Why I Threw the Berenstain Bears in the Garbage

So I'm reading the Berenstain Bears to my little boy the other day and couldn't make it through the whole book without trowing it in the garbage. Yes, that's right. I threw the Berenstain Bears in the garbage.

The storyline went something like this: Baby bears were watching too much television and eating too much junk food. Mama Bear notices this is becoming a habit for her children. She also notices they are getting a little overweight. So, like a good mother, she turns off the TV and throws away all junk food in the house. She then instructs the children to go outside to play.

So far so good.

Well, Papa Bear comes home and heads straight for the refrigerator. He asks, "Where's my soda?" Mama Bear replies, "It's gone. I threw it away." Then Papa Bear goes over to the cupboard looking for some cookies. He doesn't find any. Mama Bear says, "Yep, threw those away too." Disappointed, PB goes to the television and is quickly told it is not allowed anymore." Even more disappointed, PB bends down to get something off of the floor, and RIP!, his pants tear because, just like the kids, Papa has gained one-too-many pounds.

The moral of the story was decent enough - Resist the temptation to watch television and eat junk food all day. Playing outside is a good alternative.

But there was another message that went something like this - Papa Bear is a goofball and is just another child that Mama Bear has to manage and instruct, because she ultimately has to rule the roost.

This book is just another indication that our culture has no clue about true manhood or masculinity. Examples of manhood range from the Bundy's (when I was growing up) - Al being the lazy, uncaring, father with one hand down his pants and a remote in the other. Then there is Raymond, the clueless and careless man-child who serves more as an object of laughter than a leader. People may love him, but they'd never follow him.

Then there are the athletes - oh, the hailed athletes, who are honored and glorified more for the strength of their bodies than of their character. UFC is on a come-up as well, a man is someone who can beat the crap out of another.

The pendulum swings to the other end of the spectrum as well. When men don't wear pads or boxing gloves, they wear pink sweaters and become another voice on The View concerning decorating or hair styling. Please excuse the expression and receive the point.

From being overly masculine (which is not really masculine at all) to more feminine, manhood is completely distorted in our day. Rarely do we find in the media a faithful husband, who loves, protects, and provides for his family, friends, and enemies. Rarely do we see a man relating in a godly way to women - rather, we get men who act like women or totally take advantage of them.

You have to wonder why athletic masculinity is always accompanied with women in bathing suits (from cheerleaders, to the girls who walk around with a sign that says, "Round 2."). It's an indication that men aren't portrayed at all, but cave-men.

Men are either dominating women, or being dominated by them.

And the worldview is promoted at an early age. Even with the Berenstain Bears.

Why I Dislike the Word "Journey" as a Description of the Christian Life

This past Saturday, my wife and I were without three of our four children. The in-laws took em. Given this "freedom" I was ready for a nice day of rest. My wife, on the other hand, was ready for something else. While I had sleeping on my mind, she had shopping on hers. Christmas shopping. Dang.

Needless to say, she got her way :) As we were on our way to the first store, I looked over and asked her the very important question, "What's the plan?"

I cannot handle shopping without a plan. I need a goal - an end in sight. Something to keep us focussed and to keep us from wandering around the stores from one sale sign to the next. If I am going to endure shopping, I need to know that it will be over in the future. Shopping for me is a mission.

She was reluctant to give the plan. Why? Because shopping for her (that day) was a journey.

There is a huge difference.

Missions have goals that, once accomplished, the mission is over. Men and women are able to endure all sorts of hardship, suffering (I'm shifting from the shopping analogy at this point), and tribulation, as long as they know these things will end once their goal is reached.

This is why Christian hope is necessary for enduring sacrificial living.

People on a mission have little patience for journeying.  It doesn't make sense walking unless we are walking somewhere. Without an end in sight, there is only wandering - sometimes for years...in circles.

As we travel through this world, we always long to know where we are going? If the answer from our leadership is unclear, then they are not really leading. And as followers, we quickly become hopeless grumblers, rather than obedient soldiers.

This is why I have a distaste for the word journey as a description of the Christian life and faith. The only good example of a journeying people in the Scriptures is the children of Israel in the wilderness. They were journeying because they were rebellious, refusing to follow the leadership God provided. They longed for Egypt and had little hope in the Land of Promise.

This is why a lack of Christian hope produces a life of little to no sacrificial endurance.

We must also pay attention to the context and content of Moses' exhortations to the second generation. In an effort to keep them from the patterns of their parents, he kept the goal in front of them - urging them to obediently follow the Lord's commandments as he led them across the Jordan, into the Promised Land.

The crossing of the Jordan and the conquest of the Land was no journey. It was a mission. Joshua was a leader, not a wanderer. He had a clear command, motivation, and goal (Joshua 1). His leadership produced soldiers, who knew and expected the conquest to be tough. But they also knew it'd be worth it because of the end.

Similarly, the Christian life is a mission, lead by Christ's commands, empowered by his Spirit, and motivated by the inheritance he has purchased and promised. We must always be looking and hoping for what is ahead.

When the Christian asks, "Where are we going?" Christ's answer is clear, not ambiguous. The Word of God is a relatively small book with clear instructions, intrinsic power, and hopeful promises.

Disclaimer: I understand that there are some temporary situations in the Christian life that may be accurately described as a journey. However, it should not be a description that is allowed to stick around too long. People quickly lose heart.

Disclaimer 2: I am not saying that those who shop are journeyers in the Christian life. I used shopping only as an analogy :) If you know of a way that I can rightly judge all journey-shopping as inappropriate for the Christian life, please tell me! I am looking for any excuse to outlaw the practice.

Encouragement for the Christian: Hope in heaven. Attentively listen to Christ's commands. With the power he provides, make it your mission to love like crazy.

