Here is this morning's message (not all the particulars, but the main portion)

UPDATE: I now have the audio version available. If you would like a copy, post a comment to let me know. You cannot be anonymous for me to send you a copy. I will try to post it if I can.

Our text is Mark 8:34-9:1. This text comes immediately on the heels of Jesus’ questioning Peter about who the people said Jesus was and then Jesus asking Peter who Peter thought that Jesus was. We know from another Gospel that Peter’s revelation that Jesus was Messiah came as a gift from God. Then Jesus tells the disciples about how He must suffer, die, and rise as Messiah in order to fulfill Scripture. This teaching is in order to adjust the people’s understanding of Messiah. Like the blind man who just a few verses before Peter’s confession had to be healed twice so that he could not only see, but see clearly, Jesus was opening the people’s eyes to know Him as more than the Messiah who has the power over all things in life, but He would be known as the Messiah who suffered and died and rose again. At this, Peter rebukes Jesus, and the word rebuke is ep-EE-tay-mah-O, which means to both tax with fault as well as to show honor or “raise the price of.” The idea is that Peter tells Jesus something likely in reference to Jesus’ worth being greater than he thinks Jesus realizes, and that Jesus is too great to fulfill such debased prophecies. Then Jesus rebukes Peter for not valuing the things of God highly enough. Think about that. From that situation, Jesus calls his other disciples and the rest of the crowd to him.

³⁴And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it.

³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

³⁷For what can a man give in return for his soul?

³⁸For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

¹And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death

until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

Prayer

³⁴And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

In order to understand this passage, we must understand this verse clearly, for the statements following it add support and expand upon it and its implications

· The first phrase to examine is “would come after,” which implies a coming into, or going unto, or going after Jesus. The idea is of following with an implied desire, that is, He calls out to come, and if you want to come, here is what must take place.

· We next follow with a brief explanation for the word “deny.”

o The word “deny” = Ah-par-NEY-oh-my

o Meaning

§ to forget one's self, lose sight of one's self and one's own interests

o Idea – Quit-Claim Deed…divesting yourself of any and all interest….you are no longer your own

o Thus, the statement simplified is “if you will follow Jesus, you have to stop following yourself.

· AND begins the next two implications of being allowed to follow Jesus.

o In denying yourself, as in not following yourself, as in not doing what is right in your own eyes, you must take up your cross.

o Thus we come to the question of what does he mean by “the cross.” His hearers would not have associated the cross with his later crucifixion in this instance. To them it would have been the most shameful form of execution…to be associated with the scum of the earth…can you find yourself associated with those people? This doesn’t mean bearing up under your struggles in life as if you’re pious for doing so. This is about associating yourself as the Apostle Paul did with the most wretched of men and seeing himself as the chief of sinners. Perhaps you think yourself too good for that, and think too highly of yourself?

o Once when Jesus was at a Pharisee’s house a sinful woman came in and poured expensive ointment on Jesus’ feet, wetting his feet with her tears and wiping them clean with her hair. The Pharisees looked down on this woman while she looked up upon Jesus. Jesus told the hypocrites, “her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Until you realize the sheer magnitude of the debt you owe, you will never appreciate the debt you’ve been forgiven in Christ. Thus, until you know this truth, you will remain thankless to God, ungrateful, and forever blinded to how wretched we as men really are.

Let me ask you to think about something for a moment. You see me up here and I’m speaking to you about the Bible. The pastors have allowed me to share with you. But don’t think that it’s so because I have attained to some spiritual level. If you’re looking for someone with a secret to listen to, you might as well leave. I’m just another failure where it all counts. Don’t discount what I just said. I can honestly tell you that I know more about myself than you know about me. Thus, you should believe me when I say you don’t know how wicked I am. Some of you might be thinking, “What’s he talking about? Is there some dark secret he has, something he’s done in his past that I we don’t know about?” Let me remind you quickly, I’m not evil or sinful because I’ve sinned. I do wicked and heinous things because I’m a sinner. If I could play my life backwards on a screen before you today, if you could watch my thoughts like a tree growing from seed to sapling to full growth, what would you see? You would see unspeakable things. You would be appalled, and I wouldn’t remain here to watch in my shame. How strange is that, that I would be ashamed to let the truth be known though you are no less sinful yourselves? [Move through Sermon on the Mount “you have heard, but I tell you” statements]. If I asked you if you have ever committed adultery which is no less evil if it’s in your heart, or if you still do, would any of us still be armed with stones to throw at the man in the newspaper or the politician on television? If I asked if you had committed murder, no less vile in the sight of God because it was in anger toward your brother, your sister, your mother, your father, your enemy, would you still find yourself to be better than the criminal who had taken life? Surely I don’t say those things are good, but that’s the point, they’re not good. I have said nothing about your lying, stealing, and coveting. And how bad they are, well do we recognize how bad they are? The Scriptures say before Christ we are lost, condemned, under the wrath of God, dead in our trespasses and sins, and possessing desperately wicked hearts.

