5 reasons why I sing

1. I sing because I am happy not because it makes me happy.
2. I sing because I have been made alive not because it makes me alive.
3. I sing because I have been set free not because it frees me.
4. I sing because He lived, died and resurrected so that I might be reconciled to God.
5. I sing because He has done it all and said "it is finished" not because I am victorious in and of myself.

Thank you Jesus because you lived the life I should've lived, died the death I should've died, this sinner is free to sing the song of the saints.

God the model Parent

A couple of months ago I read a story about a couple suing a doctor for failing to provide them with proper notification of their future baby's possible down syndrome condition. The couple decided that had they known the baby was at risk of down syndrome they would have terminated the pregnancy.
At the root of this is selfishness expressed in a consumeristic attitude. The idea that one can order a baby like its a value meal at McDonald's or a pair of sneakers at a foot locker.
Can you imagine these parents one day explaining to their daughter the reason why she lives?
Dear daughter, had we known you would have down syndrome we would've killed you when we had the chance.
Much in the same way you return a burger that came with pickles when you asked for it without pickles.

The best way to model the love of Christ to a child is to love them unconditionally, as Christ loves His people unconditionally. Yet the love these parents have for their child is based on the child meeting a list of standards.
Imagine Christ saying this to you: I will love you if you never lie, I will love you if you are the smartest in class, I will love you if you are unblemished and perfect.
No one would stand a chance. Everyone would be excluded as we are all fallen and incapable of meriting Gods favor.
Yet Christ in His mercy came into the world and lived the life we should've lived and died the death we should've died so that through His life, His death and resurrection we might be reconciled to God.
God saw that we were blemished and marred by sin and yet loved us so much. He bore the cost of our imperfection Himself.
As Christ said "greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends"
We must ask ourselves, if we are christian parents, are we laying down our lives in daily practical ways for our children to model the love of Christ for our children?
These parents said they would have aborted the baby because of the cost they would have to bear, and the change this would bring to their lives. Yet thats what parenting is, bearing the cost and becoming uncomfortable so that our children can be comfortable. Much in the same way Christ gave up His heavenly throne so that we can receive the comforting love of God. 


Further reading


Phillipians 2: 4-8
http://www.esvbible.org/search/phillippians+2%3A4-8/

Two lies Men believe

It is an understatement to say that there are few men in today’s society. Surely there are many who are “male bodied” adults but they are not quite men.

Perhaps you the reader are so affected by this that you don’t even realize it. The moral decline of men is so rampant and common today that many consider normal what was once considered an embarrassment and shameful.

Men today are absolute wastes of bodies. There was a time when a man was defined by what he produced or created, we now live in a time where men are defined by what they consume. This is a great problem of this culture: The consumerist mentality, the idea that this world and everything in it was created for my consumption.

And so men consume free internet porn, video games, alcohol, drugs, social networking websites, women, clothes, sports etc. Men spend their time consuming these things because their depravity has caused them to believe in two lies straight out the pit of Hell.

1. I don’t have to be faithful to one woman

I am a NYC High School teacher and I have the joy (sarcasm) of witnessing first hand how manhood is perceived by the younger generation. I heard a student singing one of Kanye West’s song’s that said “Prince William’s ain’t do it right if you ask me
Cause I was him I would have married Kate & Ashley” later on he says “You know how many hot bitches I own.” The lie that is generally held onto by many men is that you are truly a man if you can sleep with a lot of woman.

2. I have to extend adolescence as long as possible.

You would never hear it this way but it’s true, many men believe this lie. Many men believe that the key to their happiness is to extend adolescence as long as possible. Therefore, they avoid marriage, they procure to have the latest trend in fashion, they will go on line during the midnight hours to buy a pair of Jordan’s, they will spend countless hours in front of a television playing video games, they will spend money on sports leagues to chase a dream that will never happen, they will share an apartment with 30 of their friends or they will live in mom’s basement and do a whole bunch of stuff under the guise of “this is my time to enjoy life”. However, this is really just an extension of adolescence.