Longing for Egypt Because We Don't Long for Eternity

I think there is a part in all of us that longs for our own Egypt - the places we once were, the things we once did, and the enjoyments we once had. As we look back, we tend to block the bad and focus only on the good. Nostalgia has a tendency to overshadow previous pains that flowed out of our previous passions. Too often, it is the passions of the past that throw us into wishful thinking for the past, accompanied by discontentment with who we are and what we have, now.

This is all pretty reasonable. As life moves forward, the weight of responsibility grows. The pains of life increase. People around us die, argue, and divorce. Money is made and lost. Children grow up and struggle with life - a progression we attempt to protect with all our might. Some of their struggles are our fault. This we cannot take. Because we are sinners, our failures pile up - some of them have repercussions that will follow and taunt us the rest of our lives.

These shadows eclipse the thousands of mercies and joys we receive every day. Our natural bend, it seems, is to focus on the dark fabric of life, all the while the diamond of redemption shines directly upon our faces. We continually fail to realize that our Lord specializes in bringing treasure out of tribulation and tragedy.

We also fail to realize and recognize that, through this wilderness, a redemptive road winds. And that short road (though it seem long) ends in the Land of Promise. In a very real and practical way, we have no concept or expectation of this Land, nor the promise that secures it for us. Our perception of the promised future has little gravity compared to the greatness (again, in our perception) of our parochial past and present. Therefore, it rarely perceive it as feasible.

How many of us, while in agony or in a time of great temptation, have been truly comforted by the promised inheritance? How many have been prescribed reflection on eternity when seeking godly counsel? And how many of us have been counseled to hope upon heaven, only to toss the person's advice to the side as impersonal, unloving and impractical?

Unfortunately, hope for eternity does little to make us feel better.

Because of the present anxieties of our wilderness, we cannot fathom a future better than what we once had. We are all addicts of Egypt who chase the first high (Exod 16:1-3). Because of this, the Christian experience, in this life, is reduced to inconvenience. We do just enough to ease the discomfort of conscience - the discomfort that usually follows relapse.

But the remedy is so clear. The greatness of the Promised Land should be, and indeed is, enough to keep our eyes focused ahead. It should have enough gravity in our lives to draw us into obedient progress. When we do look back to Egypt, we should always see it through the historical Cross (Gal 6:14). We should always see just how bloody our Egypt was; and how our life there cost Christ his.

And when we look forward, we should be amazed to see a Land where the Lord promises pleasures and joys forever. No sin. No tears. Glorified body. Glorious relationships. Eternal and unselfish enjoyment of all possessions. Laughter that doesn't have to end. Intimacy that throws sex into extinction. Men will work without sweat and stress. Women will be loved without worry of abandonment. Our backs will not ache, nor will our brains forget. We will, Christian, be with our Lord, praising him together, with no less days than when we had first begun. All of this, and more, without end.

Egypt pails in comparison. Egypt is hell in comparison.

This is what makes a tough life now bearable. This is what makes loving difficult people worth it. This is what takes the stoicism out of sacrifice, and adds reward back to responsibility. Without hope for the future, there is no real reason to obey in the present. Without eternity, there is only Egypt.

Christ purchased for us an inheritance we cannot even come close to fully understanding. The Scriptures, however, are full of descriptions; and this life is full of glimpses - wives, children, churches, and good food, to name a few. By grace, I hope we can see that these great things are merely tastes of what's to come. By grace, I pray that we all long for an eternity that puts Egypt to shame. Only then will those who are now in Egypt be enticed to leave, and thus be with us in the Promised Land for eternity!

Thi'sl's New Album - Free From the Trap (Get it!)

I would highly recommend getting this new album Free From the Trap by Thi'sl. Thi'sl is probably my favorite artist among the current list of Christian rappers. It is well worth the money, as he gives an honest view of what life looks like in distressed communities - all from a Christian perspective. I am thankful that the Lord saved this man. I am thankful that he has called him to this ministry.

Repenting of Our Racism During Obama's Reelection

We are not that far removed from the civil rights movement. There are millions of people living in America who remember racial segregation, discrimination, and the acceptable injustice of racism. Now that the movement has ended, and holds its section in every elementary history book, we tend to think that racism is less of an issue. We tend to ignore its dangerous existence in our culture today.

We have, in many ways, given the civil rights movement too much credit. While it brought change in our civil laws, it failed to bring change (in every individual instance) to the human heart. In other words, just because the civil rights movement has come, doesn't mean racism has gone. It is alive and well, and to ignore its existence is nothing less than irresponsible.

Just one week ago, the stench of racism seeped out of my own heart. As I walked into the voting booth, I couldn't help noticing my minority status. Out of about a hundred people, I was one out of about ten caucasians. I immediately said to myself, "Obama will win." At that moment, I lumped every non-white individual into a corporate group who, I thought, would vote for Obama merely because he was black. I made an arbitrary, stereotypical, racial judgment. I was, at that time, a practicing racist.

To all of my African American friends, I repent. I am sorry.

My reason for writing, however, goes deeper than this. Should the stereotype (in many cases) be justified, I believe it is a facet of racism that keeps us from understanding the valid reasons people have for voting according to race - whoever the candidate may be, or whatever policies the candidate may hold. To see such a vote as completely unreasonable is indicative of our unwillingness to know and love our neighbor well. After all, making judgments according to race is easier and more convenient than making judgments according to a person's reasons.

I am a middle-class, white male. I have never been stopped by a police officer because I fit a profile. I have never been denied anything (that I know of) strictly because I belong to a particular racial group. I have never had someone I don't know call me a nigger - judging and categorizing me as a stupid, mindless, individual because of the color of my skin. And, I have never had anyone give me proverbial "pat on the head" because I actually could learn enough to graduate high school or even college.

