I'm Done With Blogger.com

Beta-blogger greatly discouraged me...

Because of the pain, I am switching to Wordpress blogs.

From this point forth, I have combined our married-persons blog and my blog into one and you can find it here: largerneedle.wordpress.com

Eipscop-Alien Gospel and The Need For "Fences"

Upon reading a blog post by Mark Driscoll on TheResurgence, I learned that the Episcopal (Anglican) Church has elected a female leader for their denomination in Katharine Jefferts-Schori. The pro-feminism, pro-homosexual marriage Jefferts-Schori is the first female leader of the denomination which has been in existence for approximately 500 years. If you want to read a bit more on her, you can check out the link I provided above.

However, if you do check out the post Driscoll, you may want to also check out another link provided in the "comments" section of that blog, of an article on Jefferts-Schori by Time Magazine. (Note: I am no longer typing the "Jefferts-" part of her last name...considering her hyphenation is probably some feminist attempt to remain independent of her husband.) In said article, there is some very revealing information when Schori answers questions asked of her by the journalist. I will post the ones that I think are most alarming:

• Question: What will be your focus as head of the U.S. church?
  Answer: Our focus needs to be on feeding people who go to bed hungry, on providing primary education to girls and boys, on healing people with AIDS, on addressing tuberculosis and malaria, on sustainable development. That ought to be the primary focus.
• Question: The issue of gay bishops has been so divisive. The diocese of Newark, N.J., has named a gay man as one of its candidates for bishop. Is now the time to elect another gay bishop?
  Answer: Dioceses, when they are faithful, call the person who is best suited to lead them. I believe every diocese does the best job it's capable of in discerning who it is calling to leadership.
• Question: Many Anglicans in the developing world say such choices in the U.S. church have hurt their work.
  Answer: That's been important for the church here to hear. We've heard in ways we hadn't heard before the problematic nature of our decisions. Especially in places where Christians are functioning in the face of Islamic culture and mores, evangelism is a real challenge. [But] these decisions were made because we believe that's where the Gospel has been calling us. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has come to a reasonable conclusion and consensus that gay and lesbian Christians are full members of this church and that our ministry to and with gay and lesbian Christians should be part of the fullness of our life.
• Question: What is your view on intelligent design?
• Answer: I firmly believe that evolution ought to be taught in the schools as the best witness of what modern science has taught us. To try to read the Bible literalistically about such issues disinvites us from using the best of recent scholarship.
• Question: Is belief in Jesus the only way to get to heaven?
  Answer: We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box.
• Question: What is your prayer for the church today?
  Answer: That we remember the centrality of our mission is to love each other. That means caring for our neighbors. And it does not mean bickering about fine points of doctrine.

Though she claims Isaiah 61 is her favorite passage of the Bible, I don't know that Schori has read the rest of Holy Scripture.

Her primary...PRIMARY...focus is to feed the hungry, heal diseases, and provide education. These are good things for Christians to practice, but are they our primary focus? What happened to the worship of Jesus? Is it not the desire for Jesus to be worshiped and for his glory to be known - through the gospel - that Christians take action in the world? Without our foundation, there will be no fire that sends us out to do good works, that people might see them and "give glory to our Father who is in Heaven", Christians become humanists rather than Jesus-lovers, and the renown of Christ is belittled.

If a diocese elects a gay bishop, then their so called "discernment" is nullified and no one should submit to their leadership. Yet, according to Schori, there is no discrepancy between a diocese being "faithful" and their election of a gay bishop.

If gays and lesbians are indeed full members of the church of Jesus, well...then we have been deceived by the Bible: "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, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. 6:9-10. The funny thing is...Paul says in that passage "do not be deceived"...thus, we know Schori is out of bounds in saying just the opposite.

If reading the Bible "literalistically" (I thought it was just "literally", evidently we must add "istical") disinvites us from scholarship...so be it. We are not here to reject the literal teachings of the Bible for the sake of being invited into a scholarly fraternity.

Here's the one that burns me (and Jesus) the most: To say that Jesus is the only way to God is to put God in an "awfully small box." To make little of the sovereign plan of God - in which he crucified his own Son to appease the wrath he had against us, adopting us into the family of God, securing for us an eternity spent with him - by calling it a "small box" is indeed blasphemous. Katharine Schori looks at Jesus and says, "What you have done is not big enough for me."

And to sum up her prayers for the church, she says that she would have us remember that the centrality..CENTRALITY...is to love each other. All this time...2000 some-odd years...and the church has been centered around the wrong thing. Thank you, Katharine Schori, for clearing that up. Our center is no longer Jesus. Our center is no longer the gospel. Our center is no longer the hope of having Christ as your portion forever. Nope...our center is a vague definition of love (see this post).

I plead with all who read this: Build fences around the gospel of Jesus Christ, who bore your sins. Protect it by establishing truths from the Bible. Draw lines when it comes to doctine. And over time, those who would call you unloving for doing so will no longer have a gospel. They will have their "feet firmly planted in mid-air". Be careful that your passion for unity does not truncate your REASON for unity: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mind you...we are watching as the Episcopal denomination has declared itself higher than the very Word of God. Remind you of anything.....?....

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?

"But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'

"...she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."

- Gen. 3:1,5,6

"Truth loves the light, and is most beautiful when most naked."

- Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor

Book Review: No Place for Truth (Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology)

I am so stoked that I actually found a big picture of a book.

Anyways...I'm not sure I can do a brief book review for this one. It covers way too many topics; so much so that it's hard to believe that David Wells stuck it all inside this relatively small book. Nonetheless, I shall do my best.

I think maybe the best route would be to do a bulleted list of some of the things he covers, and then I'll say a few words (as if they matter).

-The decline of the church as the center of communities.
-The decline of communities.
-The effects of modernism on society.
-The effects of modernism on the church.

-The disappearance of theology (and thinking for that matter) from the church.
-The rise of "businessmen-as-pastors" and the decline of real shepherds.
-The predicament of our "advancing" society and the type of person it produces.
-Shallowness in the understanding of God in the church (see bullet #5 from above).
-Several ironies:
a) America's people beg for more options (in everything), yet the options leave them overwhelmed and less-productive.
b) The de-emphasis of theology in order to focus on evangelism; yet the de-emphasis of theology makes evangelism disappear (because evangelism is rooted in good theology).
c) The incorporation of secular management techniques in churches that condemn the practices of secular culture.

The list could go on. When I read this book, I felt as though I had a bird's-eye-view of what is going on with the American church. Wells is verbose; but if one takes the book slowly (a must) and follow his lines of thought, his crystal-clear conclusions come into view, leaving the reader dumbfounded at what is going on in everyday life. Sometimes we are so rooted in culture, we are not able to diagnose its maladies. I am thankful for Wells, as he untangles the knots of complication that are the trends of the American church. This book is the first in a four-part series. Be looking for book reviews of the other in the future, and hopefully I can tie them all together.