Have you pleased God in obeying the first commandment?

An old man once replied to a young man who asked him what the greatest sin was with the answers à disobeying greatest command (heart soul mind strength)

We have never obeyed that command, He has never failed to love His Father fully

Additionally, do you know how good your goodness is? Do you know what the Scriptures tell us about our goodness? When we attempt to do good things, it’s utterly disgusting and gross to God. Pastor Bob has spoken about sins as your attempt to restore your perishing self, but attempting to clean yourself and stop your bleeding with such will only speed up the process and ensure you become infected worse, grow more sickly, and radically increase your need to be saved from death.

But for you who say, stop telling me all this, I know how wretched I am. I know that I deserve nothing but God’s wrath. I know that I am but a worm and have nothing to offer God. Hear me, for you are the man or woman or old man or child for whom Christ came.

The sick need a doctor, not the healthy. If you’re a good person, you don’t need Jesus. The only problem is that there are none who are good. Not a single one except Jesus Christ. He alone is the remnant who followed God. To Him alone are all of the covenant promises and blessings. He did what no one else could do. That is why I showed you the good and holy law which holds you condemned, that you might not try to stand on legs you do not have. That way, you might give God the credit.

Hear this, Romans 3:11 teaches us that no one seeks God. Your friends don’t seek God, your parents don’t seek God, your neighbors don’t seek God, your bosses don’t seek God. Luke 19:10 tells us that that’s why Jesus came, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost, not that men would find what they were looking for, but that He would find those who weren’t looking for what they needed most. “All are like sheep gone astray, each to his own way. But God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” God seeks and He finds. Pray to God that He would seek, because if He seeks, He will find, and they will know Him.

This is the way of the Christian life. It’s repentance. Repentance acknowledges that God’s way is right and your way is wrong and that you are ashamed of following the wrong way, and that you see how good God is, though you were His enemy. This is why God’s mercy teaches us to fear not, because we ought to be in fear, knowing how wicked we’ve been, living as if God has not provided us with life and breath and everything else. We live as if God has not given all good things. We try to live independent of God, not only sinning, by also offending his majesty. Being infinitely worthy, we ascribe Him no value, demonstrating that our hearts hate Him and believing and living that way is worthy of a punishment of equal degree, eternal damnation. When you realize how evil you have been and God shows you how good He has been despite your wickedness, THEN you can appreciate His love – knowing that Christ was damned upon that tree becoming a curse. He drank down the cup of God’s wrath until no drop was left. Do you see that? He bore the curse you deserve. In light of such incredible mercy, repent and take joy. That turn of heart is repentance and it bears true fruit of faith. Faith without works is dead. Faith that is rooted in the Truth bears fruits of His Spirit. Christians live lives of repentance, growing more and more mournful of their sin over a lifetime and more and more thankful for God’s grace toward them and the world. Christians grow in thankfulness and joy when they grow in repentance. You are not yet freed from the presence of sin, you may be free of its curse, and you may be justified in God’s sight, but you still contend with sin. Grow in the knowledge of the Lord and the sinfulness of sin so that you can hate sin more. In hating sin more, love God more.

And so I entreat you to “test yourself to see if you are of the faith,” and to “work out your faith with fear and trembling.”

Verse 35

³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it.

This proposition supports verse 34

• Would - implies desire, and pleasure.
• Save - the word is “sowed-zo” and it means to keep from perishing. It does not mean to just hold on to, but to hold onto because it is in danger of being taken away. It’s diseased and is in need of healing or rescue
• Lose - refers to putting out of the way entirely, often by destroying, or the declaration of death on something.

OPPOSITE

• Loses
• Sake of Jesus and the Gospel
• Save

Think of the statement, therefore like this:

· If you find pleasure in your diseased life, and try to keep the disease from destroying it, you will fail. In fact, your attempt is itself a declaration of death upon your life.

But

· If you put your life, that is, all that is you, out of the way entirely (recognize that you have no value on your own) for the purpose of valuing Christ and the Good news of what He came to do and did do, your life will be healed, and you will be rescued.

In 2 Corinthians 5:15 Paul writes of Christ, “and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

That said, we move on to Verse 36

³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

This proposition is a question establishing the truth of Verse 35 with an expected answer in the negative.

Jesus asks, does a man do well to acquire the whole world if he has to suffer the loss of his own soul in the process? Is such a man acquiring something of greater worth in that exchange?