I was not raised by a grandmother who was denied simple privileges like a water fountain, toilet, or seat on a bus, all because she was black. My grandfather was not hanged by southern white police officers. Nor did my grandparents ever have to put out a burning cross in their front yard.

I have never had to wonder if justice would be afforded me. I have always trusted my banker, my local police, my governor, and my president. I have never personally wondered if my civil authorities were safe or unsafe to approach when I was in need. I have never had to vitally consider the racial prejudice of those elected to protect me.

When police drive through my neighborhood, I feel safe. I feel no need to run. I have always thought the only reason people do run is because they are guilty. But I have never considered that some run because they don't want to be embarrassed in front of their family and friends; or have their possessions and/or time unjustly confiscated.

There is no one in my immediate lineage who has been forced to live and find solace in a marginalized, impoverished community where everyone is, by circumstance, a racial refugee. I have never been denied viable employment because of my skin tone, and therefore have never been put in a position to find the cheapest property available - cheap only because people like me live there.

Perhaps most significantly, I have never been desperate for a just and authoritative advocate - someone on the outside who could pull me out. Someone who could speak on my behalf and communicate to others that I am also human, valuable, intelligent, and more beautifully complex than the color of my skin.

Because I have never been racially oppressed in these ways, I have never longed for an authoritative advocate who looked like me - whose existence in the outside, authoritative, non-marginalized world, meant that there was a ray of sun shinning through the dark clouds of oppression.

Never having been individually oppressed because of my racial identity, I have never been forced to see my racial community as the only safe community or family. If I were a black man, and had experienced all of the above, I am sure I would see life and politics through very different eyes - eyes that must see color first as a means of survival. And I am sure I would be more inclined to see the possibility and reality of a black president very differently as well.

His presence might very well mean more to me than his policies. And I would probably focus more on his color than his conduct. Right or wrong, I'd probably be conditioned to think this way. Right or wrong, these are reasons - valid reasons - why people may vote through a racial lens.

They are reasons that the white community must understand, as well as embrace as being brought about, at least in part, by our own history of corporate racism. If we fail to understand, repent, and love, we may slip into another cultural setting where a racial movement is mandated.

Propaganda - Free Album You Must Get!

This amazing album from Propaganda is available for free download here.  You really need to get it.  I personally like "Precious Puritans" as it is thoughtful and awakens our culture to one of its most dangerous blind spots.

Thanks AV for letting me know about this!!!

I have also added the GOSPEL by Propaganda below.  Be blessed!

The Reformed African American Network (Check it Out!!)

Too often it is said that Christianity is the white man's religion. Those who believe in Christ, they say, are intolerant, dogmatic, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white guys who live to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of the world. This may be hyperbolic language, but it is not unjustified. I have heard it with my own ears.

Of course, the statement is not completely true. From the beginning, Christianity has been a religion for the nations. And even when it was "just for the Jews", it was really for the world, through the Jews.

But I must confess. While I may reject the indictment that Christianity is the white man's religion, there are significant parts of my life that invite it. I may say that Christianity is for all peoples and has been lived out and promoted by all peoples, but I have not embraced this truth in many significant parts of my Christian education and practice.

I don't believe I am alone. For some time, middle-upper class white evangelicals have believed that they are the only significant, right, articulators of theology - especially Reformed Theology. And like I said before, I don't believe any one of us would say this, but we do believe it.

Take a look at your book shelf or blogroll. What percentage are white (or, Anglo) authors? What percentage are African-American, Mexican, Latin American, African, or Asian? I haven't conducted a survey, but I'd be willing to bet, from the libraries I have seen (even my own!), that the majority of our theological learning comes from the white community.

I don't believe that this is malicious in nature or overtly racial. White authors, because of many factors (good and bad), have probably published and produced more material. But is this a good excuse? Shouldn't we be seeking out different cultural perspectives on theology? Shouldn't we be promoting and subsidizing multicultural theological expressions? Do we not see the cultural one-sidedness of our own theological framework?

Without the significant theological insights from multicultural communities, can we really say we are Reformed? Don't we realize that Reformed Theology is not just written doctrinal truths, but also the existential expressions of those doctrines in every culture and among all people groups under heaven?

If you are looking at your bookshelf and blogroll, and notice an absence of multicultural influence, there is no need to despair. I have good news for you today. I'd like to introduce you to RAAN.

The Reformed African American Network (RAAN) is a great organization that seeks to faithfully share and express Reformed Theology from an African American perspective. It's purpose is to "fuel the modern reformation in the African American community and the multi-ethnic nation beyond."

RAAN is a great resource for all peoples. It allows us to gain tremendous theological insights from the African American perspective. In short, I believe RAAN will add much needed color to our modern Reformed tradition.

Below is a video from the founders of RAAN explaining what the organization is all about. I hope you will make this network a part of your regular theological diet. I pray that it would be a significant means by which the Lord's church "continually reforms."

Mopping Up the Bloody Mess

Every sin, no matter how small, creates a chasm between us and the other that we are not able to cross. Every transgression makes a mess that we are ill-equipped to clean up. Sin is something so easy to do, but it is impossible to repair. With our actions we fracture other people so badly that even the best of our actions would never restore the relationship to what it once was.

When we sin, we are like a child who just burned down our home - completely guilty and completely helpless. A small action by small fingers, lights a match that burns a big house down.

We don't really believe this though do we? Some sins, like adultery or murder are obviously "that bad." But other sins like lying or lusting are, well, not "that bad." Most of the time we don't notice how bad they are until we are found out by another individual. We see the damage in the tears or expressions of the person against whom we have transgressed.

