One of my Facebook friends is fond of putting up atheistic comments and links on his status, which led me to ponder why he is so militantly "evangelistic" with his faith. To be sure, we as Christians are very vocal about proclaiming the Truth, but this is because we believe and because we are commanded to go out into all the world and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19). We have, in other words, a mission.
But the atheist?
I mean, really, I used to have a friend who was of the opinion that man had never truly been to the moon and that it was all some big government hoax. I, naturally, disagreed with him and would good naturedly argue with him at times. But to be honest, his little delusions did not compel me to go out and search all who shared his viewpoint and make them see the error of their way...nor did I take offense at his dearly held belief. Quite frankly, he was wrong.
If, however, I suspected he might be right but was scared by that possibility, then I might try to find ways to rebuke him and offer constant rebuttals to his dangerous views. That's just me. And this is what I think really motivates these militant atheists like my friend. They are bothered by Christianity and Christians not because they think it wrong, but because deep down they suspect we are right, and this truly frightens them. Therefore they MUST attack Christianity and they must find some way to disprove it; otherwise they must face the reality that one day they will face an omnipotent God, not as Savior but as Judge.
Oh if only they would turn to Him now before the hour is past!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
White House Celebrates Ramadan
I could not believe it when I read a blurb about the White House hosting a celebration dinner for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, but sure enough if you go to the official White House site you can read the official press release!
I wonder if there will be, as others have asked, a special dinner to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ...or one to celebrate His birth? Imagine that, where I work they won't display Christmas decorations because it might offend people, but our own President hosts a special dinner to celebrate a Muslim holiday. God will surely bring judgment upon our nation, and I'm beginning to think it will come in the form of attacks from the radical adherents of the very religion which now, apparently, is the only one that can be celebrated in America without the liberals crying about separation of church and state.
O Lord, come quickly please!
I wonder if there will be, as others have asked, a special dinner to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ...or one to celebrate His birth? Imagine that, where I work they won't display Christmas decorations because it might offend people, but our own President hosts a special dinner to celebrate a Muslim holiday. God will surely bring judgment upon our nation, and I'm beginning to think it will come in the form of attacks from the radical adherents of the very religion which now, apparently, is the only one that can be celebrated in America without the liberals crying about separation of church and state.
O Lord, come quickly please!
"If God Were Real: A Journey Into a Faith That Matters" by John Avant
isbn #978-1-4165-8779-8
I tried really hard to give this book the benefit of the doubt, but the more I read of it the more mortified I became by the content. I thought this would be a book on living holy lives and being doers as well as hearers of the Word, but unfortunately the content consisted of criticisms, complaints and whining about the state of evangelical Christianity. Not that I see anything necessarily wrong with a reasoned critique, but Mr. Avant failed to actually support any of his charges against the church with anything other than unsubstantiated stories and hearsay! What is truly sad is that this is not an attack by the typical critics (i.e., atheists), but by one who is himself a pastor and professed Christian, oh excuse me, a Christ follower!
Sadly, Mr. Avant failed to take advantage of an opportunity to address a serious failure among evangelicals to actually make disciples of the nations. I mean, the title of his book is excellent..."If God Were Real." From such a beginning I would have expected a biblical examination of how we as Christians don't live as if we truly believe what we say we believe, and more importantly, from such a title I would have expected a call to arms, a prophetic word about not walking away from the Scriptures without making the necessary changes we see in our lives (you know, the whole man in the mirror thing!).
Instead we get this:
"I like atheists. I've known many Christians I'd rather not spend time with, but surprisingly, I can't think of a single atheist I've known whom I didn't like...I respect conviction--even if it is the conviction to have no convictions." (from the introduction on pages 4-5)
Really? I don't know about you but I want a shepherd of the people of God to actually love the sheep. Not that all Christians are loveable, far from it. But despite our differences we as Believers are called to love one another, to see one another as brothers and sisters. The atheist? They are the ones to whom we must take the gospel, not respect their convictions which deny and slander our Lord and Savior!
Later on in chapter two of this book (which Avant titles "If God were real...We'd all Give up on Christianity"), we read of five reasons why Avant claims he's given up on Christianity...and why we should too! To be fair, it is apparent that Avant is referring to the religious system known as Christianity and not to Christianity itself...though he seems to have a problem with the term and prefers the emergent Christ "follower." No surprise here since his approach to what he considers true Christianity reeks of emergent ideology. What are his five reasons?