The Necessity of The Minister's Self-Watch

By now many of you have heard of the controversy surrounding former president of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of the 14,000 member New Life Church, Ted Haggard. He was accused of paying for sex from a homosexual male prostitute (which he denies). However, what has surfaced is that he did pay to receive massages from him and purchased methamphetamines from him. All of these discoveries were made after he denied even knowing his accuser. It is a horrible, horrible situation and I can't imagine what his wife and five kids are going through.

However, this blog post is not to rant about that, but to point you to a recent blog post by Mark Driscoll on the dangers of pastoring and a bulleted list of practical helps that ministers should pay heed to in order to flee from sin and temptation. I learned much by reading it and I think it's profitable for anyone planning on doing faithful ministry.

Also, a reminder to anyone who chooses to exalt himself over Haggard as though they have a better ability to resist sin...I quote you Allen Duty: "The only difference between us and him is inches...we are all only inches away from temptation and sin all the time." We are not good people; and we sure as heck do not have any power in and of ourselves to resist sin. We must press into Christ to know him and love him more; building a hatred for sin and an intense love for holiness.

The NBA and The Son of Man

You don't expect to read an article like this when you're rummaging through ESPN.com. Well, at least if you're me. Needless to say it caught my attention for a good while.

For those of you who clicked on the above link, saw the article, and decided you did not have time to read the whole thing...here's the skinny. Lamar Odom, a forward for the Las Angeles Lakers, has had some recent suffering in his life. His offseason included burying his infant son Jayden, the death of his aunt, and a robbery at gunpoint in Queens, NY (he was shot at as the robber fled the scene). Thus, Mr. Odom has been sobered. Apparently - and rightfully so - the death of his infant son has done the most to awaken him to reality. According to the article, he has been thinking much about death, evil, etc. All of which is enough to make a human question what is going on in the world.

However, his response is quite intriguing. He is coming out with his own line of clothes. What will they look like, you ask? Well, for an example one can view the above image on this blog post. The clothing line is called "Son of Man" and the clothes will exhibit pictures of Jesus as Odom interprets them from the Bible. The one above, as you can tell, is the Jesus who is coming back "not too happy" as Mr. Odom would say. He hopes that his clothing will make a statement about Jesus being a real role-model/icon for youngsters to look up to, as opposed to current day rappers and athletes who do not do such a good job of the aforementioned. Though outerwear is involved in his response, do not dismiss Odom's thinking as merely skin deep. His pain is real and he is clamoring for something.

The article goes on to talk about how the recent tragedies have turned him back to his roots as he was raised going to church. However, he also mentions something about the Quran - as though he is interested in it as well - and he has hired a Muslim cleric to teach him about Islam. What does this all mean? Beats the heck out of me. It seems though that death has Odom thinking about eternity so much that he is reaching in different directions trying to find something. So, I posted this for several reasons. 1) If you remember, pray Jesus would speak to Odom as he rummages through the Bible, and that he would be drawn to Jesus and not Mohammad. 2) Pray Jesus would be seen as more than just a role model. 3) Be on the lookout for these clothes...what a great conversation starter! 4) I just thought it was incredibly interesting.

(P.S. - I say "Son of Man" is way better than "Jesus is My Homeboy")

The Goose and the Gospel

Jan Hus, 1380-1415

He's not the most popular reformer out there. In fact, his memory lives in the shadow of his own successors Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. Some may not even wish to call him a "reformer" seeing as how he died a century before anything sparked the movement we know as the Reformation. Yet, I hope that a brief recounting of his story will show a couple of things in light of this year's Reformation Day:

1) God keeps people for himself in every generation, despite the dark clouds that well up and try to blot out the glory of the gospel in some eras.

2) The sovereignty of God in bringing about the Reformation.

Jan Hus was born a Bohemian (modern-day Czech Republic) in 1371 [Important: "Hus" is the Bohemian word for "goose", and he referred to himself as such, as did his friends]. Though he was born a peasant, he pursued a path in higher education and enrolled at the University of Prague where he received a masters degree in 1396, became professor of theology in 1398, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1400. This time period was actually quite messy for the Roman Catholic church, for this is when "The Great Schism" took place.

The schism describes a split in the authority of Roman Catholicism. Under pressure from the King of France, the seat of the Popes was moved the Avignon France where it remained for 70 years (now called the "Babylonian Captivity" of the church, referring to the 70 years that the Jews were enslaved to the Babylonians). In 1376, the pope returned to Rome and died. Thus, his accompanying French cardinals were pressed to elect another pope. However, feeling the pressure from the citizens of Rome, they elected an Italian pope. Afterward, they fled and denounced their decision claiming they were under pressure; therefore, their papal election was void. From France, they then elected another pope who was French. Now there were two popes, and to settle the matter they arranged the Council of Constance. At the council, they elected another pope...hoping the other two would step down (which they did not do). Therefore, the successor of the third pope - Pope John XXIII - decided to subdue his rivals by force. In order to do this, he would have to raise money for a war effort to supply his men with weapons, armor, etc. He chose as his fundraising method the selling of indulgences; that is, if one pays enough money, he/she can buy spiritual blessings. The selling of indulgences was rampant and Hus was not about to tolerate it.

(During this time it is important to note that Hus had been greatly affected by the writings of John Wycliffe...another pre-Reformation reformer). Hus spoke out against the indulgences and other Roman Catholic practices, such as the belief that the pope was God's divinely appointed head of the church. Being he was a respected professor and well-loved priest, his audience was not small. His decryings of the pope's evils made so much noise that he himself was summoned to appear before the Council of Constance to give an account for his "blasphemous" teachings. They granted him safe passage even if he was found guilty; thus, he came before the Council.

However, his enemies lied and when he would not recant, they chained him up, and paraded him through the streets as a heretic. Shortly thereafter, Jan Hus was burned at the stake for his teachings.
But before his captors could shut him up with the fire, as he was singing hymns, he also made this prophetic announcement (as quoted by one of his onlooking opposers):

"You are now going to burn a 'goose', but in a century you will have a swan, which you can neither roast nor boil." The year...1415.

One hundred and two years later, Martin Luther nailed up his 95 theses in Wittenburg, Germany...sparking the Reformation. For many, the swan spoken of by Hus is Martin Luther; one who the authorities could not silence.

Whether or not Hus was prophetic is not the point. The point is, Christ has kept for himself believers in every generation, using them to strengthen and teach one another (i.e. - Wycliffe and Hus, Hus and Luther). And how God willed the burning of a 'goose' that led to the singing of a 'swan'. Thank God that he preserves his gospel throughout history in order to save those whom the Father has given to the Son.