The answer is expectantly “NO!” Such is demonstrated in the next verse, with a question compounding the strength of this position.

³⁷For what can a man give in return for his soul?

Jesus presents a question which forces one to ask: how valuable is a man’s soul? This presents us with a problem. We know that outside of Christ man is of no inherent value, that is, man is worth nothing in relation to the worth of God. And the worth of God is the standard by which all things must be considered. Thus, the question here ultimately draws us to think about the necessity of Jesus Christ as propitiation for our sins. What can a man give as to one asking for his soul? If you stand outside of Christ, you should tremble. Because no account you can offer is good payment for the heinousness of your crime against the Lord’s name. If you stand in Christ, no payment ought to be good enough for you to delight in any other god besides Him.

Both of you, sinner and saint, turn away from your idols. Acknowledge the goodness of the Lord. We spend more time lauding the feats of men on floors of wood and synthetic grass that we laud the Lord of Glory. We speak more of money-lovers than the God Who is love. We spend more time devoted to questioning how far we can step outside of the will of God before we will lose His benefits, than we spend praying and seeking the inside of the encampment that we might delight more in God Himself. It’s a true saying that everyone wants to go to heaven, except most people don’t want God to be there when they arrive.

What will you offer for your soul?

This culminates in Jesus’ next statement in Verse 38

³⁸For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Ashamed - there is a familial bend to this….in Hebrews it is used to demonstrate that Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren and that God is not ashamed to be our God

Why? Should God be ashamed? God in His holiness will not permit sin into His presence, thus He crushed His Son Jesus Who bore all sins on our behalf. If God were to allow sin into His presence and not destroy it, He would be acting unjustly. If God were to act unjustly, God would be sinning against Himself and in need of shame, but God is Just, and all His ways are right. He will not be ashamed of those whom He has redeemed. He will honor Himself is justifying sinners, showing how great and mighty He is. Thus, He need not be ashamed, but rather He glories in Himself and what He’s done.

THEREFORE, if you would not attribute to God such value. If you would say that Jesus ought to be ashamed and that His words require shame on His behalf, as if God has done something sinful, you should quake where you sit. Is this not what you do when you do not exercise all effort in magnifying Christ? When you are unwilling to show Him forth for as great as He is, you effectively say He is not worth it. If you say He is not worth such acclaim, and He says He is, and you act upon your words and understanding rather than His, beware. Beware. We have not followed cleverly crafted tales. This is reality. Wakeup.

The final verse of this short engagement with the crowd is Jesus’ statement

¹And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

Here Jesus is referring to what happens six days later. John Mark writes that after six days Jesus went up on the mountain where He was transfigured in glory before Peter, James, and John. Thus, the “some” in Verse 1 refers to those three disciples standing there, who saw Jesus Christ, God’s promised King of God’s everlasting Kingdom, and were witnesses to His power, and now to His visible splendor.

I hope you realize that this ought to change your life. If you walk away from these words today and go about your life as if these words had not been spoken, or as if you were sanctified enough that these words are just something to think about but not act upon immediately. Beware. I don’t say that to scare you as if I take joy in making you afraid. Be assured, I don’t. But if you retain any impurity in your vision, and I have the opportunity to offer you clarity of which I myself am undeserving, well I ought to be ashamed.

Thus I ask you, do you treasure the Gospel? Do you treasure it so much that you also offer it freely, as freely as it has been offered to you? Do you relegate that to others, as if it’s a chore to be done? Do you take no joy in glorying in Christ before the world?

Maybe your life is just so busy and you have so many mouths to feed, and you know, God wants you to be a good steward of that time and family…is that supposed to be an excuse to not find all joy in Christ? Such relationships only have eternal value when associated to the command of loving God with all of your being, and outside of that association they only serve to condemn you.

I’m going to close here in a minute. But first, know that faith is not a worked disposition.

The true follower bears fruit. You will have works of faith, works which show God as glorious and not yourself, works which admit that God provided all the evidence for why you are obeying Him, and that you are not obeying as if what God promised is still uncertain, and therefore you are the one giving Him grace. Be assured, you are not. His faithfulness is the hardest fact this creation has ever encountered.

How hard is it for you to sit down? Should you receive an award for sitting down, expecting the chair to hold you up, as if it might not, and its faithfulness still unproven? How much less should you receive an award for doing what God commands, as if His covenant promises are potentially unreliable? Thus, you follow out of an overflow of joy, not being compelled by guilt because you actually hate those things. See this clearly. The true follower does not hate the things of God. He grows in love of them. If you find trouble with your flesh and that you do hate to obey. Pray to our Father in Heaven, Who sits on the throne of grace that as He has given you breath to breathe, that you might also be given understanding of His Good News, and that you would value and delight in Him more, so that you would love righteousness and hate unrighteousness.