The truth is real men are faithful to one woman and they avoid adolescence. Real men are creators and providers, not childish consumers. Real men do not waste their college years extending adolescence but rather use their time to prepare for marriage and fatherhood. And the only way to break free from the sinful mentality that pervades our culture today is to repent of it. Men must look to the example of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus was faithful to the church He died to save, Jesus emptied Himself the pleasures of heaven when He came to earth, and there was no hint of the consumerist mentality in the life of Christ. Most importantly Men must recognize that they are sinful and in dire need of a savior. Real men know that they are weak and in need of salvation and look to the one that provides it.

Additional Resources:

Check out this video by Pastor Mark Driscoll where he articulates the above more eloquently

http://youtu.be/zxnPgXbiva4

Thoughts on Tebow

Just finished watching the broncos vs bears game and it's always something to see the opinionated comments on my Facebook newsfeed regarding the broncos. Comments range from excitement all the way to flat out hatred of the broncos famous quarterback, Tim Tebow.

At a party last night someone asked me if I believe the criticism Tebow receives is due to his abilities as a player or because of his Christianity.

I believe the answer is both.

Jake Plummer calls Tebow a winner but said he needs to chill out with the faith.

I always find it mind boggling that some people want to keep matters of religion out of the public arena, but the greatest hypocrisy behind this is that the folks that demand you leave your religion behind are not willing to leave their beliefs aside.

Should Tebow thank Jesus after every touchdown?

Let me put it this way, if you believe that God is the giver of breath you would be thankful every time you get to tie your shoelaces. If God is the one that gives breath then everything else is a gift.

This brings to mind the verse where the apostle says "Be thankful at all times..."

Now of course Im not suggesting that this is something we must verbalize every second, I don't believe the apostle is suggesting that, but we must have an attitude of thankfulness... for all things proceed from God. Wins, losses, touchdowns, lost yards, injuries, draws, all things.

While it is easy for Tebow to be thankful now, the true test will be when he loses, when he is injured. That is when we must show the world that all things proceed from God.

The God that cares for creation

Yesterday I walked into my mother’s apartment and discovered my dog Terry was dead. My faithful companion for 13 years must have been dead a couple of hours. The minute I saw his body I knew he was gone. He was just lying there in his accustomed position of rest with his ears still up, a position that he assumed all the time. You know, that position where a dog is at rest but still alert listening for someone knocking on the door, except this time though, he wasn’t alert. He was gone.

It broke my heart to see him go. It made me realize once again the teaching of the Bible that the world is not the way it’s meant to be. In other words, this world is fallen, what was once good has been stained and marred by sin.

As I drove into work today, there was a dead squirrel in the road and once again I came to a greater realization of how sin has affected every facet of life and creation. These verses from Hosea 4 come to mind:

“There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.”

As I dig deeper into God’s word I can see the mess that we, mankind, have made of this world. The Bible is like a mirror, it does not hide our depravity it exposes it and yet it is full of hope.

The Bible reveals to us a God that loves all His creatures and all His creation. I realize that many have hi-jacked Christianity and made it individualistic; all about them. However, the Scriptures present a God that is concerned for beasts, trees and land. You can even say God is the ultimate environmentalist; no one is more concerned for nature than Him.

I find great insight into God’s character in Psalm 36:6 where the Psalmist says

“… Man and beast you save, O LORD”

Also in Revelations 5:13 where the Apostle John describes a worship concerto in the future that includes creatures of all types He says:

“And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"

I can go on with many more references. However, I will end by saying that the essential message of Christianity is that Jesus Christ died for sinners. I have no other hope than this message, because I am the foremost of sinners. But yet the Bible reveals a God that cares. A God that emptied Himself and became a human being, there is great insight into the character of God in His incarnation. He saw this fallen world and cared to save it.

As I took Terry’s body back to the Vet I thanked God I had him for 13 years, he was such a loyal friend. And as I see fallen creation I am hopeful because

“…the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:21

I have included this short talk at the bottom “Can faith be green?” by Pastor Tim Keller.