1) Christianity Crucifies Christians
Huh? What does this even mean? Its just words formed together with no real meaning! He is clearly making no connection to Jesus and his command for us to daily take up our cross (see Luke 9:23)! No, instead he takes the silliest examples he can find and pretends they actually represent the majority of Christianity! Speaking about what he thinks is the major problem in the evangelical church online, he says that "heresy hunters are everywhere. Personal attacks abound. Gossip is rampant. Reputations are destroyed...[W]e can slander with no shame as long as we can hide behind our screen names of sounddoctrine777 or truthmonitor888." (page 30)
What is he even talking about? Does he bother to cite examples? No! Do such things happen online from those who call themselves Christians? Sure. But isn't it also slanderous to paint all online ministries with the same brush? Are there not online discussions about actual heresy going on? The question that must be asked is "is it true?" We can't just reject all such things unequivocally!
And then, of course, he has to come out with the usual manner by which such discussions are brought to a close. Jesus said to love one another. Umm...yeah, but did He not also say if you love Him you will keep His commandments (John 14:15)? But anyhow, we come to the end of his first reason and I don't even see a connection between the reason and the content as he tries to explain it!
2) Christianity Demonizes Those God Loves
Here is what he says: "In my days at a missions agency, traveling every week to many churches across the country, I saw it over and over. Most Christians are either so sheltered within the religious shell of their churches that they don't really know any non-Christians, or they are actively working to oppose them. Or both." (page 34)
Ah there we go. Personal experience as proof. Well then he must be right, right? But wait, most of the Christians I know are working regular jobs in their towns, talking to their co-workers about Christ when they can and when they cannot they are witnessing through their lives as much as is humanly possible. Not all of them, but many of them. I don't know of any of my close Christian friends who view the lost around us as the enemy. So based on my experience is Avant wrong? Well obviously I think he is very wrong, but certainly not because of my own personal experience! And guess what? This is all that is offered in this section! Avant even shares the personal experience of a young youth pastor he heard about who ministered in Twin Falls, Idaho. He says that "Ted went to the gangs and other marginalized students in the area and invited them to parties at the church. God began to move in phenomenal ways. Attendance doubled each week. The entire youth culture of Twin Falls began to change. But listen to Lauren's [the man who wrote about this youth pastor's experience] account of what happened next. "Church members despised him for bringing these kids into their midst. During one service, Ted reported to the congregation about a major success the night before, the sort of achievement youth workers dream of: a mass of kids had flushed their entire drug stash down the toilets in the church bathroom. Instead of applauding, a parishioner shouted, 'Do you know what that can do to our plumbing?' and walked out, a line of grumbling dissenters behind him." Unfortunately this is not an aberration." (page 35)
Pardon me if my "I doubt it" radar kicks on, but this is completely laughable! I spent about half an hour looking up this youth minister online and in the 10 pages or so that I found on him, not one mention is made of this event. Obviously this does not mean the event did not happen...but to say, as Avant does, that "this is not an aberration"? I don't know what kind of churches Avant pastors, but I beg to differ! This IS an aberration and such a church should not call itself a church! And this is his second reason? Mr. Avant, surely you can do better?
3) Christianity Doesn't Take God Seriously
Ok...anytime a pastor uses Shane Claiborne as an example of someone who takes God seriously above and beyond others, I have to conclude he's bought completely into the emergent church movement! I mean, come on! Is he seriously talking of the Claiborne whose website declares that "Each of us is created for community, and in the image of community. And yet everything in the world tries to rob us of this Divine gift"? THAT Claiborne? Hmmm....zoned out already! Avant acknowledges that Claiborne is "controversial" (you think!?!?), but he says that "at least Shane is trying to take God seriously" (page 36). Ummm...ok. So what? He is sincerely wrong too! Who cares about whether someone takes God seriously in determining their spiritual life or death? Avant goes on to say in that same paragraph, talking about doctrine or living righteously, that he's "begun to wonder which is more important." What? How can you live a life pleasing to God if your doctrine is off base? How can you serve a God you do not know? What do such comments even mean? In citing the Pharisees he says that Jesus was "dismissive of their doctrine when their lives looked like 'whitewashed tombs'" Well yeah, but their lives looked like whitewashed tombs because their doctrine was incorrect!
4) Christianity Has Become Ridiculous
While I would prefer to phrase it as "many Christians have become ridiculous," I found myself almost agreeing with Avant on this point...until he himself became ridiculous! First off, however, he is indeed right that many Christians focus on silly things, arguing in favor of such ideas as homeschooling being the only true Biblical way to educate your children, or fighting over whether hymns or praise music are appropriate in worship, etc...