Happy Reformation Day.

Book Reveiws Out of My Ears

Well...not quite out of my ears. It's not like I'm reviewing eight books or something. However, I am going to do two short reviews. Recently, Justin Taylor of "Between Two Worlds", put out a generous offer. To anyone who so desired, he would send pdf files (that means Adobe Acrobat) of two upcoming releases from Crossway Books for that person to read and review a few chapters. Subsequently, if that person posted a review on his/her blog and on Amazon.com, then Crossway would send them a free copy of both books when they came out. So, I took part in it and thus...this blog. The books were "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God" - the book format of the 2006 Desiring God National Conference - and "Overcoming Sin and Temptation" by John Owen (edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic).

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God Review

-Sobering. As we live in a culture in which we get lost in the minutiae of every day, this book makes one stop and think. To read about God’s plan for pain is jolting; which, if you think about it, it is quite unbiblical that suffering be such a shock. Jesus came in order to suffer; the Son of Man was a martyr for his Father’s plan. After Jesus blinded Saul on the road to Damascus, he sent Ananias to heal his eyes and told him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Nothing about the life of the apostles seemed easy. We are even guaranteed that if we desire to live godly lives in Christ, we will suffer. Therefore, the church in America can not continue on the path it has taken; that is, being - and becoming more - detached from suffering. This book, bucking the trend of contemporary society, grabs hold of timeless truths from God’s Word and confronts the issue of suffering and death. It brings to its readers the comfort of knowing that in death and in suffering God remains in sovereign control.

Overcoming Sin and Temptation Review

-“If vain spending of time, idleness, unprofitableness in men’s places, envy, strife, variance, emulations, wrath, pride, worldliness, selfishness be badges of Christians, we have them on us and among us in abundance…The good Lord send out a spirit of mortification to cure our distempers, or we are in a sad condition!” -Owen. Reading John Owen on sin feels as though he has tapped into my own mind’s infirmities. His reflections on the subject of sin and temptation make me know that not only does he know what the Bible says particularly about sin, but also that he is honest with his own thought-life and applies the Word. I feel as though I waste time hacking at the fruits of sin, while Owen swings a mighty axe at the root; severing anything that might dare spring up and flower. What’s more, is that this particular book is – I feel – more accessible than some of Owen’s other readings due to the faithful work of its editors. Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic do a great job of analyzing Owen and giving suggestions on how to read and think about the man behind the writing as well as the writing itself.

So, there you have it. I would especially encourage anyone in my generation to read these books, as they are written by older saints who have gone before us and who have remained faithful in the ministry of the gospel.

Reformation Day....Oct. 31st

It's time to celebrate. However, instead of the normally promoted "Halloween", or as some old school witch doctors say "All-Hallow's-Eve", why not celebrate a movement in which the gospel of Jesus Christ was pushed back to the forefront of Christendom? I'd say that's something to celebrate. Who knows where we'd be if the Reformation had not happened? There has been a suggestion for the blog world as to how to commemorate such a great move of God by Justin Taylor. I think I'm in on it as far as posting a blog about it (but not the contest part).

So...mark your calendars, and remember some of our fellow saints who have gone before us and handed down the faith "that was once for all delivered to the saints".

You guys should come to my next concert.

Woot.

(It's not really me.)

(Now I'm writing like Heather...no more than six words per line I think.)

(Very sporadic.)

Dolla' Dolla' Bills, Ya'll

So much for me being faithful in posting thoughts about money. It's been too long. The problem I have in thinking about what Jesus said about money, is that I just think about it. I don't actually write stuff down, organize my thoughts, or actually form cohesive thought about it. Thus the lack of posts about this topic.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." -Matt. 6:24

I'd say this is just as good a starting place as any to look at what Jesus said concerning money. I guess the question we're left with is...how do you serve money? I think the answer is different from what we might give as a quick answer. Or maybe we should ask also, how do you serve God? Also in line are these questions: If you love money, why do you hate God? And if you love God, why do you hate money? This is what is presented to us in the aforementioned verse. If you serve money, you'll hate God...and if you serve God you will despise money. That is what I plainly read, anyway. So there is much to deal with concerning this passage.

Let's start with "If you love money, why do you hate God?": It seems there is two ways to do this. First, you can make money your sole object of affection; that is, money is what you are consumed by. Thus, if anything else threatens your affection for money, you hate it. If Jesus comes in making demands from you about money (as he did with the rich young ruler), you will hate him for that. Secondly, there is a more subtle way that I feel we are more prone to do; that is, one can use God as a means to get money. You worship as a means to become wealthy. If God is a means to ANYTHING, he is hated. If God is the route you take to get to some other ultimate end besides God, you have hated God. It is that simple. I am reminded of Jeremiah 2:12-13 -

"Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."

Therefore, perhaps we can apply the same reasoning when answering, "If you love God, why do you despise money?" If you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength as we are commanded (...which we all fail to do), you will hate money if it encroaches upon your desires for God. If money comes in and tempts you to give away any of your devotion, longing, or desire for Jesus, then you must hate it. When it comes to love for God, Jesus did not soften his message: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Here we see the strong language again. Are we to actually disdain our parents? Are we to loathe them? Are we to hold money-burning ceremonies to show our hatred for it? Or how about this: "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." Are we to literally cut off our hands? If so, the vast majority of Christians would be walking around without hands...as well as eyes. Without trying to make this easier to swallow, I do wish to interject a thought.
Jesus is serious about our affections for him versus everything else; we are not to give glory to anything else. We are not to be satisfied in anything else. Therefore, if any desire, including money, competes for our love for Jesus, we must take extreme measures. If we are tempted to follow money rather than Jesus in any decision, we must repent. If we look adoringly upon the security money offers us, we must flee from it. Money is to be held loosely, I think. "Do not store up treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal." Thus, if we love money, we hate God. If we love God, we hate money. I'd love to hear thoughts on this....

Next up: How do we serve money? How do we serve God?

"The bodies of 40 men who were shot and had their hands and feet bound have been found in the capital over the past 24 hours, police said Thursday. All the victims showed signs of torture, police Lt. Thayer Mahmoud said. They were dumped in several neighborhoods in both eastern and western Baghdad, he said. The top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, , Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, on Wednesday said murders and executions are currently the main cause of civilian deaths in Baghdad. Much of the violence has been attributed to death squads, many of which are thought to be offshoots of mainly Shiite militias." -CNN.com

I was confronted this morning by a lingering question concerning this article: Who will take the gospel to the "death squads"? Just something to think about...I know I will.