My final word to you is to reflect on how you have lived toward God. And because you have never done what is commanded of you, and are without excuse, repent. Repent and live for God in thankfulness of what He’s done. You have no hope outside of Him, dead in your sins, and doubly dead in your self-righteous deeds. Repent and cling to Christ. He is your only hope. You cannot earn what is only His, but He can pluck you from the fire. Fearing the wrath to come upon you, Call upon Jesus’ name and believe and you will be saved, and then fear no more. Having heard this news of what Christ has done, shouldn’t you be joyful?

Jesus said that Kingdom of heaven advances because of violent people taking it by force. Like the man thrashing in the water as he drowns and will grab and hold with a death grip anything thrown to him so the Christian will believe in Christ’s rescue and will cling to Christ.

Therefore,

Rejoice and keep on rejoicing. Why wouldn’t you. Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Him. For He took up His for the joy set before Him. Take up yours for the joy set before you, namely Jesus Christ the Lord.

...

Yeah, it's been a little longer than I expected before my next post. Mea culpa.

I'll post a semi-sermon here in a few days like the one I'll preach on this coming Sunday.

Until then, I leave again.

no good

Crush, squeeze, stomp, smash, and slam my inner man,
If my heart had its way, the whole world would be my fan.
Filled with pride and vanity, basking in my failed humanity,
My self-made calamity, add more arrogance for my amity,
I lust forth my own insanity.

O the mighty

In light of recent events, the following passage is of serious importance for us as a Body to hear with our ears and understand with our hearts

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

⁹I wrote to you in my letter^(N) not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰^(O) not at all meaning^(P) the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters,^(Q) since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone^(R) who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹²For what have I to do with judging^S)" outsiders?(^T) Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? ¹³God judges^[b] those outside.^(U) "Purge the evil person from among you."

and


Proverbs 24:17-18

¹⁷^(AB) Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
¹⁸lest the LORD see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.



We live in a world that desperately needs to repent and follow the Lord. This world loves itself to death daily, quite the opposite of the Christian calling to die daily. We should not, therefore, waste time judging those who don't know the hope of Christ or who are opposed to His gift of saving grace. Demonstrate mercy and love. Have the compassion to pray for God to save them, to do whatever it takes to bring them into the kingdom as our brothers and sisters. He is mighty to save.

Coming attractions

I will be posting more regularly on assorted topics in the coming days (after Thursday).

1. The fall of cultural icons and the trap of falling with them...
2. Faith?
3. Teaching in Sunday school
   
4. Sharing the Gospel
5. First semester as MBA student (summary)
6. (Suggestions?)
   

Thank the Lord with praise

Crookedly-curved lines wrinkle his forehead, pressed against the concrete floor.
He intercedes for the damned, and yet he remains delighted in His Lord.

The ways of the world do not dismay this aged child.
His Father learned him well, and so in suffering his soul still smiles.

The man-child rejoices in amazing grace for which no sound is sweet enough
To demonstrate the love for which He suffered, condescending to be crushed.

Praise the slaughtered Lamb. His Father spilled His blood for us,
That we might repent and believe, and have in Him our righteousness.

For alone, we merit death and have no hope for joy in life,
Except that we be fixed to Him, in-grafted as the Bride of Christ.

But He looked on us with pity because He knew,
That we would have no breath in our lungs were our lives not by His hand each day renewed.

He holds us apart from Hell for a time He alone can tell.
That we live is a testament to His longsuffering love without which near Him we cannot dwell.

But O the grace He presents to us, to save us as a testament to Himself,
Knowing He needs nothing from man, fully satisfied in His own wealth.

And yet, He shows unfathomed love blessing us by making His Son a curse,
O laud the Lord of Glory for supplying the second verse.

For the man's joy ends not there, but there it just begins,
For he knows far better since he's justified, he'll too be raised with Him.

For the joy set before Him, Christ took the bowl and every blow,
Stepping down from His throne on high to walk with men below.

For His suffering, true reward is due, the throne He owned from eternity.
As His love for His Father's glory is true, so with Him the Son is solely worthy,
Having reconciled this man-child's family, satisfying the Father's fury

For the sins against Him He had not worked. He was still spotless, pure.
And so having suffered all, He would ascend back to God with the marks he bore.

Thus men, like this, now face-down, who approach His throne of grace,
Shall not be put to shame, for He's just and Justifier, and rescues men with saving faith.

Such see His glory all around, dead to flesh and alive to only One Shepherd's call,
To God be the Glory! To Him be it all!

The King of Glory

<sup>When Christ had emptied the cup of God's wrath, having born the full measure of His Father's fury and experienced an eternal cursedness, He ascended, for it was time to claim His due and be set above all things...