I even agree that we as Believers can go to extremes over books such as Harry Potter, BUT come on, to say as he does that the books are little different than the Narnia series is a bit silly. He reaches way too far in his defense of the books and his attacks on those who oppose the books. How about instead granting as much grace to his fellow Christians as he does to Rowling? Christianity ridiculous? No. Can Christians be ridiculous? Of course. Ultimately his spending so much of his energy and angst over people's treatment of poor Rowling make him as ridiuculous as he seems her to think her critics are.
5) Christianity Has Become a Monument; I'm Looking for a Movement
Well good for him, but this comments says much more about his own judgmental attitude than it does about the straw man of Christianity he opposes so much!
Okay, at this point I have only looked at about one third of the book, which is not good news because if this was supposed to be his intro it went on for way too depressingly long of a time. What, however, is his solution?
Well beginning in chapter 3 he proposes the following "three steps towards starting a Jesus Movementg that will help us fulfill the Great Commission..." (page 69) What are the three steps?
1) Face the Awful and Exciting Truth
What is this, tell me (as I shake with eager anticipation) please! "The awful truth is that the vast majority of the churches of Christianity are not going to survive." (page 69)? Ummm...what? That's it? But most of us already know that, and we know it without thinking that these are "churches of Christianity." Most of us who know Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives are well aware that most people who profess Christ are not true Believers, and that too many churches stopped being true churches a long time ago!
2) Moving Into Humility
3) The Church Must Learn to Pray Again
Gasp! These last two sound so original and revolutionary...I think Avant is on to something here! O wait, never mind. This is the same thing that most other people giving advice to the church are saying!
To be honest,the rest of the book is just as lacking in original content...the most original part of it being that someone associated with the Southern Baptist Covention can be so dismissive of those in need of a faithful and discerning shepherd. Chapter titles as shocking as "If God were real...the Church Would be Full of Addicts" and "If God Were Real...He Would Believe in Atheists" are nothing more than his attempt to paint the visible church of Christ as uncaring. His call to arms elicits from me little more than a really long yawn because by the time I made it to the latter chapter I was convinced that Avant's intent is to shock people and falsely represent the Body of our Lord.
I will stop here simply because anything more I say will not be helpful. I will simply add that I think this book will be very well received by those who already dislike Christianity and by those professing Christians who like to accuse anyone who takes their faith seriously as legalists and Pharisees. For the rest of you, don't put yourself through what I did...avoid the book! Quite frankly if you like reading critiques of the modern church there are plenty out there that actually do a good job of confronting us with our apathy and actually providing a Biblical basis for recovering our passion for Him.
I tried really hard to give this book the benefit of the doubt, but the more I read of it the more mortified I became by the content. I thought this would be a book on living holy lives and being doers as well as hearers of the Word, but unfortunately the content consisted of criticisms, complaints and whining about the state of evangelical Christianity. Not that I see anything necessarily wrong with a reasoned critique, but Mr. Avant failed to actually support any of his charges against the church with anything other than unsubstantiated stories and hearsay! What is truly sad is that this is not an attack by the typical critics (i.e., atheists), but by one who is himself a pastor and professed Christian, oh excuse me, a Christ follower!
Sadly, Mr. Avant failed to take advantage of an opportunity to address a serious failure among evangelicals to actually make disciples of the nations. I mean, the title of his book is excellent..."If God Were Real." From such a beginning I would have expected a biblical examination of how we as Christians don't live as if we truly believe what we say we believe, and more importantly, from such a title I would have expected a call to arms, a prophetic word about not walking away from the Scriptures without making the necessary changes we see in our lives (you know, the whole man in the mirror thing!).
Instead we get this:
"I like atheists. I've known many Christians I'd rather not spend time with, but surprisingly, I can't think of a single atheist I've known whom I didn't like...I respect conviction--even if it is the conviction to have no convictions." (from the introduction on pages 4-5)
Really? I don't know about you but I want a shepherd of the people of God to actually love the sheep. Not that all Christians are loveable, far from it. But despite our differences we as Believers are called to love one another, to see one another as brothers and sisters. The atheist? They are the ones to whom we must take the gospel, not respect their convictions which deny and slander our Lord and Savior!
Later on in chapter two of this book (which Avant titles "If God were real...We'd all Give up on Christianity"), we read of five reasons why Avant claims he's given up on Christianity...and why we should too! To be fair, it is apparent that Avant is referring to the religious system known as Christianity and not to Christianity itself...though he seems to have a problem with the term and prefers the emergent Christ "follower." No surprise here since his approach to what he considers true Christianity reeks of emergent ideology. What are his five reasons?