"It Ain't Sausage if it Ain't Janak's"

The words I typed above appear on a sign directly below the character seen above. (If you did not notice, the guy is a big sausage link with a cowboy hat on...I love this picture). Nonetheless, my post is actually not about Janak's (pronounced who knows how), but rather something I learned on a dove-hunting trip this weekend, during which we passed this sign along with a couple other priceless gems.
I went on the trip with David Rekerdres (Bethan's brother) and Landon Carl seen below:
We had a great time. We shot flying animals, we ate them, and we had some good time just hanging out and enjoying time on the ranch.
But, the thing I learned, is that though I enjoyed myself thoroughly, I was able to see that my life with Bethan is much more enjoyable. I started thinking about all the things she does as my wife, and about the time we spend together...and I have to say that it is way better than anything else I could do anywhere with anyone else. I love her very much, and my quality of life has increased one-hundred fold since marriage.

Thank you Jesus for Bethan.

Spiritual Bankruptcy in the Prosperity Gospel

First...read this article.

Now, on with the post. It is obvious that the way we teach about money and the way we use money can effect the world, and more importantly...souls. I am greatly angered that people who do not know Jesus walk into churches and hear such garbage and again walk out of the church continuing to dangle over the pit hell; not having any clue as to what is real or truthful.

It is clear to me that the prosperity gospel is emtpy, it must be abominated, and we must not consider toying even with it's outlying teachings. Needless to say, I have been further motivated to continue learning and writing about what Jesus says about money, possessions, and comfort (I added comfort because it seems as though being comfortable is also included in what Jesus desires for his people...whom he calls to die...and suffer with him for the gospel...hmmmm).

Jude Elijah Estes

Sept. 3, 2006

3:54 p.m.

6 lbs. 3 oz., 19 in.

Congratulations Jon and Sally!!
Jesus has blessed you with a beautiful baby boy!

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 'These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.'"

Jesus: The Sheep Door (An Interlude in the Posts About Money)

John 10:1 - "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."

No, the man in the above picture is not Jesus...But, this morning I was thinking about this verse and all the other doors that people try and enter through, in order to become part of the sheepfold of God. I was thinking that there are those who try to blend in with the church by doing good deeds. Some try and rest in church attendance. And soon I thought to myself, some try and come through the door of "a relationship with Jesus". Now, many who read that may think..."Brandon, you are indeed blasphemous. Are you saying it is bad to have a relationship with Jesus?" Well, for those reading this...probably not. For those who are born again do indeed have a relationship with Jesus. But for many, this is a problem.

What I mean by this, is that the Bible NEVER teaches that a mere relationship with Jesus is what brings about salvation. In fact, I don't know that Jesus ever says to anyone, "To be saved, come...have a relationship with me." I think the dangerous part of this kind of talk is that many Christians say, "You must have A relationship with God." In other words, "there are many kinds of relationships...just choose one of them." This all may sound ridiculous, but I have talked to people who were raised in churches that taught "relationship instead of religion". They could talk to me till they were blue in the face about "knowing" Jesus and "having a relationship with him", yet they were not born again. Interesting how that happens, huh? But as I look at the gospel of "having a relationship" with Jesus, I notice that it is a gospel that the world can swallow quite easily. They think to themselves, "I have relationships with many people. In fact, I am quite good at relationships. I have a relationship with my wife, my kids, my parents, my boss, my secretary, my friends...I've got relationships coming out my ears!" And thus they construct a relationship with Jesus by their standards, not by God's.

If we are to talk about having a relationship with Jesus, we must also include the criteria of that relationship...you know, like Jesus did. He never told people to have a relationship with him, but he did say "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He did say, "Turn from your sin." He did command people to "believe in the Son of Man." He did tell others that if they did not believe, "the wrath of God remains upon him." He also told people that they must be "born again to see the kingdom of heaven", and to "love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength." But he never left anyone guessing with wishy-washy talk about having a relationship, which...if you think about it...is quite confusing and unclear.

Therefore, I think we need to be careful; because telling someone to just "have a relationship" with Jesus can often lead them through a door that is not The Door.

Mo' Money Mo' Prollems

In case you were thinking it...yes, I do know how to spell "problems", but correct pronunciation and spelling does not apply to the language of the street. Therefore, you must deal with the title.

However, on a more serious note, I have been stirred up recently to think about the issue of wealth and Christianity. By wealth, I do not mean merely an abundance of cash or other valuable "whatnots". I feel that in churches today, too much emphasis is placed upon amounts of money or quantity of possessions rather than on the deeper issue. I guess what I have been wondering is...What is exactly the function and place of money and material wealth for people who love Jesus? Or more importantly, what does Jesus teach about wealth? My desire to know about this has arisen due to a few different instances.

The first is, well...I'm married now, and I have to lead my wife and future family in godliness in all areas of life; including finances. So, it is imperative for me to know what Jesus commands.

Secondly, I despise the prosperity gospel or any hint of it in anyone's teaching. Over the years, too much damage has been done by the church in the name of God for the purpose of material gain. Too many pastors love money more than Jesus, and too many congregations are tainted with a subtle love for the things of this world that is almost impossible to encroach upon by another loving Christian or by a faithful shepherd.

Third, most of the teaching I hear on the topic of money seems to be rooted in human reasoning rather than upon what Jesus says. Or at the very least, Jesus' words are considered and then applied in faulty ways by well-meaning people. Most of the time, we hear this disguised as "wisdom" or "smart shopping" or some other responsible-sounding saying that is - sooner or later - accepted as warmly as any other biblical truth.

I hope to be learning about this and blogging about it. I think it is an important issue that contributes - either positively or negatively - to the witness of the church. And I also hope to get some great feedback from anyone who would graciously help me understand Jesus in this area.

New post on our married-people blog "Roger That?"...check it out.

The Deliberate Church...A Very Small Book

So, the book really is not that small. For some reason, I can't find a decent picture of most books to post on here. It's either CBD's picture which includes a "23% off" tag or Amazon.com's photo which has a "look inside" thingy with an arrow on the front. Not diggin' the small pics. However, that is not what I want to write about. I just finished this book this evening and thought I'd give me two cents on it...because at the end of the day I know these authors really do want to know what I think. Not really, but I still like to talk about books.

This book is Mark Dever's (Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, D.C.) sincere effort to share what he has learned in growing a healthy, bible-loving church. He covers everything from expositional preaching, spiritual disciplines, worship, evangelism, membership, eldership, and church structure. The book is geared toward a pastoral audience, so much of the wisdom shared is for the express purpose of helping out new pastors, or even old pastors who are in a situation where reformation is needed in an old and dying church. Also, I think this book may have been a response to "The Purpose Driven Church" by Rick Warren. Warren's book caused a wave of implementation among churches all over the world, achieving almost a cult-like following and a formulaic church administration. Sort of a "plug in Warren's formula and abra-cadabra...your church will grow like a chia pet" mentality. Dever's concern is that the gospel should be our churches' focus in ministry, not a particular method. And when methods are needed (and they are) we should consult scripture; not what necessarily worked in some neighborhood for some pastor in some city 8,000 miles away. Methods can easily glorify man, whereas the Bible and the gospel will glorify Jesus; not to mention the fact that if the gospel is our focus, the church will be built by Christ - not by us. And that is what we want.

