3 Ways

There are only three ways to Live:

1. Legalism/Moralism

2. Gospel-saturated

3. Hedonism/relativism

You pick.

What it takes to follow

"The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been

made.

I'm a disciple of His and I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away,
or be still.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure.

I'm done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth
knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and
dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity.

I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or
rewarded.

I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and
labor by Holy Spirit power.

My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven.

My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is
reliable and my mission is clear.

I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back,
deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of
the adversary.

I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of
popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up,
prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus!

I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He does come for His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My
colors will be clear!"

-Anonymous

Without the Gospel

Without the gospel

everything is useless and vain;

without the gospel

we are not Christians;

without the gospel

all riches is poverty,
all wisdom folly before God;
strength is weakness,
and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made

children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom

the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.

It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.

For, he was

sold, to buy us back;
captive, to deliver us;
condemned, to absolve us;

he was

made a curse for our blessing,
[a] sin offering for our righteousness;
marred that we may be made fair;

he died for our life; so that by him

fury is made gentle,
wrath appeased,
darkness turned into light,
fear reassured,
despisal despised,
debt canceled,
labor lightened,
sadness made merry,
misfortune made fortunate,
difficulty easy,
disorder ordered,
division united,
ignominy ennobled,
rebellion subjected,
intimidation intimidated,
ambush uncovered,
assaults assailed,
force forced back,
combat combated,
war warred against,
vengeance avenged,
torment tormented,
damnation damned,
the abyss sunk into the abyss,
hell transfixed,
death dead,
mortality made immortal.

In short,

mercy has swallowed up all misery,
and goodness all misfortune.

For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit.

If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things.

And we are

comforted in tribulation,
joyful in sorrow,
glorying under vituperation,
abounding in poverty,
warmed in our nakedness,
patient amongst evils,
living in death.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

-John Calvin

Thug Life

I'm turning into a thug. I'm starting to like this Christain rapper, Lecrae. He's so good! Check him out. Holla'!

Idolatry

I'm realizing that we do in fact worship a tangible idol here in America. It may not be in the shape of a statue that we bow down to, but it does come in many shapes, sizes, and functions. We bow down to our selfish desire for the latest trend or technology. Materialism has plagued America since the instalment of capitalism. We are driven for our unquenchable thirst for more "stuff".

I went up to Hearst Castle yesterday. I have never been there. And I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by what I found. It was going to cost us $25 to get in a bus and walk through a guy's house that he built to try to find fulfillment in the now. He was driven by what he could have here on Earth. And as I stood there, I noticed that everybody around me had the same drive train, me included. To a degree, everybody there, some more than others, wanted to have the stuff that William Hearst had.

But God has called his followers to a different drum beat. He told the rich young ruler to leave all that he had. To abandon his identity. That is, his materialistic idol. Nothing in this world is laying prostrate before but God. That's something that we in America must remind ourselves everytime we watch tv, drive through town, and walk into any shopping center. A passion for the tangible will leave you lonely and wanting more than what you have. Materialism is an ever-perpetuating ride of emptiness.

As Christopher Wright so brilliantly put it, "The worship of false gods is the fellowship of futility, the grand delusion whose only destiny is disappointment."

Just Me?

I've been noticing a not-so-new trend in the traditional worship setting. It's something that I'm not a big fan of, but I'm not sure if it's just me or everybody else.

Doesn't worship nowadays seem like a utopic setting? I might be wrong here, but most songs that I see churches singing deal with us acting as if we are perfect people in the presence of God. For example, I recently sang a song that centered around how much "I" love God. This love seemed so deep that "I" couldn't even imagine sinning, but that's not how I feel.

We also sang about "our holy desires" and the fact that there is nothing we desire more than God. Maybe my theological wheels were spinning too fast at the time, but I couldn't help but think that every time we sin, we slap God in the face with our desires.

During the entire worship set all I could do is sit there. I couldn't sing. I couldn't worship. Yet, for some reason, everybody around me was singing like it was their last chance to. It must just be me that feels like a shattered soul, unworthy for the love bestowed on me. I know the theology behind imputed righteousness and justification. In fact, I can't get enough of it, but when it comes to worshipping God like this, I have trouble doing it.

The times that I can worship God with the entire depth of my lungs and heart is when we sing songs full of angst. Songs that are centered around God being perfect, me being broken, unworthy, sinful, and made righteous by the blood. It is those songs that I'm able to worship God with. They seem to be more in line with how feel in front of God.

But it may just be me.

Two Hymns

"If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee"

God knows the time for joy and truly

Will send it when he sees it meet

When He has tried and purged thee duly

And found thee free from all deceit.

He comes to thee all unaware

And makes thee own His loving car.

-Georg Neumark

"Day by Day"

He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure

Gives unto each day what He deems best--

Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

-Fanny Crosby

My Uninspiration

Just for the heck of it, I thought I'd make a list of things that don't inspire me at all. In fact, they make me mad. This stuff are the items/topics/thoughts that I wish I could get rid of for good. I hate every piece of them, especially the ones I struggle with (which is all but 7.

1. Vanity

2. Popularity

3. Materialism (Especially in the Church, i.e. big buildings/expensive facilities)

4. Small Talk

5. Pride

6. Superficiality

7. Business

There they are...now they should leave.