1) Christianity Crucifies Christians
Huh? What does this even mean? Its just words formed together with no real meaning! He is clearly making no connection to Jesus and his command for us to daily take up our cross (see Luke 9:23)! No, instead he takes the silliest examples he can find and pretends they actually represent the majority of Christianity! Speaking about what he thinks is the major problem in the evangelical church online, he says that "heresy hunters are everywhere. Personal attacks abound. Gossip is rampant. Reputations are destroyed...[W]e can slander with no shame as long as we can hide behind our screen names of sounddoctrine777 or truthmonitor888." (page 30)
What is he even talking about? Does he bother to cite examples? No! Do such things happen online from those who call themselves Christians? Sure. But isn't it also slanderous to paint all online ministries with the same brush? Are there not online discussions about actual heresy going on? The question that must be asked is "is it true?" We can't just reject all such things unequivocally!
And then, of course, he has to come out with the usual manner by which such discussions are brought to a close. Jesus said to love one another. Umm...yeah, but did He not also say if you love Him you will keep His commandments (John 14:15)? But anyhow, we come to the end of his first reason and I don't even see a connection between the reason and the content as he tries to explain it!
2) Christianity Demonizes Those God Loves
Here is what he says: "In my days at a missions agency, traveling every week to many churches across the country, I saw it over and over. Most Christians are either so sheltered within the religious shell of their churches that they don't really know any non-Christians, or they are actively working to oppose them. Or both." (page 34)
Ah there we go. Personal experience as proof. Well then he must be right, right? But wait, most of the Christians I know are working regular jobs in their towns, talking to their co-workers about Christ when they can and when they cannot they are witnessing through their lives as much as is humanly possible. Not all of them, but many of them. I don't know of any of my close Christian friends who view the lost around us as the enemy. So based on my experience is Avant wrong? Well obviously I think he is very wrong, but certainly not because of my own personal experience! And guess what? This is all that is offered in this section! Avant even shares the personal experience of a young youth pastor he heard about who ministered in Twin Falls, Idaho. He says that "Ted went to the gangs and other marginalized students in the area and invited them to parties at the church. God began to move in phenomenal ways. Attendance doubled each week. The entire youth culture of Twin Falls began to change. But listen to Lauren's [the man who wrote about this youth pastor's experience] account of what happened next. "Church members despised him for bringing these kids into their midst. During one service, Ted reported to the congregation about a major success the night before, the sort of achievement youth workers dream of: a mass of kids had flushed their entire drug stash down the toilets in the church bathroom. Instead of applauding, a parishioner shouted, 'Do you know what that can do to our plumbing?' and walked out, a line of grumbling dissenters behind him." Unfortunately this is not an aberration." (page 35)
Pardon me if my "I doubt it" radar kicks on, but this is completely laughable! I spent about half an hour looking up this youth minister online and in the 10 pages or so that I found on him, not one mention is made of this event. Obviously this does not mean the event did not happen...but to say, as Avant does, that "this is not an aberration"? I don't know what kind of churches Avant pastors, but I beg to differ! This IS an aberration and such a church should not call itself a church! And this is his second reason? Mr. Avant, surely you can do better?
3) Christianity Doesn't Take God Seriously
Ok...anytime a pastor uses Shane Claiborne as an example of someone who takes God seriously above and beyond others, I have to conclude he's bought completely into the emergent church movement! I mean, come on! Is he seriously talking of the Claiborne whose website declares that "Each of us is created for community, and in the image of community. And yet everything in the world tries to rob us of this Divine gift"? THAT Claiborne? Hmmm....zoned out already! Avant acknowledges that Claiborne is "controversial" (you think!?!?), but he says that "at least Shane is trying to take God seriously" (page 36). Ummm...ok. So what? He is sincerely wrong too! Who cares about whether someone takes God seriously in determining their spiritual life or death? Avant goes on to say in that same paragraph, talking about doctrine or living righteously, that he's "begun to wonder which is more important." What? How can you live a life pleasing to God if your doctrine is off base? How can you serve a God you do not know? What do such comments even mean? In citing the Pharisees he says that Jesus was "dismissive of their doctrine when their lives looked like 'whitewashed tombs'" Well yeah, but their lives looked like whitewashed tombs because their doctrine was incorrect!
4) Christianity Has Become Ridiculous
While I would prefer to phrase it as "many Christians have become ridiculous," I found myself almost agreeing with Avant on this point...until he himself became ridiculous! First off, however, he is indeed right that many Christians focus on silly things, arguing in favor of such ideas as homeschooling being the only true Biblical way to educate your children, or fighting over whether hymns or praise music are appropriate in worship, etc...
