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