So, I liked it a lot. Pastor Dever seems like a man who is living out his faith, applying it to the church he pastors, and - in this book - bearing his heart for the edification of Jesus' people.

Our "married people blog"... open for viewing.

"The Estes Plan"

Jon would probably be upset that I named this post after him, especially since it's about a Bible reading plan and not a new fad diet or something. Anyway, my good friend Jon has designed a Bible reading plan that I am totally enjoying. This one is different from most in that you do not read pieces from four different books per day, but you stay in one particular book so you can actually pay attention and follow what is happening to the end of the book. When we skip around aimlessly from book to book, just trying to follow a reading plan, sometimes we miss development of a particular book's theological concepts and overtones. With Jon's plans, it seems as though we get the benefit of a disciplined reading schedule as well as consistency in reading. I also like the added bonus that in one year, you go through the O.T. once and the N.T. twice, because the O.T. is nearly two and a half times bigger than the N.T. So, click here and check it out.

Obsessed with Ringtones?

So here's a useless post as far as deeper things are concerned, but I must go on. I have provided a link (look down the right side of my page under other blog links) that will take you to a website where you can upload songs from your computer to a website which will then send you a text message to your phone. For each different phone brand you may have, there are instructions on what to do with that text message so you can receive your ringtone. An added bonus to this whole thing, is that when you upload your favorite songs, you can choose which 20 second interval of the song you want to put on your phone to play as the ringtone. Thus, no more buying ringtones with the useless parts of the songs playing. What's the catch? Well, there is none really...except that when you sign up with this unbelievably cool site, i get free ringtones as well. So uh, let's all work together, right? Anyways...if you are interested, there you go. If not...welp...sorry for the lame-o post.

Flower Pelting

Indeed we were pelted with flowers. I was not able to see the culprits, however I am positive that there were several handfuls of petals that were deliberately hurled at my face rather than sprinkled upon us from above. You wouldn't think that flower petals hurt at high speeds...and you would be right in thinking so, because they didn't. So, it really just makes the guy throwing them look a little foolish. But I digress...

Needless to say there are many things different in my life now that I am married. A short list might provide insight as to what I mean:

-I sleep with a woman (not just any woman, namely Bethan).
-I wake up with a woman (see above).
-Bethan cooks me breakfast.
-Bethan cooks me dinner.
-Bethan drives me to work (we only have one car).
-I talk to Bethan a whole lot (and I enjoy it).
-I live with my best friend...who is a woman.
-I share a bathroom with Bethan.
-Bethan uses the toilet after I have used it (and doesn't complain).
-The dishes are washed, all the time.
-My clothes are washed, all the time.
-Bethan knows where everything is.
-It smells better here now.

And the list goes on. All of which are newfound joys in my life. And because this is so new, about every six seconds there is a teachable moment. And this is a good thing because I need to learn a lot of things; namely, how to show Bethan that Jesus is everything he says he is without letting my sin get in the way. I think she would agree as well that there are many teachable moments for her too....teachable moments that must be posted and shared. Therefore, at the risk of adding another web space to the already jam-packed blogosphere, the Rogers family (that has a nice ring to it) will soon be launching a co-published blog for the purpose mentioned above. And also to post funny pictures, cool quotes, and other random things from our new life together. I'll make another post soon with the site information.

As if we don't have enough problems with bumper stickers, t-shirts, jewelry, music, etc....video game makers have come out with "Left Behind: Eternal Forces". Straight from the popular Christian fiction series comes a related video game. I saw a clip on it off of CNN.com which includes an interview with the games designer. The man explains his heart for the game, which consists mainly of reaching a wider market with video games (thank you for the honesty...he could have pulled the "I felt called to do this.." line). What is the game all about you ask? Well, it just so happens that in the game you are part of a coalition force that is fighting a bloody war against the forces of the evil world leader during the end times. In the game, the player is equipped with body armor and a machine gun to annihilate the opposition. But wait! This sounds just like a normal video game! Indeed, it does...and it is. However, along with the power of grenades, missile launchers, helicopters, machine guns, and platoons...the player can also hit the "pray" button. That's right...the pray button. When this button is pressed, the soldier kindly stops killing people, and prays right then and there, thus resulting in renewed strength required to continue killing. Without addressing further the silliness of this game, I think one can gain a good insight into what our culture's view of Christianity is from this. I know it got me thinking.

"What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his life?" -Mt. 16:26

I had some thoughts on this verse this morning. It has been a struggle for me to amass hours at work lately. It's summer time and 30,000 students have left our small town; therefore, business is depleted. This is a bad thing seeing as how I am supposed to support a wife in the near future (12 days). The possibility of a second job is well within contemplation and my prayers have been filled with "Jesus, I trust in you to provide." And this is a good thing I suppose, for he does indeed promise to do so and by his grace he has given me faith in his promises.

However, I was thinking today about when he does provide, will it merely serve to meet my physical needs? Hopefully not, but I can see how I would let it do just that. God could provide in sovereign ways that astound me, yet I could reduce his actions to the base level of my met phyical needs, rather than seeing the provision and gazing upward into the eyes of my holy Creator and becoming enthralled with such a Being. If we reduce the provision of our God to its most base level, we miss out on meaning. And that is when the aforementioned verse applies I think: "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life?" What good is it if our physical needs are met if we don't see meaning and love behind it? What good is the provision for our soul if we are not awestruck by the sovereignty of God in it? We must make the tranlsation from the physical level, to the spiritual in a very real and understandable way. Otherwise...I think we strip our soul of what it needs to survive.

I was blessed today by a conversation between myself and a new friend of mine. He asked what my thoughts were on homosexuality, and so I explained what my convictions were - those of the Bible - but I also took the time to explain that the Bible does not exalt that particular sin above any other sin; for instance, my own self-righteousness. And after explaining that God does indeed deem homosexuality as rebellion against Himself, my friend asked me this: "But what if a gay person has felt gay ever since they can remember, and what if they can't help it?" I thought for a moment, and then answered thusly: "I have also been self-righteous since I can remember, and without Jesus, I can also not help being self-righteous." After this, we both had to agree to continue the conversation later due to the circumstances.