Because we don't believe the devastating nature of sin, we leave the mess unaddressed - like a husband who expects his wife to be okay after he lets her know he doesn't plan on committing adultery any more; like a wife who simply disciplines herself out of the habit of gossip; and like a college student who reads a book on procrastination in an effort to break the cycle.

We have fooled ourselves into thinking if we stop the behavior the mess will go away. Our right actions will mop the bloody floor. We actually think that we can make the [burned] house come back by saying, "I won't play with fire ever again."

Once more, all of these actions fail to recognize the personal nature of sin - that, though we are in control to commit the sin, we surrender our control (by that very action) to repair it. Once the deed is done, we are completely at the mercy of the other to make things right. Nothing we do will do - no matter how good that doing may be.

Sin makes us, for all practical purposes, dead - and desperate. The life we need must come from the person we have deeply offended. It is their blood on the floor. Our bloody mop has only spread it around. Only their clean mop will do.

And that is why the gospel is so good. Christ, in his great mercy, mops up our mess. He repairs the breech and crosses the chasm. His cleanness takes away our dirtiness. His death brings us life. He personally restores things beyond what they once were. He makes us new.

Changing behavior will never work. Only honest repentance and full reliance upon the person and work of Christ can cure the curse of sin. This is why a change in countenance tends to bring about forgiveness more than change in behavior. This is why we can be both sinner and saint. Humble repentance and faith is the way of life. Christ is the good news we all must hear, love, and proclaim.

One of the Best Albums I Own

Please allow me to recommend to you one of the best albums I own. For years it has played in the background of my studies and prayers. And, it was created by one of my dearest friends.

You can now get Still Waters by Jeremy Mayfield on Amazon.  It is nothing more than Jeremy at the piano; but nothing less than magnificent. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Coffee is Making My Stomach Upset

It's been a few weeks since I have posted anything. I simply haven't had the time, the topic, or motivation to do so. Writing consistently, I am finding, is not something "scramblers" do well; and that is exactly what I am these days - a scrambler.

I have a to-do list a mile long that grows more than shrinks. I put off the tasks I dread most. And those tasks linger in the back of my conscience (as well as bug me in the little red circle on my iPhone!), reminding me that, not only am I a scrambler, I am a procrastinator.

I am also becoming more aware of the fact that there is no neutral existence. If we are not living, we are dying. If I am not getting stronger, I am getting weaker. If it is not being cleaned, it is getting dirty. If I am not trusting in Christ, I am trusting in myself - or something else which usually lingers in the shadow of self.

I feel like the guy who spins a dozen plates at once (or more!) for half-time entertainment. Only I am not so good at keeping all of my plates spinning. I knock some down with my scrambling. I allow others to wobble because of neglect. And I simply forget others.

Plus, I have a sinus infection.

Not only am I scattered outside, but I feel scattered inside. This makes life less than exciting. Hope is now just a religious word. Right now I feel like I am everywhere.

My life is a mess.

Often I feel alone.

But there is something that continues to nag me. A soft but strong warmth that lingers all-the-while. It is personal. Constant. Beckoning me to conversation, it seems, with the air. Invisible, but visible enough to be uncomfortable with using anything other than the word "he" to describe it. So, I will use "he".

He patiently forces me to surrender my timeline, and, to reject every pragmatic method for rest. I am losing my confidence in everything to do that which only he can do. I hate waiting, but it is all I have now.

Coffee is making my stomach upset.

There are no updates.

People aren't answering.

I can barely muster up the desire to read or write.

And so, I am here. Face to face with a God who is spirit and has not a body like men. I don't think it'll work, but I am going to spend time in prayer with this Lord. I am going to take him at his word that he will answer me. I am fully expecting to wait for his response, while at the same time trust he is here with me.

I am reminded of Eugene Peterson's words: "A sense of hurry in pastoral work disqualifies one for the work of conversation and prayer that develops relationships that meet personal needs. There are heavy demands put upon pastoral work, true; there is difficult work to be engaged in, yes. But the pastor must not be "busy." Busyness is an illness of spirit, a rush from one thing to another because there is no ballast of vocational integrity and no confidence in the primacy of grace."

Please pray with me that I will once again - day to day - find my ballast and confidence in the primacy of God's glorious grace.

Free Kindle Book - Honest to God by Joshua Weidmann

While I have not read this book, it does seem to discuss something that is very important to me - honesty and transparency. I am becoming more convinced that these important aspects of the Christian life are the missing key postures in modern Christianity. Transparency is often the difference between hypocrisy and humility. Honesty is what keeps us from being more than image bearers. It affirms what the world already knows about us - that we are not the Image Himself.

I am looking forward to reading this book. Even more, it's free! Enjoy.

You can get Honest to God by Joshua Weidmann here.

The Strange Man Who Sat Next to Me This Morning

I sat down at Starbucks this morning at 5:30. There was no other person around. It didn't take long, however, for the "serge" to happen. People, like me, needed their fix. They needed the bean juice to get their day comfortable and controllable - like yesterday.

As the people came pouring in, I had to put my headphones in my ears to concentrate. Voices, laughs, phone calls, and other types of communication rang throughout the store. It was loud. People were being people, communal, and relational. At times, I just sat and watched.

It was interesting to see how normal this was for everyone. They were all dressed for work. Some had sleep in their eyes. Some, their hair still wet. But this is normal for the morning - normal for people in the morning. The day needs starting. Coffee please.

Something was abnormal though. And he sat right next to me.

He was not normal. He was, in every sense of the word, strange. There were many chairs in the store. He chose the one across from me (its a big table with many chairs). He sat, with his hot tea, and watched.

He wore all black. His hair was wet, but it didn't look like "shower-wet." It looked more like "rain-wet." Only it hasn't rained in Minneapolis in weeks. Like I said, he was strange.