I even agree that we as Believers can go to extremes over books such as Harry Potter, BUT come on, to say as he does that the books are little different than the Narnia series is a bit silly. He reaches way too far in his defense of the books and his attacks on those who oppose the books. How about instead granting as much grace to his fellow Christians as he does to Rowling? Christianity ridiculous? No. Can Christians be ridiculous? Of course. Ultimately his spending so much of his energy and angst over people's treatment of poor Rowling make him as ridiuculous as he seems her to think her critics are.
5) Christianity Has Become a Monument; I'm Looking for a Movement
Well good for him, but this comments says much more about his own judgmental attitude than it does about the straw man of Christianity he opposes so much!
Okay, at this point I have only looked at about one third of the book, which is not good news because if this was supposed to be his intro it went on for way too depressingly long of a time. What, however, is his solution?
Well beginning in chapter 3 he proposes the following "three steps towards starting a Jesus Movementg that will help us fulfill the Great Commission..." (page 69) What are the three steps?
1) Face the Awful and Exciting Truth
What is this, tell me (as I shake with eager anticipation) please! "The awful truth is that the vast majority of the churches of Christianity are not going to survive." (page 69)? Ummm...what? That's it? But most of us already know that, and we know it without thinking that these are "churches of Christianity." Most of us who know Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives are well aware that most people who profess Christ are not true Believers, and that too many churches stopped being true churches a long time ago!
2) Moving Into Humility
3) The Church Must Learn to Pray Again
Gasp! These last two sound so original and revolutionary...I think Avant is on to something here! O wait, never mind. This is the same thing that most other people giving advice to the church are saying!
To be honest,the rest of the book is just as lacking in original content...the most original part of it being that someone associated with the Southern Baptist Covention can be so dismissive of those in need of a faithful and discerning shepherd. Chapter titles as shocking as "If God were real...the Church Would be Full of Addicts" and "If God Were Real...He Would Believe in Atheists" are nothing more than his attempt to paint the visible church of Christ as uncaring. His call to arms elicits from me little more than a really long yawn because by the time I made it to the latter chapter I was convinced that Avant's intent is to shock people and falsely represent the Body of our Lord.
I will stop here simply because anything more I say will not be helpful. I will simply add that I think this book will be very well received by those who already dislike Christianity and by those professing Christians who like to accuse anyone who takes their faith seriously as legalists and Pharisees. For the rest of you, don't put yourself through what I did...avoid the book! Quite frankly if you like reading critiques of the modern church there are plenty out there that actually do a good job of confronting us with our apathy and actually providing a Biblical basis for recovering our passion for Him.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Hebrews 2:5-9
We had 6 boys show up today for the boffer/ sword tag group and we had an exciting time with only very minor wounds, including one I gave to one of the kids :-(
Anyhow, today we studied Hebrews 2:5-9 and here are my notes:
**********************************************************
Intro:
The last time that we looked at this book we discussed:
- How chapter 1 focuses on the supremacy of Christ over the angelic beings
- How Jesus is uniquely the Son of God, the second Person of our Triune God
- How the first 4 verses of chapter 2 use the content of chapter 1 as the exhortation to remain faithful in the midst of terrible persecution...if Christ is whom He says He is then salvation can only be found in Him
Today, time permitting, we will examine the next 5 verses
Read Hebrews 2:5-9
Again, we've seen the superiority of Christ to the angels laid out by the author throughout chapter 1...and now we return to this theme in the verses before us. Remember that we have been warned not to neglect our salvation because Christ is real, and now we are told again that to do so is folly. You see, verse 5 starts out, "For He has not put the world to come..." See by placing our trust in Christ we place it upon the one to whom all things belong! The world to come is not under the dominion of the angels, why would we put our hope for salvation upon them? Such a thing would be silly! The answer to the question of who will rule in the world to come is one of utmost importance, for it is to this Ruler that our loyalty must be given.
The author of Hebrews then quotes from Psalm 8:4-6, and under the inspiration of the Spirit makes of it an application that relates directly to Jesus! Now clearly we know from the context in Psalm 8 that this is referring to humans. We are insignificant before an Almighty God, and yet He chose to give us dominion over the earth (see Genesis 1:26). And yet, look closely at verse 8...not all things are under the dominion of man are they? (see 2 Corinthians 4:4 & John 12:31)
We do not yet see all things under the dominion of man because there is one thing that man is not master of...one thing that all men must one day face. What is this? DEATH!
And so the words of King David in Psalm 8 do not find their final fulfillment in man, and this is why the author of Hebrews here identifies the true, ultimate subject of this Psalm 8 passage...and it is Jesus our Lord!
