. Now I don't know if those kids believed and I know for sure that not all of them were. But that didn't matter. Whether they meant to or not, God was glorified. Music was made and it was pleasing to God. I worshipped well that night. I was filled with both sorrow for my sin and joy for God's grace and mercy to me. I worshipped just as well sitting in a detention center with kids who didn't know what it meant to follow Christ as I did sitting in a gym filled with Christians singing praises to God. Why? Because God was glorified. And we had the opportunity to share the gospel. It truly is amazing.

So in my profile I have mentioned that I am a graphic design major, but I haven't really said much about it or shown very much of my work. I really like my major and in future posts I will post some of my work and comment on them. Currently I am working on a pretty big side project. This idea came to me about a week ago and since it is spring break I have really been able to work on it. I will keep you posted on this project as well.

The Great Exchange

In church today, Pastor Lawrence taught on 2 Corinthians 5:21:

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

After the sermon, the worship band played music while we went to get the elements and take communion. Near the crackers and grape juice, they put a piece of paper titled "The Great Exchange - A Communion Meditation." I want to just copy that on here. Please take time to look and meditate on these truths and how they apply to your life.

"We Come With...

God's wrath upon us
Enmity with God
Our unrighteousness
Enslaved to sin
Sin against God
Addictions to various lusts
Lawlessness
Dead in sin
Hopelessly Lost
Justly deserved punishment
Weak
Ungodly
Sinners
Enemies of God
Disobedience
Slaves to our fleshly nature
Defeated by sin
Spiritually destitute poverty
Enslaved to the spirit of this age
Death and Hell as our future
The devil as our father
Part of the fallen sinful creation
My past sinful life
Cursed because of the law
List of sins against God's law
Racism, class warfare, religious bigotry
Division due to selfishness, self-centeredness
Alienated from God
Sons of the devil, this world"

That's the bad news and if we stopped there everything would be hopeless. But here is the good news of the gospel and the great exchange

"By the Cross We Receive...

God's favor
Peace with God
Christ's righteousness
Redeemed (bought with a price)
Forgiveness
Freedom in Christ
Penalty paid in full
Alive in Christ
The hope of heaven
Propitiation (anger and wrath appeased)
Can do ALL things through Christ
Made godly by God's gift of righteousness
Status as God's "holy-ones" - saints
Reconciliation with God
The obedience of Christ credited to us
Slaves of God
Victorious in Christ over sin
Every spiritual blessing in Christ
Deliverance from this evil age
Life and heaven as our future
Reborn from above - God is our Father
Made a new creation in Christ
All things new in Christ
Status as blessed in Christ
Released from punishment due our sins
Dividing wall is torn down
Unity in One new Man - Christ
Acceptance in Christ
Sons of God"

Repentance

I would like try to give you an image of repentance by looking at two people who knew Jesus and openly sinned against him while he was physically alive; Peter and Judas. Growing up a Christian, I always had this image as Peter being the good guy, while Judas took the role as the bad guy. Truth is they were both sinners just like us. The open sin that they committed was right before Christ was crucified.

Peter, as predicted by Jesus, denied that he knew Christ three times before the rooster crowed. Judas, again predicted by Jesus and apart of God's plan of salvation, betrayed Jesus and gave him over to the chief priests to be killed.

Even though all sins are equally bad and will award us a one-way ticket to hell and the wrath of God, denying the Son of God and betraying him to be killed seem pretty bad. But look at both men's actions up to that point.

Judas premeditated the betrayal of Christ. Matthew 26:14-16 says,

"14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him."

He sought an opportunity to betray him. Judas was looking. He was trying to betray him, because money was more important.

Peter didn't dwell on betraying Jesus. He was in a place with people who were not followers of Jesus and he denied him because he was didn't want to get into trouble. Does this make Peter's sin better than Judas'? Of course not. But Peter had a life that was about serving Christ, not about looking to betray him.

The most important part of this story and the topic of this post comes in their response to their sin. Both felt guilt and wished they could take back what they had done.

It says that Judas tried to give back the money to the priests. He says, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But if you look he never tries to undo what he did. Judas didn't think that he could be saved from the wrath of God for his sin. When you have this mindset, then you have no hope. If we cannot be saved from God's wrath, then life is pointless. Because of this, Judas committed suicide.

On the other hand, God illustrates true repentance through Peter, who after his denial went and "wept bitterly." This is the proper response to sin; true sorrow for what I have done. I should feel bad. I should mourn when I sin against the holy God of the universe who created me. But Peter doesn't die mourning. He uses his mistake to grow. The Holy Spirit works in our lives and uses even our sins to sanctify us.

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

God can get glory even from our sin. When we sin, it promotes God mercy and grace, which gives God glory. I want to end this with some words from Matthew Henry about this passage and repentance.

"True repentance for any sin will be best evidenced by our abounding in the contrary grace and duty; that is a sign of our weeping, not only bitterly, but sincerely. Some of the ancients say, that as long as Peter lived, he never heard a cock crow but it set him a weeping. Those that have truly sorrowed for sin, will sorrow upon every remembrance of it; yet not so as to hinder, but rather to increase, their joy in God and in his mercy and grace."
-Matthew Henry

Comparing Peter's response to denying Christ to Judas' response to betraying Christ.

Worship and Evangelism

"9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."

Hebrews 13:9-15

Pastor Todd Murray taught us on this passage of scripture this past sunday during equipping hour. He taught on the relationship between worship and evangelism. Too often people think of worship just as singing hymns on sunday morning. We try to label it and try to use forced concentration to worship during that time. We also argue about style. We are so fixed on whether we should play modern or classical. This is especially true of those who grow up Christian. Why are we having to try so hard to worship? Because we aren't evangelistic.