His glasses were thicker than normal. It looked as if he fixed them on the end of his nose; only, it was probably because they ran down their anyway. Why fight the inevitable?

His teeth were also strange. I never saw them, but only the way they made his mouth bulge.

He was truly unlike the other hundred people (or so) who walked in this store. Not only did he look different, he didn't communicate. He talked to no one but himself - at least for a moment. The movement of his mouth was enough to make me look up from my book.

His presence made me feel uneasy. I immediately looked at all of my possessions - my watch, my pens, my coffee cup, and my books. I made sure they were not in his space. I made room for him. But my motive was not so noble.

As I read about pastoring, I was convicted that this man sat next to me while I was completely uncommunicable. I had headphones in (is it ok to end that sentence with a preposition?). I was looking down, reading. I was less than inviting. So I took my headphones out in an effort to be more accessible.

Thirty minutes later, no words from this man. No words from me to this man. As he rose from his seat, I noticed his hand was deformed; curved under as if he was pointing toward his own elbow. And he walked with a noticeable limp. He was also noticeably alone.

This was probably common for him. He was probably used to talking to no one.

I wonder why he came to starbucks to sit so long. Why did he look so intently at others? Why did he come to a place where hundreds of people walked in and out, talking, drinking...relating?

Why did he sit across from me?

Why didn't I say anything to him?

I had just read about Christ touching a leper. But I didn't communicate anything at all to the obvious outcast who sat across from me.

By grace, never again.

Why We Don't Like Christ's Commandment to Love Our Neighbor

Jesus' command to love our neighbor is ambiguous for a reason. It lacks particularity in order to keep us from taking the reigns of his Kingdom. It keeps us off of his throne. In our sin, this command makes us uneasy and so we pass it off as impractical. We need something more.

And so we tend to respond to the command, not with obedience, but with another question, "Who [particularly] is my neighbor?"

The question, while religious and with a perceived willingness to follow, is less than obedient, and is ultimately an attempt to keep control over our own life. We all do it. It is man's rebellious, but polite, attempt to tell Jesus "No." It is the kiss on his cheek, while we betray him in our hearts.

Consider a few points while we take a closer look at the man in Luke 10 who responded to Jesus this way.

First, we see man's sinful hesitation after receiving a clear command. Should Christ have spoken this command and immediately ascended, the man would never have had the opportunity to respond. He (apparently) would have been left without clarification, and thus with an excuse to dismiss the command altogether.

This would leave the man guiltless, not having enough information to obey. His lack of love would be Christ's fault, not his. And so the verse goes, "But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29).

Second, the desire for particularity turns Christian discipleship into a religious checklist, rather than a sacrificial lifestyle. You get the idea that, should Christ have responded, "That man over there is your neighbor", the man would have gone and done some good deed for him and considered his work done. As soon as the charity case seemed to have been freed from distress, the man would have considered himself freed from discipleship.

By then Christ would have been off to another town, and unable to physically give him another particular command. How convenient.

Third, Christ's command keeps Christ in control. Jesus, being the Sovereign Lord of the universe, who is in control, command, and who is always close (now by his Spirit in us), determines who our neighbor will be, when they will enter our lives, and how they will infect, inconvenience, and disturb us. It is almost as if he introduces them without us expecting or knowing. The man wanted to know who his neighbor was right then. Christ told him a story that left him feeling as if his life would be constantly threatened by the possibility of having to love.

The man would be completely dependent to know who to love, how to love, when to love, and why to love. He tried to trick Christ into submission. But Christ wrestled him down.

Fourth, Christ's command keeps us "not in control." Each and every one of us has neighbors. Those people are in our lives by his sovereign design. He chose them and their location, as he chose ours (Acts 17). They are the people we live around, work around, and do recreation around. They are also the people in need around us - the poor, the orphans, and the widows. Should we be left with our own imagination to determine a particular person to love, we would surely pick the easiest ones.

But Christ, being in control, places them in our lives. He knows who we need to love better than we do. And because the command is more ambiguous than we'd like, we are always dependent and at attention. We are always waiting the next neighborly introduction.

Fifth, the fact that this man [seemingly] didn't know who his neighbor was was indicative of his guilt, not an indication of his ignorant innocence. He should have known who his neighbor was. He was simply trying to remain innocent while unloving.

Similarly, if a particular person doesn't come to mind when we hear the word neighbor, we are in a dangerous situation. If we are not neighboring, we are not loving. If we are not loving, then we will ultimately be burning (John 15). The same goes with words like widow, orphan, and impoverished.

Finally, this command is the greatest blessing in our lives. Loving means dying. And in the Christian life, dying means truly living. As we go around frantically trying to save our lives, we are ultimately losing them. But, when we are at Christ's attention, loving those he places in our lives, we lose our life - and while this losing hurts, we know and feel that he has saved us.

Children Bombarded by Porn While Watching Disney!

Whether an accident or not, it is absolutely unacceptable. Repairing what has just happened in these children's lives, in a matter of minutes, is beyond the abilities of any court, company, or counselor.

I remember images from when I was 9.

FOX Carolina 21

This should remind all of us to be in more diligent in protecting our children from adult content. There is probably nothing this mother could have done to protect hers. Sometimes evil is unavoidable, and we are simply left to handle its consequences.

You can read the full article here.

Pornography Harms is another great site that I frequent often for news, updates, and ways to be active in fighting against this wicked industry.

Why Does God Allow Sin to Remain After He Saves Us?

Why does God save us and allow us to remain sinful? There are few "problems" more relevant and significant than this in the Christian experience. A person sins and is immediately confronted with the question, "How can I say I love God when I obviously don't love him enough to stop sinning?"