1</sup>The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ²For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. ³Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? ⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. ⁵He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. ⁶This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

When Christ ascended and came to the gates of Heaven, doors baring a threshold which no man had ever crossed, what was proclaimed? From the inside, what was heard?

⁷Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

What was heaven's response?


⁸Who is this King of glory?


His response?


The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. ⁹Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ¹⁰Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. (Psalm 24, King James Version)

Ashes to Beauty

Consider the world:

The world loves teenagers engrossed in sexual activity and innuendos, as long as the teenagers look good and are not their children.

The world loves occult symbolism and sees abominations like the melding of human life with that of beasts (vampires, werewolves...) as "cool" and "powerful."

Many churches have used methods of luring teenagers (as well as adults) with satisfaction of the flesh as a means to draw them in.

People are going to hell, and we're getting angry about our cellular phone reception. We're yelling at our children and parents about a homework assignments or reports that will be forgotten in under 4 months.

We will spend 3-4 hours watching a football game on television or in person, but to spend 30 minutes a day in the Bible (reading it) consistently is heroic. That is, we'll spend all day with men, and nearly none of the day with God. Prayer hasn't even been mentioned.

We look less like followers of God and primarily look like the lovers of the world. If a basketball player is recognized as such because he spends a lot of time playing and practicing the game and its fundamentals along with preparing for basketball play by working his body into submission to be strong for such play, then how might the Christian life look? I am not saying, what should one hope to achieve. An individual who does not do the aforementioned is not considered a basketball player. Indicators mark the individual. Fruit is born which identifies the tree. Perhaps the Christian is known by his love? What does love look like? If you don't know, then you can be somewhat assured that you are in desperate need of the Lord to save you, because the Scriptures exclaim that "he who does not love (practice love), does not know God. By this the love of God has been manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the propitiation for our sins." Repent, that is confess your sins before the Lord, having hated Him with your life by attempting to live without His provision and as if you were not constantly sustained in your life because of His awesome power and grace toward you. He is so wonderful that He has provided for you a way to be freed from sin which binds you to death. You look around and watch men pass away like breaths. Do you wonder where they go - what's "next?" Call upon the Lord immediately. Do not delay to seek Him with an acknowledgment of His way as being right and good, and O so gracious to all of us. For each of us has gone astray, to his own way (a way that we considered right in our own eyes), but God has not left us without hope. Though we deserved none, for our sins are many, God provided one able to bear the full brunt of His wrath against all sins for all time. He was the One. Only He could withstand His own fury, and He laid upon His Son, Jesus Christ, all iniquity, though Jesus was without any sin. Jesus received the wrath and fury which we rightly deserved, and by His receiving that punishment which was ours, He reconciles those who believe and trust in Him (acknowledge His goodness and grace toward all men in such faithfulness - that He has always done good to us according to His own benevolence and not our merit). Having reconciled us to the Father, Jesus justifies the Father's long-suffering with sinners. God is not unjust to pardon them because His Son has taken away the wrath they deserved. In Christ, we have no condemnation. And, in doing this, He did not act unjustly toward Christ because He did not let Him see decay, but raised Him to life and set Christ above all things (preeminent). We can be assured that the work God started in justifying us before the Father will be completed in raising us with Him on that Day.


Having repented, believe that such is the truth, the Scriptures attest to it. The state of the world demonstrates its truth to degree. Life passes away quickly. The heavens above and the earth show forth the truth of God's generosity in providing all good things, sun and rain on all creation. Read the Bible daily if you're literate (assumed as you read this blog), and pray constantly for the grace which comes from God on the throne, the love of God treating us according to His good Name, and not having treated us according to our worth or merit. When we see that God's loving-kindness toward us is greater than the heavens are high above the earth, we must realize not only that God is magnificent and lavish in His love, but we must also realize how pitiful we are. We have no justification for pride as God's love, so great, is necessary for our salvation and sustenance. We have not breathed life into our lungs or provided prey for our own catching. God has given it all. Take joy in this, for just as He has been faithful in providing what was undeserved, He will surely be faithful in providing what Christ does deserve, and that which we are to receive in Christ. His righteousness is ours, just as our sins were removed to Him. O how amazing that He would receive our punishment and we would receive His reward. Let your lips not cease to praise our God so wonderful.