Here is a short description of the talk:

Genesis shows us the goodness of creation, the stewardship of creation, the fallenness of creation, and the final restoration of creation. The Bible calls us as Christians to be careful stewards of creation because nature reflects God’s goodness and because nature will ultimately be restored in heaven

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/can-faith-be-green

Feeling Superior

We would never say it but we certainly show it: We value ourselves more than others.

Western culture is individualistic, and I've seen the injustices wrought from this mentality in colleagues that are willing to trample the good reputation of another as long as it means getting a promotion for themselves.

Let's face it though, our culture bids us to demand our rights. Our culture bids us to consume recklessly and achieve the American dream even if it is at the cost of someone else.

We would never call ourselves superior but we certainly live as if we are. I believe this is why the commandment "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" is indicative of how in tune Jesus was with the culture of His time. No one ever really had a problem loving themselves then, and no one really has a problem loving themselves now.

The cure to superiority is to find our identity in the gospel. The gospel says "Christ came into the world to save sinners, Christ lived the life you should have lived and died the death you should have died and then rose from the dead"

This immediately rids the soul of superiority because our rightful standing before God is free not earned. Only when our rightful standing before God is earned can we feel superior and look at others as inferior. But when it is free and an act of grace on the part of God it is absurd to feel superior because we didn't earn it.

Believing in the gospel also rids us of any superiority complex because God came to save sinners. God is not just on the side of a nation or on the side of a particular ethnic group, but He came to save sinners.

Revelations 7:9-10 "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”"

Religions and rule of non-contradiction

There is a rule of logic that says no two contradictory statements can be true at the same time. I am not a philosopher but this principle is not hard to swallow and yet when it comes to religion we are quick to dismiss it.

I know there are some sincere people that want to believe all religions are equal, and I'll look at that in another blog post. But for now I will quote Charles Spurgeon: "If you sincerely drink poison, it will kill you. You must not only be sincere, but you must be right. - "

Now, the law of non-Contradiction says: No two contradictory statements can be true at the same time. If I say that I am a bird and you say that I am a not a bird, we both cannot be right. We are both saying two different things.

When it comes to religion as author Tim Keller said "Anyone who would make a claim that "all religions are equally right" is not listening very well to what each teaches." Christianity for example does not teach that salvation is something to be earned through rituals, church attendance, prayers etc. Christianity teaches that salvation is to be received through the merit of another, Jesus Christ.

I have often run into some well meaning folks in this city who say that I am arrogant for ever thinking that my religion is right and all the other ones are wrong. But if you think about it these folks have a double standard. They are quick to say to me that I am arrogant for thinking I am right but all the while they think they are right. And yet they wouldn't accuse themselves of being arrogant.

Don't you see? It is impossible to not believe in absolute truth. We all have a belief about God that we think to be true. Even if we say all religions are equal, that is a belief about God that we think to be true.

Now, I certainly do see the point of many who would say that the minute you believe that your belief about God is true and all the other ones are wrong, that is going to cause you to harm others. I do not completely dismiss this, history has shown this with many beliefs about God including atheism eg: Stalin in Russia. We also see in the bible how Jesus rebuked the pharisees for using their beliefs of moral superiority to oppress others.

However, the person that is really concerned for the welfare and good of other people ought to be really asking: Which belief about God will really transform our communities and cause us to look outward rather than inward? Which belief about God will humble us and crush our feelings of superiority?

Christianity teaches that salvation is received not earned, this means I can never look down on anyone including non-believers and think my self superior, because I didn't earn my right standing before God.

The God of Christianity is a God that left His heavenly throne and took on human flesh (Cf: Phillipians 2:8) to save "enemies"(Cf: Romans 5:10). What a great example of sacrificial love to get out of our luxurious condos and suburban homes and out into those areas where we can serve the needs of others.

So you see not all religions can be equal because they aren't all saying the same thing and there is a double standard when we tell people they are arrogant for believing their belief about God is true. If we are really concerned for the welfare of others let us not wage war against absolute truth but instead ask which belief will transform us in such a way to love our neighbor and meet the needs of the marginalized without feeling superior?

Additional resource

http://sermons.redeemer.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=29

Click on

Exclusivity: How can there be just one true religion?