We aren't evangelistic because we like to sit comfortably. Trying to be moral Christians, having all Christian friends, during the week and just going to church on sunday will ruin worship. When we sit comfortably, we become lazy and have no visible "need" to worship. So we struggle through it.

Notice verse 12:
"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood."

Jesus went to those outside the "gate" of Israel, which means he went to non-believers; the sick who needed a physician. This is Christ's work on the cross providing salvation for all who believe, and at this point it was extended past Jews to all ethnicities. Jesus spend most of his ministry with believers. He chose his disciples and then went to those who needed him.

Now look at verse 13:
"Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured."

We are to follow him and go to the non-believers. He are to spend time with the sinners and tax-collectors of our day and show them the love of Christ. This won't be easy as the second part of the verse says. We will have to endure the hardships that come because of dealing with sinful people. But we have to remember what is said in the previous verse; that Christ did the same for us, the "Christian" people.

When we follow Christ's command and evangelize the lost, we will become tired and weary. We should exhaust ourselves spiritually for Christ. That is why Christ has set apart one day to dedicate completely to him. So we can refuel. And when we exhaust ourselves for Christ, it no longer becomes a struggle to worship Christ, especially corporately.

When we come to church after exhausting ourselves for Christ, we won't care about style. we won't be as easily distracted either. We will come weary and broken saying, "Let's sing and talk about and worship Jesus!" It will be a time to replenish ourselves so that we can go out again and share the news about our Lord!

This convicts me in two ways. First, I'm not exhausting myself for Christ. Do I come starving for corporate worship? Am I so investing in unbelievers that when I am in the Word and around God-focused believers I want to praise Him and worship Him? Sadly, I do not.

Second, I am not accurately worshipping God. Do I look to sunday as the highlight of my week? Is it a day where I can refuel myself spiritually? Do I look at time in the Word and time spent with believers as blessed time from God? Is worshipping God the life source of my starving soul? Again, I do not. I prefer to sit comfortably in my Christian world with my Christian friends not doing worldly things (notice I didn't say "doing Christian things" because if we were to do the Christian thing we would follow Christ). This is a wrong lifestyle. It is not a lifestyle of obedience, but thankfully Christ forgives us and gives us another chance.

Lord, I pray that you would help me in my worship. Help me to exhaust myself for you. I want to be weary of this world by evangelizing you to the lost. I want to come to your house craving for worship not fighting to concentrate on worshipping you. I praise you for sending your Son to save us. I also praise him for being an example of how we are to live. Please break my lazy lifestyle and fill it with a lifestyle burning to share the good news about salvation. I want to give you the worship you deserve and I want to desire to worship. Worship is not a duty, so help me not to view it that way. I pray this all in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Fleeing Sin

I have started Pilgrim's Progress and want to write about certain things I learn through this reading experience. I have read it before but it was a long time ago. I realized that this could be very helpful for me and others who are trying to live this life in reality.

At the beginning of the book, we find a man named Christian, who lives in the City of Destruction. Christian is weighed down by a heavy burden and is distressed by what he has read in his big book. The book tells him that the City of Destruction, where Christian lives, will be burn with fire from heaven. He was burdened but did not know what to do, so he took a walk in the fields with his book. There he met a man named Evangelist.

Evangelist asked him what was wrong and the man told him of his fears. When asked why he was still in the city, Christian respond that it was because he knew not where to go. Evangelist points him to a gate, but Christian could not see it. So Evangelist says go toward the light and there you will find the gate. At the gate you will be told what to do.

"So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now, he had not fun far from his own door when his wife and children saw him and began to cry for him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears and ran on, crying, 'Life! Life! Eternal life!So he did not look behind him, but fled toward the middle of the plain."

This part is so powerful. The man hated his sin so much that he fled at that very moment from the city. Even when his wife and kids came to stop him, he never looked back. He continued to run with the same intensity for life. He didn't go back and prepare for his journey. As soon as Evangelist told him what to do, he did it. He trusted God and hated his sin enough to get out of the city before anymore harm could befall him. Nothing in that city was important enough to keep him there for another second; not his friends, not his wife, not his kids.

I am reminded of Joseph when faced with the temptation to sleep with Potiphar's wife. The Bible said he fled. He turned and ran out of the house as fast as possible. He didn't linger. He was so convinced that God had better than sin could offer that he didn't even consider going against God.

This makes me wonder what I do when faced with temptation and when I see sin in my life. Do i turn and run? Or do I linger and play with it a bit? Am I constantly on guard so that when I am suddenly faced with temptation I can flee without a second thought like Joseph did? When I see my sin and realize what I need to do to be right with God, do I run after it like Christian?

Sadly most time the answer is no. But thanks be to God for Christ who died for our every sin, so that we can be saved and have a relationship with God. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who will help guide us through life, so that we may be able to flee. This relationship between us and every part of the trinity is only possible through Christ Jesus. He was the man that lived the same life we did. He was tempted in every way we were, and he succeeded in every one of those temptations. Then he died to save us. His perfect life is the reason that we can be with God. It is also the only way we can say no to sin.

Thank you, Lord, for sending your only Son to die for us. Thank you for making this prayer possible through that work on the cross. Lord, we know that we fall short every day, but we also know that you look at us and see Christ's righteousness and not our own, because we have none. I thank you for that substitution. I pray that you would guide us through your Holy Spirit. Help us to flee sin, and be more like you. We can only do this through the help of your Spirit. Thank you for all the blessings you give us, including victory over sin. Help us never to take credit for that, but to exalt and praise you. Amen.