Some then wonder why the Lord allows sin to linger. Some wonder if he actually exists. Some wonder if their faith actually exists; or, whether they will soon be lugging around the label associated with hypocritic Christianity.

In this post, I'd like to list some reasons why the Lord chooses to allow sin to remain in our lives.

The first two reasons come from John Owen (of course I will paraphrase and spare us both the sanctifying headache).  Owen states that sin remains in our lives, as an ember of a flame, dwelling, but without its previous dominion. There are times when the Lord fans this flame to allow us to smell its stench, to get its smoke in our eyes, and to feel its burn in our lives.

This reminds us who we are and what we are capable of. It keeps us humble, dependent, and repentant.

This makes his sanctifying power more recognizable. David knew it well. At one time he could not keep himself from women. At another, he would not consider the virgin in his own bed. Likewise Abraham, who did not trust the Lord with his wife Sarah, later trusted the Lord with his most beloved son Isaac. This is the Lord's work of saving and sanctifying sinners.

To sum up the first two reasons: The Lord allows sin to dwell in order that we would regularly see our own weaknesses, as well as regularly see his strengths.

Another reason is that we continue to live (after we are saved) in a world with those who are still enslaved in sin. Lingering sin is the plank in our eye, in light of which we must view the moral specks in other eyes. There is something that happens when a person knows their sin well as they engage with others in redemptive conversation.

There is a humility about them. There are no walls around them. They know what it feels like to be gripped by wickedness. They know what it's like to be at war within themselves. They know what it's like to need Christ every hour.

This humility is necessary in evangelism. It is necessary for love, forgiveness, patience, and peace.

Without a constant reminder of our own need of Christ, we become self-reliant, judgmental, and less-than-relevant to the culture around us. Unfortunately, too many churches fail to see the plank in their own eye. They fail to recognize the flame that continues to burn within them. And people, being pretty darn smart, stay away. No one wants to be smacked in the head with a plank! No one wants to be burned by a self-righteous tongue.

The world knows what it feels like to wrestle with sin. This is why artists like Eminem and Lil' Wayne continue to top the charts. They fail, however, to identify the problem. In the words of Eminem, "I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like..."

On the contrary, many Christians know what the problem is, but fail to admit they know what it feels like. And this is why most Christian media fails to reach, with any sort of significance, the dying world around us. We say, "I can tell you what it really is, but I can't tell you what it feels like."

The Lord allows sin to remain in us so that we can say to a dying person, "I can tell you what it really is, and I can tell you what it feels like. Let's walk through this difficult, but rewarding, life together."

Like it or not, the Lord uses sin in us to bring about his redemptive purposes.

Finally, he allows sin to linger so that we will continually long for heaven. We all must realize that sin will have its final day. This life is but a vapor. Our battle with sin is a short one. This world is obviously not our home.  Soon and very soon, we will go and see the King. That glorious day will inaugurate endless years of sinless relationship with the Lord and others - without tears, without pain, without conflict, and without sorrow.

And he will get all the glory. Why? Because his name is Jesus, the King who saves struggling sinners still.

The Good News that Amazon Can't Save You

If you are a Christian, there are undoubtedly times when you actually wonder if you are, in fact, a Christian. There are times when you really struggle with assurance of your salvation. Lingering sin in your life causes you to seriously consider whether your faith is genuine; whether you love Christ with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

When these considerations plague us, we tend to search diligently for evidence of salvation. We look for reasons to believe we are believers. We want so badly to "confirm our calling and election" (2Pet 1:10).

One of my concerns is that we look to less-than-valid evidences for confirmation. I fear we are more rationalistic than is helpful. I fear we have only modified the Cartesian creed under Christian pretense. Instead of saying, "I think, therefore I am," we say, "I think Christian, therefore I am Christian." Thus, to make our calling and election sure, we try to identify and develop certain [Christian] thoughts or intellectual practices in our life as evidence for our belief.

But there is a huge problem with this. Intellectual alignment with orthodoxy is not the best evidence for faith since it can be found in those who have no faith at all (cf. Matt 7:21). More than this, in the Christian life loving is more important than thinking. The heart is primary, while the mind is secondary. Please note that I did not say that thinking is not important; but that it is not primary.

Consider our own experience. How many times do we know what is right, but fail to love what is right? How many times does our heart contradict our mind? It is during these times we struggle with assurance the most. It is during these times when we know our mind isn't enough. And it is during these times when we despair of all our efforts to strengthen our intellect because it just doesn't work.

We look at the book about sexual addiction and shake our heads. We turn from our spouse in an argument only to find Keller's new book on marriage on the bed-side table. We read em both. What happened?!

This is what happened: Our minds, no matter how learned, have failed (again) to change our hearts.

I am thankful that the Scriptures steer us away from this sort of [Christian] rationalism. In them we learn that Christ directs his initial efforts at the human heart, from which his Spirit produces fruit in us (Ezek 36). It is this fruit that lets us know we are his disciples.

Consider (among many passages) John 15:2, 8, "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does ear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit...By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

If these verses are true, we ought to be looking for fruit of the Spirit in our lives for proof that we are his disciples. All the knowledge in the world is useless if it is without love. We can memorize the catechism, but should we fail to see joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, etc., in our lives, we should have no assurance at all that we are in Christ.

And this is good news. When we see the Spirit work patience in us, we see change in the most significant place - in the heart. When we freely and joyfully forgive someone, we experience a satisfaction that surpasses our understanding, but that invades every part of our being. Sometimes our minds have to catch up to what we feel. Sometimes we have to really consider where the fruit came from because it certainly didn't come from our own intellectual efforts.