Be baptized. Attest to this truth and demonstrate before other believers and the world your proclamation in this outward testament to God's grace toward you. His life was given so that you might live in Him; therefore, live in Him, giving your undeserved life to Him with great joy - as only in Him is your life secure. Love others, including no less those undeserving or ungrateful because in the same way God was merciful toward you. Men and women and children are perishing to everlasting torment forever. And, as you delight in your God Who deserves the praise you give Him from all men, make known His goodness among them. O the sadness of the position they are in, just as dire as it was for you and I before the Lord plucked us from impending doom, rescuing us. O that He might do the same for others. He is so good He ought to be proclaimed as Lord by every tongue (and will on one day). Take joy in this truth. Do you not feel anything in your spirit in regard to the state of those who do not know this? Let us pray that God might create in us greater passion for His glory and take it to the neighbors and nations so that they might too have a chance to delight in God rather than be damned forever.

Discipline for the Faithless and Faithful

The disciplined life is not the easiest path...or is it? (not just semantics)

One man sees the disciplined life as tough and rigorous. Inwardly, he wants to avoid that lifestyle, perceiving discipline as a negative act toward himself. To him it's deprivation. His flesh loves the world in so many ways, for so many reasons, nearly all the time. It's a struggle that has no off-switch. It's a battle that seems to see no victor. Perhaps that last statement appears awkward. Why, didn't the God-man free him? Isn't he free indeed? Why wouldn't this man be free? Why is discipline so hard. Why is depriving himself of what God hates so difficult? Is his flesh dead? Or, is his flesh being fed?

Another man sees the disciplined life in a completely different light. For him, discipline is the Way of freedom. It's Christ's way. To obey God's law is not a burden, a suffocation caused by a lack of life's necessities (for satisfaction?). He isn't forcing himself to walk away from that which he craves. He isn't limiting his intake. This man is increasing his intake. This man is craving for God's way. He sees discipline as that way by which he will know Him in Whom he delights most and might see Him more clearly. He does not see discipline as the mindset which affirms: suffer now so that you can later indulge in something that you really don't want at the moment (he who craves the world over Christ today). Nay. He seeks God now. He wants God now, and he will find Him. He will receive. When he departs this world, he is going home because what he loves is there and not here.

Some might respond, "Wait, what about sufferings of all kinds? What about the discipline to endure hardship and pain? We are not through being sanctified, and so why do you talk about the life of faith as if it were some easy path to walk?"

The response: His yoke is easy, and the burden is light for him who walks by faith. True faith does not say in one's heart, "I'm giving up much to receive little." True faith says, "O God, You are awesome and mighty and I am not worthy! How can this be, that you would would rescue me and make me your friend?! By Your grace alone." Surely, we are not perfect, and the discipline God imposes on us is still great joy for those who believe because its purpose is perfect and desirable - bringing us to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Discipline is the means (self-imposed or externally imposed, it's all by the grace of God we receive such a gift that we might become more like Him), and Christ-likeness is the end. See Job? He was a righteous man. But, he was not without fault before the Lord. Who can stand before the Lord, and answer Him? None. Job could be scoured out (and he did grow). The blessed work of sanctification, led by the Holy Spirit, that we might share more deeply in the love shared between the Father and the Son, involves the grace of discipline toward us, helping us to keep the greatest commandment.

No matter what his mouth says, the man who says in his heart that he's putting off gain now for future reward is blinded by the life he still devotes to the world. He's doesn't see himself gaining in the immediate, but only in the long run. And, such a man sees himself as sacrificing for gain, as if he has anything to sacrifice of worth. What...is your life worth something on its own merit? Can your live, if sacrificed, save even you? That man is working for God. He's going to "struggle" for the moment so that he can earn the promised reward. He's not storing up treasures in heaven, though he thinks he is. His treasure is still on the earth, for his heart resides there also. The only reward he'll receive is the true wages for his work (and disbelief): death in eternal torment.

If you perceive your Christian walk strong because you are "giving up" everything for Jesus. Give up. You have nothing of value in and of yourself. You cannot even give up your life without the Lord determining it. And, about that treasure you are to be storing in heaven...well it's not like you have some secret stash of jewels you're hiding from Him. He alone is valuable. His life alone gives yours any and all significance. You find that lifestyle of "giving up" to be dissatisfying anyway by the notion that your joy is diminishing in the present (as if you could be satisfied elsewhere, Christian?). You take no joy in it, and faith is often best measured by joy. This is where we must test our faith. We must consider the state of our souls. Have we been regenerated by the Holy Ghost and brought into the family of God (Surely you or I cannot just decide to scale heaven's wall and join the crowd. We cannot siege the gates and expect entrance.)? But again, that question of "What's giving up _____ in light of Christ?" That's just it. It's not "giving up," or relinquishing something desirable or hoped for. Consider the following hypothetical situation (given: it's limited in applicability):

• Suppose you have a taste for Pizza Hut's pan-crust pepperoni pizza. You love it, and the more you eat it, the more you want to eat more (suppose no stomach aches, etc.). You don't care for any other pizza toppings or other crust styles except that one. In fact, you hate their taste. Then, suppose I tell you that in order to receive a free, lifetime-supply of Pizza Hut pan-crust pepperoni pizza's, well...you cannot have any other types, ever. Would you consider it loss to "have to give up" all those other types - what you do not desire to begin with - in order to receive freely what you desire most? Then, you're "dead" to those other pizzas, and "alive" to only one.