But I have not stopped thinking about his question since. "What if they can't help it?" And, after thinking for a while, I have to say that this question addresses the human problem. We are sinful, and we can not help it. We are born with original sin...we don't learn it. As we grow, our internal fallen nature finds new and various ways to live out that sin, and like my friend said, we can't help it. We are fiends when it comes to sin. We have it inside us and we seek to act it out. And it is this very bondage which God frees us from by the slaying of his own Son to pay our debt. We are completely helpless apart from Jesus.

Now, I think some may disagree and say, "That's wrong. We can indeed help it, we just don't do it." But I think this gives glory to mankind. It is unbiblical for me to point at someone who is not born again and say, "You are a sinner, and you are so because you just won't use the power inside yourself to stop yourself from doing it." This nullifies the cross, it negates the power of Jesus, and it glorifies man. Rather, Christians should talk like this: "You are a sinner. And you are a sinner just like I am a sinner. Apart from Jesus, you and I will only continue to sin because we can not help it. And on judgment day, without Jesus and his righteousness, you and I will both pay for our sins by spending eternity in hell." Humanity is a fallen race. We are rebels who defy God and seek our own glory, and without Jesus we can't help but keep doing the same.

"The Christian Church in America suffers from about 350 years of dominance and prosperity."

- John Piper
Senior Pastor - Bethlehem Baptist Church
Minneapolis, Minnesota

You would think I would have more time to think and write quality posts on here more often considering school is over for me; however, I'm finding out that it is not so. But for good reasons...because hanging out with real people, talking and planning the wedding with Bethan, and reading are all much, much more satisfying than keeping up with this thing. Nonetheless, I feel like posting something.

Being human, I realize the bent we all have to sin. In fact, outside of God's work in us, we try very hard to sin. Apart from being born-again, humans are geared to love sin and desire it. And while knowing this, I still am dumbfounded at passages like Isaiah 53:6 - "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all." So, as humans go about their merry way, loving sin...God redeems a sinful people to himself and calls them his own. And not only this, but he does it by way of killing his own Son Jesus. And this tells me something: God's love for his glory is greater than our love for sin. God's desire to show his worth among humans abounds to the extent that he will crush his own Son in order to pay for the sins of many, that they might see his glory and worship him forever. Therefore, I am glad that when my flesh crawls for sin, I know that God will counteract it with His own greater desire for his glory to be seen.

"Churches that are less diverse than the community in which they exist, misrepresent God."

- Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

David Wells': No Place for Truth (Chapter 1)

It has finally happened. Zach, Jon, and myself finally got our act together and discussed chapter 1 of David Wells' book, and I have already learned much from the book itself, as well as from my two brothers who care enough to talk about what they're learning with me. When I do these posts on Wells' books, I think I will just hammer out two or three of the most significant points I felt coming out of the book. In this particular post, I'll go over the introduction and Chapter 1...

The introduction made two things apparent to me: A) Wells is a phenomenal writer and B) his inspiration and purpose for writing this book. Being (A) needs no explanation, we'll stick to talking about (B). During one of Wells' theology classes at Gordon-Conwell seminary, he mentions a particular instance that spurred him on to the writing of this book. At the beginning of the first class of one semester, he took extra care in giving an accurate introduction to what would be covered in his course. He went on to explain to his students about the importance of theology in knowing Jesus. After the class, a student came up to him and thanked him so much for making it clear to him why theology was important. The student said that before the class he felt as though "he could not justify spending money on a class that was so irrelevant to ministry." Taken aback, Wells' thanked the student and his mind began to percolate, sifting through the words of this misinformed student. He was dumbfounded at how unimportant theology (the study of God) had become in the church. And in this, he found his inspiration to dig, pray, research, pray, and study the culture in order to find out what has happened in the church.

In order to do this, Wells (in chapter 1) begins a semi-sociological study of a town in Massachusetts called Wenham. He gives a history of the town, its foundation, its values, and then moves in to discussing culture changes and, consequently, changes in Wenham. This is the foundation for the rest of the book as he will continue to reveal culture changes and use Wenham as an illustration or example. In this chapter, these were the most interesting and stinging items I learned:

-The overstimulation (or..."overwhelmization") of humans in our current culture. Through telegrams, telephones, internet, televisions, faster transportation, satellites, and other technological breakthroughs, our culture has transcended time, location, and permanence. Humans are expected to be familiar with too many worlds and situations, are commanded to be in too many places within a short amount of time, and are basically controlled by technology. In other words, we have "created a monster" of sorts which has resulted in our becoming less human and more robotic.

-I find it better to quote Wells on this one: "What is most remarkable about modern people is that they are not in scale with the world they inhabit informationally and psychologically. They are dwarfed. And they have been emptied of their metaphysical substance; more precisely, it has been sucked out of them. There is nothing to give height or depth or perspective to anything they experience. They know more, but they are not necessarily wiser. They believe less, but they are not more substantial. They are attuned to experience and to appearances, not to thought and character. And that is what it has meant to move from the kind of life represented by early Wenham to what we today encounter in the modern world."

There was much more packed into this chapter, but those are good overarching thoughts for the entire piece that we read. I think Wells has had some amazing insight so far into a culture which changes so quickly and is so fickle concerning truth, and I'm sure there will be more dots connected as I read on to form a picture of what it is that is happening around us. (Small note - I think the reading of this book needs to be accompanied by actual participation in the world around us to see these phenomena happening.)

How about this incredibly tiny picture? Many people have no idea of the market out there for mini-books. That's right...full length books with incredibly small print at a great price!! Not really, this is just the picture I found first. I bought this book on recommendation by Mark Dever at the Together for the Gospel conference. It turned out to be a good buy. This has some of the best stuff on evangelism that I have ever read.

Most books on evangelism are method-centered; that is, written by some author claiming that they have the best step-by-step way to present the gospel to a person. However, as Will Metzger says in this book, if we evangelize according to a man's method, we have lost focus. His source for how to evangelize is the Bible and one can easily tell that his presentation of the information inside the book is fruit resulting from years and years of application and experience. Another reason I enjoyed the book is because he calls his book "the whole gospel to the whole person", an idea much needed in our evangelism today as we fall short in preaching a complete gospel or in relating to real people. It is practical, sympathetic, and most importantly - it's true. The main theme of the book is that we must understand the gospel. Largely, the church today is preaching a false, ineffective, and deficient (implied by "false") gospel. The church has turned the gospel into an echo of man's worth, rather than a demonstration of God's holiness, righteousness, and love. Metzger also does a great job of making evangelism less mechanical and job-like, and shows it more as what it really is - an overflow of worship.