It's time to put the books down, at least for a moment, and consider our own foolishness in thinking that we can think our way to Christ. The feeling we get when we learn something new is not necessarily faith. The Spirit gives us something more sure. He produces fruit within us - especially when we are fools - to let us know he is there, that he loves us, and that he has saved us.

And, might I add, this should inflame our evangelistic efforts. For too long we have burdened the subjects of our proclamation with an extrabiblical rule - that they must become as learned as we in order to be saved. Destroying the stronghold of Christian rationalism frees us all from such tyranny. And it liberates, even the most unlearned "whosoever" to simply confess and believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation.

Curiosity on Mars - AMAZING!

Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 2 in New Mexico

You can go here for the site.

I Have a Confession to Make...

That's what I told my wife the other day while we were driving down the road. As I felt frustratingly handcuffed by the new laws prohibiting phone usage (namely, texting and use of apps) while driving and while stopped at intersections, I came to the realization that I am a phone addict.

It's a problem that seems so trivial and silly, but it is a problem nonetheless. Though relieved I was only confessing a problem with my phone, my wife did agree with me. Later, I even went and asked my seven-year-old daughter if she thought I loved my phone too much.

She said she did.

I doubt I am alone in this. If you are one who still carries around a flip-phone, you may think it weird I would be writing about such a thing. Or, you may even be saying, "See, that's why I refuse to get an iPhone!" But, if you have a smartphone, you probably know exactly where I am. You probably have had the same concerns.

Am I technically an "addict"? I don't really know. All I know is that I have a problem. And here are some ways I came to this realization.

1. Phone usage in the home has been a touchy issue for some time. My wife and I don't necessarily nag each other about using our phones, but we do recognize when we are using the phones (for whatever reason) too much. I know I have a problem when I get upset with her when she asks me to look away from my handheld devise while the children are speaking to me. If an issue is "touchy," there may be a problem.

2. I can't seem to keep my hands off of it. When I am idle, even for a minute or two, I cannot resist looking at my phone - even when there is no indication of communicative activity. I will just turn it on, look at it, and wonder what I can look at next. News? Facebook? Instagram?

3. I use it when I know I am not supposed to. I have often understood that if a person is willing to sin, or break a good law in order to have something, that something is an idol.

I text while driving.

I even play chess with friends while I'm driving too.

It's hard for me to admit and confess those things. This fact is just adds to the evidence of my problem.

4. As mentioned before, I use my phone when my children are around; and even when they are actively engaging me. This makes me sick when I think about it. The last thing I want them to say when they grow up is their daddy loved his phone more than he loved them. And I sure don't want to confront their potential problems with technology only to have them say, "I learned it from you."

5. It is more common for me to touch my phone in the morning before I touch my wife. It is more common for me to communicate to others via phone (typically through email), before I communicate with my wife via a kiss. Enough said.

6. My phone usage communicates to others that what they are saying to me is not important to me. I text message while in staff meetings. I want to look at my phone during session/elder meetings. I am sure my boss notices this. I am sure friends notice it too. My confession is probably been known for some time by others. My phone is something in my life that makes me less than loving.

7. I think my brain and attention span has been altered - seriously. Before my smartphone days, I could sit and read, study, or think for hours. Now, I can barely do those things for 20 or 30 minutes without looking to my phone. This is a problem.

I am sure I could list other reasons (or symptoms!), but these will suffice for now. I think it would be good at this point to list some things I am doing to address the issue.

1. I confessed and repented of my idolatry. I repented to my wife and my children. I want them to know that my behavior is not right - that it is less than what the Lord desires. Last night, I also prayed with my wife and repented to the Lord for loving my phone (and what my phone gives me) more than him and others.

2. I am trying very hard not to use my phone while I drive (at all). Talking will be a rare exception, but certainly no texting or reading or gaming.

3. While I am with other people (family, friends, co-workers, etc.) I put my phone away. If I am at home, I leave it on the dresser (note: this may be why I am not returning calls, texts, or emails as quickly as I used to). And if I am with others outside of the home, I simply don't look at it. The only exception I have made to this rule is if I receive two consecutive calls as this could mean emergency.

4. I am trying to actively engage my idle times as opportunities for prayer, and waiting on the Lord. I am fighting to think on things above and resist the overwhelming temptation to know more (whether news, "likes" on Facebook, new pics on Instagram, etc.).

Technology is a glorious thing - even a wonderful thing. I am ashamed that I have made it god-like. Please pray for me as I detox and make every effort to love people better. I'm not going to get rid of my iPhone. I don't think that's the solution. Rather, I hope to move forward in faith and repentance, allowing others to correct and encourage me, as I use my phone for the glory of God.

My Thoughts and Concerns about the Book "Fifty Shades of Grey"

There is no questioning the fact that the book, Fifty Shades of Grey, is both popular and scandalous. It is the first book to sell more than 1 million Kindle e-books in the U.K. And it is the topic of undoubtedly many discussions around the world where people praise, question, or even condemn its content. I have personally heard it brought up multiple times by Christians and non-Christians alike. I have been asked what I think about it at least a few times.

My goal here is not to answer every question. I can't. I haven't read the book. My goal therefore is to state what I know to be true about the book, and give my concerns in light of those truths.

First, the book, like I said before, is scandalous. It is full of explicit sexual content - much of which is apparently itself quite scandalous - which provokes the reader to be either morally repulsed or sexually excited. According to an article in Parenting Magazine, there are many people who read this book, women especially, and are drawn into sexual activities (or, the desires for those activities) that were previously either uncommon or non-existent.

Second, the book uses words rather than images to be sexually explicit. The same article calls it "mommy-porn." It is apparently uncomfortably vivid as it describes a variety sexual acts.