The regenerated believer, with the Spirit guiding him by conviction primarily through the truths in the Scriptures, will recognize his deadness to sin and grow in godliness. He will learn to guard His path so that he does not become confused about his desires through the deceptions of the world, flesh, and enemy. And, God is faithful in bringing about the completion of that which he begins.



Thus, by faith, the disciplined life is the easiest path. It only requires the follower to trust the Lord that He will keep His promise to keep on giving Himself to the follower and that one day the follower will receive the full inheritance - the Lord in His fullness. With such unfathomable everlasting joy set before you, 80 years is like a drop....AND that 80 years is continual grace and joy for him who believes.


[Note: I do not equate "easy" with "without cost". Neither should you. Following Christ requires your whole life and nothing less (Pick up your cross and follow). If you do not love Him enough to make that proposition desirable, consider your faith and call upon the Lord. From this antinomy comes the maxim to believe like a Calvinist and preach like an Arminian]

The emptiness of most rap:

Exhibit A:

Look, I'm a star, blindingly bright,
Busting with one hand on the mic,
The other checking my tie's knot to be tight,
The primary sight of the night,
In the sky, the only kite,
In the courtroom the only right,
In my head, the only life,
I'm larger than strife,
Too good for the knife,
.......blah blah blah...

This garbage portrays the artist as more significant than his art. When someone writes and sings lyrics such as these, he is telling you not to waste your money buying his art, because it's not important. Only he is important.


Exhibit B:

Skills pay the bills, and my words are the truth,
My raps are sicker than death, and my rhymes get you to groove,
Other cats fathom in wonder when my flow hits the street,
But no body gets the green like my words and a beat.
A feat that can't be compared,
Words that hit hard, with reality aired.
Because I hold nothing back, and my words go forth,
No sugar-coating this knowledge that flows, and not forced.


More garbage...in this instance the artist elevates the art, but his art in turn elevates his art. It's a cycle in which nothing is really said. The message is blank. It's as if words have no meaning (absurd but strangely true in this instance - if the assumption that art points to something higher than itself because the artist employs artistic skill to do such).



Perhaps more exhibits will come

Of any passion that I could have, significant be only one,
That the world isn't fully given over to the Son.

He saved us:

FROM Himself
FOR Himself
BY Himself


this will continue into a new writing hopefully...

retracing roots

I am an "input" type. I keep things. I store them. I gather and collect. I'm curious.


Earlier tonight I found some writings from a couple of years ago. I found some transcribed conversations too. The Lord has been so good to me. He continues to reveal His truth to me in the present from my own past.



There is only one man who has come suffered the judgment of God and is alive and WELL to speak of it. There is only one who could stand the full wrath impact of the Father, and that man was His Son. Only God could satisfy His own justice. Only God could do good in all things.

Salvation comes from the strongest, the Highest of High,
The Almighty King of Glory, El-Shaddai.
Give way all you peoples, and bow your hearts,
Wonderful is coming to tear this world apart,
To separate the wheat and chaff, the evil from good,
To rip the heavens like the veil in half as only God could.

On bended knees, we offer up our lives,
The awesome good we have, considered little in our own eyes.
Oh how evil we've been, and Your grace remained.

One--->Two

Running through run-throughs, practicing imagined happenings,
If I was there, If this happened, If she said, If we went...
Best to keep the mind in check and restrict its drifting,
Otherwise your liable to waste time with much heavy mental lifting...
Sifting...through opportunities which will never alight,
I'm all for stories and romance, but I'm against drowning out the true light of life.
Live the life you've been given, steward it best for the King,
You'll never get a second, unless you're faithful in this one thing.

no name

Laying awake, mind-racing for days,
Pressing past the obstacles with my eyes glazed,
Solving the mind-maze,
Waiting for my eyelids to treat me to shade.
Sun passes horizontal as the night fades the day.

From sleep to straight conscious,
To logic from mostly nonsense...

Breaking the day with a crack of the egg,
Sizzle in the pan while the rest is made,
Thanking God, I prayed,
Before the plate at which I ate,
Knowing most my family would be forced to fast today.

They say it's not fatal, but surgery must be done,
To live a little longer, a good steward? or none?
When we used to die we passed with our family around,
Now it's in sterile rooms with bright lights and white gowns...