Sorry for the lame picture from Amazon. I could not find a good one of this book anywhere. So, click as you might, you can not "search inside" this book from this site. However, I finished this book tonight and I loved it. About two months ago I realized that I had heard the term "imputation" but never knew what it meant. Turns out, the meaning of the imputation of Christ's righteousness is a central element to the gospel we preach. Imputation sounds like one of those unintelligible theological terms that scare people away, however understanding what the term is trying to communicate is a must. In a nutshell, imputation means that a Christian has no righteousness in and of himself, but that by faith God credits (or imputes) Christ's righteousness to his account and he is declared not guilty (justified) before the throne. The book unpacks much more (MUCH MORE) of the meat concerning this issue.

This is Piper's response to an article written by Dr. Robert Gundry who claims that the imputation of Christ's righteousness is unbiblical and should be abandoned by the church. The book is an exegetical defense of this doctrine, so there is some Greek stuff involved; however, I know ABSOLUTELY NO GREEK and I could understand it adequately enough to enjoy the book. It's short, thick, and was a great help for me in understanding why we must defend and contend for the doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness.

Love: The Most Tired Word Ever

I was thinking and praying today about love. And I noticed a serious problem; that is, the word in itself has close to no affect on me when it is said in certain contexts. Even when I use the word in certain ways, it has lost much of its meaning. And as I thought, I considered that I am probably not the only person that this has happened to or is happening to. If one ponders the many ways the word love is used in our culture, it has no meaning in and of itself. We use it for everything: "I love ESPN." "I love tacos." "Olive Garden's chicken parmesan...oh, I love it." "I love Will Ferrell's humor." "I love my wife." "I love Jesus." "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." How do these all go together? Perhaps we can add more phrases to the list: "We should stop talking about sin so much, I mean...aren't we supposed to love?" "Church discipline seems like such an unloving thing to do." "We don't focus on the negative here at our church, we focus on love." Indeed, these are things we have all heard from different places. So I ask, then, what is this love so often spoken of? What is its place in our descriptive vocabulary? If I can tell my fiancee that I love her, yet I can also love other, seemingly unimportant things such as a garbage disposal, what am I actually communicating? What, I ask, is love?

One could cut to the chase and quickly say, "Well, the Bible says God is love. So...there's your answer." I do not deny that truth. God is the ultimate definer of love. I bow to that and accept it fully. However, is it not also true that unbelievers (and professing Christians) press that same verse (1 John 4:8) into the faces of Christians who desire to preach the truth? Yes - I'll answer my own question - it is true. Obviously there is a difference in meaning when different people say the exact same thing. So we must get objective with our meaning of love. Therefore, we will look at how "God is love" to see what love actually is.

The apostle John, the same brother who wrote the aforementioned verse, also wrote this in John 3:36 - "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." How can this apostle write these two different verses? He seems to be indecisive on his views of God. Is he loving John, or does he have wrath upon those who don't believe in him? Which is it? This is a must-answer question. For in the world's definition of love, these verses can not exist together, because the world's definition of love exalts man and claims that love is "making much of someone". That is, you are loving when you exalt someone and feed their self-esteem. This is why people get angry with Jesus in the Bible when he confronts sin. But Jesus is clear in John 3:36 that the wrath of God remains upon those who do not believe his Son. My...what an unloving statement. To think that a loving God would be so exclusive!

Yet, it is the most loving thing God can ever do to say such things. It is God's goal to be glorified. His ultimate goal in everything is that he would be lifted high for the world to see and be enthralled with. "How is this love and not vanity?" It would indeed be unloving, if there was something more enjoyable and enthralling than God. However, since there is not, and God reigns over the universe as supremely righteous, holy, beautiful, majestic, powerful, and enjoyable...and he seeks to reveal himself to us that we might worship him...THEN, is he not loving in that he is merely inviting us to behold him as our greatest treasure? How, I ask, is this not love? If God were to give us everything on earth and promote our self-esteem to infinitely high levels, therefore belittling himself (the greatest treasure)...would he not be the most sinister, evil, and cruel being in the cosmos? More yet, would he not be an idolater? Therefore, when God says, "If you do not believe in my Son, my wrath abides on you and I will send you to burn for eternity," as a means to reveal to us his position as God - the righteous judge - then he is infinitely loving in that he ferociously seeks for us to leave lesser pleasures and enjoy him instead. Thus, he receives all the glory by our treasuring him. And his love is amplified in that he does this in the midst of our being blind to his beauty, by slaying his own Son to atone for our rebellion.

Conclusion: "Love is living, striving, desiring, and suffering so that others will be enthralled with what is eternally satisfying; namely, the Son of God - Jesus Christ." (<--not my own quote) Love is tired in our culture, but - Biblically defined - it is most alive.

An Unshakable Promise

To deny the election of the saints, would be to deny certain promises of God that a Christian can not live without. The Lord revealed this to me in John 6:37,39 - "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out...And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day." I think many people are uncomfortable with the idea of election, because it is so utterly outside of man's power and man's control that it scares the life out of us - and rightfully so - therefore some try and just not read the parts of the Bible that deal with this teaching. However, looking at this verse (and the rest of the Bible) I think it's clear that if there is no election, then there is no promise that we will be raised up on the last day. Jesus speaks very pointedly here about God's will. And his will is that Jesus redeem those he has been given, and raise them up on the last day. However, if there is no election (thus removing "those whom Jesus has been given"), then how can there be those whom he will "raise up on the last day"? They go hand in hand; the promise of being raised on the last day is made out of the framework of election. Our coming to God is contingent upon him giving us to the Son. We are a chosen priesthood; unconditionally, and completely apart from our works, before the foundation of the world. We need not fear this in such a way that we try and salvage our imaginary "autonomy", but fear it in such a way that we bow to the Father and rejoice in the promises of the Son.

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES

It's over folks!! The Lord has provided...and my time here at A&M has come to a close. As of 12:20 my grades were posted and my heart is at ease. I do not boast whatsoever in this, for whatever I have, I have received...not earned. The Lord gets glory for graduation!

I am posting this from my palm pilot to see if it actually works...kinda nerdy...nonetheless it's still neato.

Finish...just...ahead...

Like my man Pietri Dorando above, I am close to the end. I took my last test today and am merely waiting until the grades come out tomorrow night. There is one class I feel a bit sketchy about (please pray), but I should be good. So here's to Pietri, for I know what it feels like to have wobbly legs as I come to the finish line. Keep going Pietri, keep going...

Amen Mark Driscoll...Amen

Coming Soon...

School is done Wednesday for me, which means two things: 1) Find a job or jobs and 2) Read for pleasure. Therefore, my wonderful friend Zach Bowden suggested that himself, myself, and Jon Estes' self do a blog correspondence/discussion over four books by David Wells: No Place for Truth, Above all Earthly Pow'rs, God in the Wasteland, and Losing our Virtue. We'll be starting with No Place for Truth (pictured above) and hopefully having thoughtful things to write down about what ol' Wells has to say. I believe the books are all about evangelicalism, culture, and post-modernism...which I am interested in. That is the dealio yo (words I'm sure will not appear in Wells' books), so look for it to start in the next couple of weeks (Lord willing - not spoken as a good luck charm).