Look at verse 9: only Jesus fulfilled the conquest of death in Himself!
Jesus was:
- made a little lower than the angels, just as man was
- Jesus suffered death, just like all men do
BUT, unlike any other person ever or since, Jesus conquered death by His own power! Read 1 Corinthians 15:40-58
And Jesus conquered death for His people, did He not? Verse 9 tells us that He died in order to "taste death for everyone." In His death Jesus was crowned with glory and with honor, and He truly fulfilled the words of the psalmist!
What can we learn from all of this:
- In Jesus, we too are heirs of the glory promised in Psalm 8
- Because this is true, we must all the more take care that we are truly His...what a travesty to find one day that we were never truly His!
- Though death has its grip on us now, this will not always be the case.
Knowing that we belong to Him means we need not fear death. I am not saying that death is not a horrible thing...of course it is, that is why it is our enemy. We are not to embrace death foolishly like cult members (remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:21), but neither should we have a paralyzing fear of it. I confess that I fear the manner of my dying...but death itself hold no terror for me because I know exactly where I will be the moment after.
Do you?
Close in prayer
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Personal Update
Well first of all I'd like to offer my most sincere apologies because it has been quite some time since I last posted. This one will be a short update, so nothing fancy!
As you well know, I have started dieting and excercising a bit more consistently and I have some good news and some bad news to report. The good news first of course:
My weight on:
June 26th, 2009 = 284 lbs.
July 6th, 2009 = 274 lbs.
July 22nd, 2009 = 272 lbs.
July 31st, 2009 = 267 lbs.
The bad news is that the week of August 3rd thru 9th was not a good week and I ended up gaining 2 lbs. My wife was not feeling well and with all kinds of other things going on I was only able to go to the gym one day that week. I am thankful that I only gained 2 lbs. though. I am going to weigh myself tomorrow again and hopefully I am down to 267 lbs. again since I have been hitting the gym every day since Sunday. I did weigh myself on Sunday and I was down to 268 lbs. again. On July 31st I had set myself a goal to be down to 265 lbs. by Friday August 14th and I don't know if I will make it. We'll see, right?
Overall, however, I am very satisfied with my progress considering I have lost 16 lbs. since June 26th. Awhile back I told myself I would try for 250 lbs. by my birthday in December and it looks like if I maintain my discipline I should be able to make that goal...maybe even more!
Well that is all for now...tomorrow I have set aside a couple of hours to focus on writing a review so I will, Lord willing, be able to post that tomorrow evening.
God bless!
As you well know, I have started dieting and excercising a bit more consistently and I have some good news and some bad news to report. The good news first of course:
My weight on:
June 26th, 2009 = 284 lbs.
July 6th, 2009 = 274 lbs.
July 22nd, 2009 = 272 lbs.
July 31st, 2009 = 267 lbs.
The bad news is that the week of August 3rd thru 9th was not a good week and I ended up gaining 2 lbs. My wife was not feeling well and with all kinds of other things going on I was only able to go to the gym one day that week. I am thankful that I only gained 2 lbs. though. I am going to weigh myself tomorrow again and hopefully I am down to 267 lbs. again since I have been hitting the gym every day since Sunday. I did weigh myself on Sunday and I was down to 268 lbs. again. On July 31st I had set myself a goal to be down to 265 lbs. by Friday August 14th and I don't know if I will make it. We'll see, right?
Overall, however, I am very satisfied with my progress considering I have lost 16 lbs. since June 26th. Awhile back I told myself I would try for 250 lbs. by my birthday in December and it looks like if I maintain my discipline I should be able to make that goal...maybe even more!
Well that is all for now...tomorrow I have set aside a couple of hours to focus on writing a review so I will, Lord willing, be able to post that tomorrow evening.
God bless!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Immensity of the Love of God: A Study of 1 John 4:7-11
Today we had the sword-tag group at and we had one new person visit, the friend of my oldest son. We had a great time although I am now truly starting to feel my advanced age and am quickly defeated by everyone. Still, not only do I get a good work-out, I also enjoy time spent with a bunch of rambunctious teen boys! AND I get to teach! ;-)
Here is the lesson for today:
Read 1 John 4:7-11
Here we see the concern with which John writes...he says to the beloved, to the elect, that we are to love one another. Why are we to do so? Because love comes from God (see Galatians 5:22)! We are not speaking here of what is commonly referred to as love, the infatuation of men towards women and vice versa. No, the love referred to here is that perfect love of God (see 1 Corinthians 13).