Sleepy again

Wakeup

The world stuck in a trance,
Hypnotized by the lies that are feeding their fancy,
They can't see,
Blinded by the darkness that is shrouding merc's in novels by Clancy,
Clandestine,
Hardening hearts that are destined,
For the fiery lake, when they should be confessin'.
Quit messin'
With commands you should not even question.
The lesson: Fear the Lord God. His judgments are in all the earth.

Broke homes,
Hearts with men placing themselves on God's throne,
But you can't live alone,
You're a recipient of grace with your days penned in the Tome.
Organized your genome which determined your bone...
Specified your birthplace and painted your skin tone,
Providentially orchestrated all to make you His own,
Sparing no detail to ensure His glory be known.
And, in the end, He'll bring about His Shalom.

Seek the Lord, and His strength
Stop with the iniquity, like water you drink,
Sucking in the air that He gave your to breath,
And then blaspheming His Name by the life you lead.
Tossed like a reed,
Satisfying your cravings, hating the Lord as a creed.
It was for justice and mercy that He gave Himself up to bleed,
But as surely as He's glorified, your plans won't succeed,
The victory is the Lord's, now Repent and Believe!

The funeral

Tears slide down the cheek of the eldest son.
Hundred plus years had been given his mom.
Still he cried aloud because he wanted another one.
But God declared to dust what was dust before,
As the Kingdom of God is given to the meek and poor.
Unlike his mother, he doesn't enshrine the Lord.
He's a temple to the world, and he's desperate for comfort,
And so we pray that the LORD will open the eyes of the people.
We pray they understand the event we all witness.
As the enemy of man took another body through the sickness.
But that's all it can take,
There's hope yet for today.
God came for the sick, and by grace through faith He saves.

creation

There wasn't but Him (and that's All).
Immediately the earth emerged, heavens surrounded every spherical curve,
Spiritual and physical existing so close it hurt.
At the beginning He had already decided to serve,
Needing nothing Himself,
Fully satisfied in the riches of His glorious wealth.
Shining so bright he had to shroud His very presence,
Less all of His creation dissolve back to its essence.
He gave the sun, moon, and stars to light and mark the times,
To break the darkness in the morning and serve the One Who finds.
Pulsing with His life which was freely given to all,
Creation cries to magnify the LORD of the blue ball.

Update

Friends, I am in an MBA program this fall. Thus, though it may seem contrary to understanding, I will have more time to post. I am also going to try and recover my knowledge and skill at speaking the Spanish language and perhaps learn some French in the process also. I look forward to spending more time writing to you. Keep in touch.

God bless

What's conservatism in a nutshell?

It's justice/righteousness prudentially applied

it's recognition that some things are established and you may not understand why, and so you should wrestle with them until you do, because most likely the established wisdom of the ages past surpasses your current, individual, small portion of wisdom

that's why one should study history, to see how things happened, so they can in many ways understand what's possible, and what's not possible

conservatism in Burke's sense promotes justice first

but it then looks to established wisdom

and says, you don't have a right to destroy what's been preserved for you so that those who come after you cannot enjoy it as you did

but because justice comes first it says, just because something is established doesn't make it good

there could be established injustice

now, here is where conservatism and prudential political action comes into play

wisdom and righteousness would say the following

suppose some injustice exists in the establishment which is currently being tolerated

prudential wisdom would say the following

you have a right to reform if you can alleviate the injustice, engendering more justice, as long as your reform does not elicit new injustices

thus, if you cannot relieve a current injustice without creating other injustice, you ought to leave it be for the time being, but continue to strive in thought for a reform

thus, conservatism, conserves what's good, and illustrates that reform is good, but good reform is hard

and such should be the case for disrupting the social structure and cultural environment of a people

another fundamental feature of true conservatism is the religious component

one must have faith to be a true conservative because a true conservative must recognize the fallenness of man

only such humility will keep a man from too much action and tether him to justice

the man who fears God will fear judgment pertaining to any injustice he commits

likewise, the man who fears God need not fear man, and so is more concerned with righteousness/justice than what men think

Matthew 12

v1-8, he's the Lord of the Sabbath

9-13, he's the Lord of the Sabbath

15-21, he's God's Messiah

22-23, he frees the oppressed as mentioned in the previous recitation of Isaiah

24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said,(AC) "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."

28But if it is(AH) by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then(AI) the kingdom of God has come upon you.

31(AM) Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but(AN) the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

it's possibly a direct reference to Israel's religious leaders who had just blasphemed the Spirit of God which He had declared was upon Him

they said it wasn't by that Spirit of God, but by Beezelbub

surely, however, if one refuses to give such credit to God persistently by remaining unrepentant, then they will not be forgiven their sins

The Boy

He was born in Bethlehem...He was a shepherd...He was anointed King...He conquered the enemy of God's people by crushing his head...

Videos

">