Yep...I Read It

Well, I read my first book on marriage. It was a short one...but I had to start small. Mahaney does a great job going through the Song of Solomon and giving sound, Biblical, God-exalting teaching on sex, romance, and the glory of God (hence the title). I recommend it, though it is for husbands, to unmarried guys who still have a few months till the wedding because it is not explicit or detailed in the actual act of sex, but merely gives Biblical teaching on why it exists and what God thinks about it. Also, he spends most of the book talking about his main theme: "Touch her mind and her heart before you touch her body." This was a great subject to read about and it shamed me even in the current, unmarried way I pursue Bethan. There are so many things that men can do, in or out of marriage, to touch the mind and heart of their better halves. Mahaney gets practical and realistic, and the best part is...he celebrates all of it! Pursuing your betrothed, or your wife are Biblical mandates and I found this short read (106 pgs.) to be convicting, helpful, and motivational.

Spurgeon: A New Biography

I just finished this last night. As for how good it was, well...I couldn't put it down really. I read it in six days, which is by no means fast for some people; however, for myself - during finals - it is quite the quick read. The author, Arnold Dallimore, also writes a monstrous two-volume bio on George Whitefield, and I believe he also has a two-volume on Spurgeon too. But I picked up this condensed (240 pg.) version at the Together for the Gospel conference bookstore.

The man had quite an exciting life, exciting in the way that he submitted himself to the Lord in everything. I don't know that I've heard of a more full life outside Biblical characters. The man was pastor of a 4,000 member church by age 28 or so, he ran an orphanage, a widow's home, and a pastor-training school. He published a sermon for mass distribution each week, wrote and edited a magazine every month, preached ten times a week, and still sat down to answer an average of 500 letters per week (before computers and ball-point pens). I do not believe we should try and do what he did. I don't know of anyone who could actually handle that load (Al Mohler....?). Nonetheless, he contended for and preached the faith once for all delivered to the saints and did it with passion and zeal. If you get a chance, read the book (maybe even the whole two-volumes). I think we can glean so much from his genuineness.

At Together for the Gospel they announced the 2006 Desiring God conference: Above All Earthly Powers. They also showed the trailer for this conference and it sent chills up my spine. Check it our here. It's absolutely phenomenal. I want to go real bad...if the Lord permits. I do believe this one is co-ed too! The speakers are John Piper, David Wells (Gordon-Conwell Theological), Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church, Seattle), Voddie Bauchum, D.A. Carson (Trinity Evangelical), and Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian). They will be addressing issues of culture in the ministry...should be amazing.

Thought I'd post a sweet picture from the last day of the conference. From left to right: Matt (a brother from Ohio), Adam, Bret, Me, Jon, Kurt (a brother from California). Matt knows Adam through his fiancee up in "The Buckeye State". Kurt was sovereignly brought to the conference alone which made him available for us to sit with each night and visit with him about life in general. He is the father of two boys (and a girl on the way) and a great husband to his wife. He shared much wisdom about marriage and I ask you all to pray for him as he spreads the gospel out in California.

It's Probably Time to Grow Up

Sad to say...the conference is over; such things are not made to last for long periods of time. The entire thing was nothing short of amazing. There were many things learned about shepherding and preaching that I'm sure will prove invaluable in the future. It was especially nice to watch the four hosts (Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, Al Mohler, and CJ Mahaney) and the three guests (RC Sproul, John Piper, and John MacArthur) on the panel discussion times. They were completely at ease and goofy at times, life-and-death serious at others, and very genuine. It proved true that they were mere sinners who have been mercifully justified by faith before the Father. Each of them has been gifted and they have poured their lives into using those gifts for the Kingdom.

As far as an overall lesson learned: I need to grow up. Big shocker. I realize sanctification is a process, but watching these men made me look at the fruit of discipline in my life and notice the lack of it. Perhaps this feeling culminated the second afternoon/evening with Sproul and Piper, and continued on into hearing about MacArthur's 40 years as a faithful minister of God's word. The weight they feel as souls are in the balance is something we should all taste. There is indeed a call for men to submit to the Father in discipline and living by faith. This is a very weighty, but encouraging thing to feel. After all, the Lord disciplines those he loves. I would encourage guys to check out the mp3's of the sermons when they appear on the TogetherfortheGospel site.

We are here...finally. After 16-17 hours of driving through fluctuating temperatures, rain, hail, and sleepiness, we have reached our destination of Louisville, KY. The Galt House is crazy fancy...I feel out of place...yet it is good to be here with my brothers and enjoy fellowship with them. The ride up was real fun; I drove a total of about 9 and a half hours and the Lord was good to provide energy for that as well as sustain me until now. We are fixing to check in to the conference at 1:45 and then go to Southern's campus to check out a smaller meeting on "blogging to the glory of God" which will be sweet. Then we will be headed back to the Galt to get hoppin' at the conference at 7:00. It should be really sweet and a definite learning experience. Please pray for Jesus-centered thinking and enduring lessons...also, that the Lord would do a mighty humbling work in all the men here. It's so easy to be puffed up at things like this.

Jesus Teaches Through Termination: Part II

I think I briefly mentioned in my last post that I wondered whether or not Joseph worried about what everyone else thought about his arrest and imprisonment for something he did not do. And it is exactly this that I wish to address in this post. Losing my job at a bank could look quite bad to people looking in on the situation, considering that I worked with money. I pondered what people might be thinking: Did he steal money? Was he doing something illegal? These thoughts weighed upon me at first. Would I be looked down upon, pitied, for being seemingly incapable of holding a job?

However, I consider it divine sovereignty that I was/am going through the book of John when this all went down. Scope out these verses:

"I do not receive glory from people." - Jn. 5:41
"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" - Jn. 5:44

When I read this stuff, I felt Hebrews 4:12 in a very real way, for the Word of God proved itself "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and the intents of the heart." My heart was laid bare and my sin was brought out into the open. I realized that I had a serious problem with seeking glory from people. And this is no small issue according to Jesus, for he sees a glaring contradiction between people-pleasing and faith. This is why he says, "How can you believe?" One who seeks glory from people in everything does not come to faith in Christ. And a Christian who seeks glory from people will not believe God's promises for him/her. Faith and people-pleasing hate each other. The Lord was good to remind me of His promises littered throughout scripture and wage war on my mind's battle.

Simply put, Jesus is who we will be staring at with awe for eternity, not any other. We must not live like humans are the ones we desire glory from. Jesus is zealous for his name and he will not allow his children to chase after "broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:12-13). To learn this was worth being fired, if for no other reason at all.