Note how verse 7 goes on to say that everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Then in vese 8 we read that if somebody does not love then they don't truly know who God is because God IS love. Here we see why this does not speak of a merely emotional type of love, for everyone alive can claim that and the Bible is very clear that not all people know God nor will all people know God. What we are to understand here is that if there is one among us who does not have love for the saints, then He does not truly know God. God loves His elect! How can one claim to love God and then hate His people? You would be hating yourself!
But look again at verse 8....God IS love.
Not God loves, but God IS love. What does this mean? Well it means that His very nature is love. He is not merely loving, He is love itself. All that He gives to us, His very special people, is out of a manifestation of His very character.
Many people take this verse and say, "see there can be no hell for God is love". The problem with this is that they take this attribute of God and make it all that He is. But God is not some Greek deity like Aphrodite the goddess of love. He is the God of Israel. We are told by John that God is also light (1 John 1:5) and that He is Spirit (John 4:24). He is also holy. Let us never forget that God cannot be boxed into one thing we read in some random verse we can then use as a proof text for whatever thing we want to teach. No. Taken all together, and in context, we see that the love of God is manifest in His love for His people. The holiness of God demands that sin be punished, but His love and His mercy permit us to receive forgiveness!
We see this so clearly in verse 9, where we read that the love of God, the outflow of His character, is manifested towards us. Towards His chosen people. So the focus of His love is clearly defined here. Remember this is the same John who wrote John 3:16! So we can see so much more clearly what he is writing when we read this verse...the love of God, the mercy of God, has an intended target, and it is us! God, being love, made known this love by sending Jesus into the world, that we might live through Him. Jesus came into the world for His lost sheep. In dying on the cross He attained their salvation by atoning for the sins of His people. Truly He was abe to say on the cross that He had accomplished His work, declaring "It is finished!" (John 19:30) Do you see this? The Father sent the Son for a purpose! This purpose is explained here by John. But we also read in Luke 19:10 that Jesus Himself said that He came to "seek and save that which was lost"!
What, then, is the clearest expression of the love of God? The death of Christ on the cross! Such a horrible event, the second Person of the Trinity suffering and dying for a sinful people. What a travesty! And yet, it was the eternal decree of God that this should happen. It was necessary for the Shepherd to die in order for the sheep to be redeemed. This is love, not just that He died for us, but that such a Perfect Being died for such filthy creatures as us. The Creator of the universe died for that which He created! This is love!
And to understand even better what an amazing thing this is, we read in verse 10 that the picture of love is NOT that we loved God...but that He loved us enough to send His Son to pay the penalty for us! This is exactly what Paul teaches in Romans 5:8 where he says that "God demonstrates His love own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
You see, in our fallen state, we do not love God. And even though the Lord could see the evil of our hearts, He chose to die for us. He loved us even though we were in rebellion against Him...He loved us even though we were unworthy of Him. Can you imagine that? Our natural inclination is to turn away from those who dislike us, let alone those who hate us! But God died for those who hated Him. Truly John will later declare that "we love Him because He first loved us"! (1 John 4:19)
Ask: What do you think of this kind of love? (discuss)
This is a type of love so immense that it can only come from God. And do you know what? There is a reason why John tells us these things...we read it in verse 11 where John now concludes this passage with the following: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
Wow.
Can we live up to this? If God loves us so much that since eternity past He decreed the death of Jesus on the cross, how can we measure up? Is it possible? Well it must be because we are commanded to love one another in the same manner!
How can this type of love be manifested by the saints towards one another? (discuss)
Think about this: God's love was not prompted by anything praiseworthy in us.
In fact, read the following:
-Deuteronomy 7:6-7
-2 Timothy 1:8-9
Nothing in us deserved the love of God. He gave it for His own reasons, because it pleased Him to shower us with it. It is undeserved.
With this in mind, I ask again, how can we manifest this type of love towards one another?
We are to love the people of God even when they are unloveable. We are to forgive the people of God when they offend us, even if they don't ask us for that forgiveness. We are to bless His people even when they sinfully curse us. And, yes, we are to die for them if need be.
I dare not say that any of this is easy, but it is commanded of us. The best way to cultivate this love is to seek Him first. To be so focused on Him and His love that this world means nothing by comparison. When we are in constant awareness of His love for us, of the immensity of the love of God, then exhibiting such a love towards others will come more naturally. I pray we all desire this.
Close in prayer.
Here is the lesson for today:
Read 1 John 4:7-11
Here we see the concern with which John writes...he says to the beloved, to the elect, that we are to love one another. Why are we to do so? Because love comes from God (see Galatians 5:22)! We are not speaking here of what is commonly referred to as love, the infatuation of men towards women and vice versa. No, the love referred to here is that perfect love of God (see 1 Corinthians 13).
Note how verse 7 goes on to say that everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Then in vese 8 we read that if somebody does not love then they don't truly know who God is because God IS love. Here we see why this does not speak of a merely emotional type of love, for everyone alive can claim that and the Bible is very clear that not all people know God nor will all people know God. What we are to understand here is that if there is one among us who does not have love for the saints, then He does not truly know God. God loves His elect! How can one claim to love God and then hate His people? You would be hating yourself!
But look again at verse 8....God IS love.
Not God loves, but God IS love. What does this mean? Well it means that His very nature is love. He is not merely loving, He is love itself. All that He gives to us, His very special people, is out of a manifestation of His very character.
Many people take this verse and say, "see there can be no hell for God is love". The problem with this is that they take this attribute of God and make it all that He is. But God is not some Greek deity like Aphrodite the goddess of love. He is the God of Israel. We are told by John that God is also light (1 John 1:5) and that He is Spirit (John 4:24). He is also holy. Let us never forget that God cannot be boxed into one thing we read in some random verse we can then use as a proof text for whatever thing we want to teach. No. Taken all together, and in context, we see that the love of God is manifest in His love for His people. The holiness of God demands that sin be punished, but His love and His mercy permit us to receive forgiveness!
We see this so clearly in verse 9, where we read that the love of God, the outflow of His character, is manifested towards us. Towards His chosen people. So the focus of His love is clearly defined here. Remember this is the same John who wrote John 3:16! So we can see so much more clearly what he is writing when we read this verse...the love of God, the mercy of God, has an intended target, and it is us! God, being love, made known this love by sending Jesus into the world, that we might live through Him. Jesus came into the world for His lost sheep. In dying on the cross He attained their salvation by atoning for the sins of His people. Truly He was abe to say on the cross that He had accomplished His work, declaring "It is finished!" (John 19:30) Do you see this? The Father sent the Son for a purpose! This purpose is explained here by John. But we also read in Luke 19:10 that Jesus Himself said that He came to "seek and save that which was lost"!
What, then, is the clearest expression of the love of God? The death of Christ on the cross! Such a horrible event, the second Person of the Trinity suffering and dying for a sinful people. What a travesty! And yet, it was the eternal decree of God that this should happen. It was necessary for the Shepherd to die in order for the sheep to be redeemed. This is love, not just that He died for us, but that such a Perfect Being died for such filthy creatures as us. The Creator of the universe died for that which He created! This is love!
And to understand even better what an amazing thing this is, we read in verse 10 that the picture of love is NOT that we loved God...but that He loved us enough to send His Son to pay the penalty for us! This is exactly what Paul teaches in Romans 5:8 where he says that "God demonstrates His love own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
You see, in our fallen state, we do not love God. And even though the Lord could see the evil of our hearts, He chose to die for us. He loved us even though we were in rebellion against Him...He loved us even though we were unworthy of Him. Can you imagine that? Our natural inclination is to turn away from those who dislike us, let alone those who hate us! But God died for those who hated Him. Truly John will later declare that "we love Him because He first loved us"! (1 John 4:19)
Ask: What do you think of this kind of love? (discuss)
This is a type of love so immense that it can only come from God. And do you know what? There is a reason why John tells us these things...we read it in verse 11 where John now concludes this passage with the following: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
Wow.
Can we live up to this? If God loves us so much that since eternity past He decreed the death of Jesus on the cross, how can we measure up? Is it possible? Well it must be because we are commanded to love one another in the same manner!
How can this type of love be manifested by the saints towards one another? (discuss)
Think about this: God's love was not prompted by anything praiseworthy in us.
In fact, read the following:
-Deuteronomy 7:6-7
-2 Timothy 1:8-9
Nothing in us deserved the love of God. He gave it for His own reasons, because it pleased Him to shower us with it. It is undeserved.
With this in mind, I ask again, how can we manifest this type of love towards one another?
We are to love the people of God even when they are unloveable. We are to forgive the people of God when they offend us, even if they don't ask us for that forgiveness. We are to bless His people even when they sinfully curse us. And, yes, we are to die for them if need be.
I dare not say that any of this is easy, but it is commanded of us. The best way to cultivate this love is to seek Him first. To be so focused on Him and His love that this world means nothing by comparison. When we are in constant awareness of His love for us, of the immensity of the love of God, then exhibiting such a love towards others will come more naturally. I pray we all desire this.
Close in prayer.
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