Third, because of this, many people question its moral acceptability. Those who don't think porn is wrong have no problem with the book. Parenting Magazine being one of them, praises the book and even promotes it as good for a couple's sex life. Those, however, who believe porn is wrong, question whether the book can and should be categorized as wrong. It's not images, but words. It is not a movie, but a novel. Is the woman who reads this book performing the same activity as a man who views a pornographic movie on the internet? I certainly have my opinion.

Fourth, the content of Fifty Shades of Grey draws people into a world of sexual fantasy. Given the testimonies I have read, it even excites them to sexual action.

Now for my concerns.

First, I am very uneasy with anyone observing, thinking/fantasizing about, or partaking in any sexual activity outside of their own marriage bed. I believe this keeps sex good and holy. I believe it answers the question, "How holy can I be? (which is more pleasurable) than, "What can I get away with?"

Some will undoubtedly ask the question, "What about those who read the book and place their spouse in that fantasy?" We must be careful here. I don't necessarily think fantasizing about one's spouse is wrong? But having those fantasies introduced, dictated, and detailed by an author, with objective characters, is hardly fantasizing about one's spouse. Sure, the person may look like the spouse; but what about that person's actions? Are they the spouses actions? According to what I have heard and read, this is typically not the case.

Second, this type of reading is, at least initially, one-way. It draws a person into being individually excited about certain sexual activities. It is less than relational.

Not only are many singles reading this book (which is difficult in itself); but, when those who are married read it, they are faced with the (often problematic) reality that "it takes two to tango." Beginning sexual activities or conversations this way can be very dangerous and damaging. Because sex is an extension of our selfless and sacrificial love for our spouse, the best way to approach it is with the question, "What would you like?" rather than the statement, "This is what I want."

Is it wrong or unhealthy to inform your spouse what you would like? Of course not, as long as it is done humbly, without expectation, and sacrificially. Books and movies like Fifty Shades do more to prohibit this countenance than encourage it.

Third, the reason why the last statement is true is because pornographic material brings a person to believe, "I must have what I see (with my eyes and/or imagination) or I will not be satisfied." Sexual temptations and fantasies are extremely powerful - powerful enough to override reason and conscience. They commonly leads us into throwing other people into an objective world that exists only for our selfish convenience, dictation and pleasure. When sexual material is being read or watched, sexual images are soon idolized and worshiped.

Fourth, I fear that Fifty Shades may do more damage than pornography, because it successfully avoids the categorical taboo pornography carries. I do believe the book is pornographic. There, I said it.

Anyone will have a hard time convincing me that the words of a novel are not as powerful and productive as images on a screen in exciting the dangerous realms of a persons sexual lusts. My memory, at times, is my own worst enemy in my fight against pornography. And, at times, it is a more dangerous one. It's easy to close a book or turn off a computer. It's not so easy to suppress the imagination or memory.

Fifth, I have a particular concern for women. If this were a book marketed and popular among men, the lines would not be so blurred. But because women have been more the victims than the users of pornographic material, we tend to pay less attention to what may capture and enslave women "pornographically". More and more women, statistics show, are becoming addicted to sexually explicit material.

This book is the serpent's way of stealthily slithering into the lives of many women. I am writing this post because women's hearts are at stake.

Simply put, it is not loving to leave this book uncategorized as harmful, pornographic, and wicked. The fact that many supposedly need this book for "sexual-CPR" is not an indication their marriages are healthy. It is more of an indication that our culture, especially from a marital standpoint, is desperately sick. It is not an indication that these marriages are sexually fulfilled, but that they are emotionally and spiritually deficient.

And in a culture such as ours, mommy-porn is the last thing we should be reading. We would all be far more satisfied reading about One Faithful Savior in White, than fifty shades of grey.

Good News for Those Who Also Hate Fitted Sheets

Thanks to my good friend AV for sharing this via doghousediaries.

God is Not into Microwaves

Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick is one of those books that works its way into the deep fabric of a person's being. In the book Fitzpatrick helps us to understand the deep longings of our heart, and how those longings help or hinder our relationship with God. Here is a snippet I thought especially encouraging:

"I love the convenience of the microwave, don't you? Just pop the casserole in and, presto, instant dinner. Life is better in our house since the invention of the microwave...I enjoy all of our modern conveniences, don't you? But, in the middle of this instant, Give it to me quickly! It better be convenient! culture, we tend to think that God should work in our lives in the same way. Just zap me and make me holy- and quickly, Lord, if you don't mind.

God's work in us is sometimes slow moving. Although it's true that all Christians know some change (even if it's minuscule), God's work, our sanctification, is a process. This process involves learning (what I hope you'll do here), growing, falling, changing, becoming convinced again of the truth, and developing holiness over our lifetimes. With that in mind, don't expect that this book will make you instantly holy. Only God through His Holy Spirit can make you holy, and He's not going to operate according to our hurried lifestyle."

Passages like this help me through the process of sanctification. They help me deal with the irony of being a sinful Christian. It is this understanding of life that supports me as I struggle with significant sins in my own life. I am thankful for people who write books like this. They are a true asset to the Kingdom as they help us manage our redemptive expectations. They help shape our eschatological worldview. And they help deepen our Christian faith.

Confronting Atheism in a World That is Not How It's Supposed to Be

Every time I receive a notification on my phone saying, "Breaking News," my first inclination is to cringe. Lately, breaking news has been nothing less than tragic news - horrifying news about how one person has murderously taken the life of (at least) one other person. It's "breaking news" because it has a tendency to get the attention of the masses. Most people will follow the link out of a deeply strange curiosity - out of a desire to understand why things like this happen.

The Christian faith provides a moral framework by which one can look upon such actions as wrong and inherently evil. Christians can rightly and, without arbitrariness, say, "This is not the way things are supposed to be."

There is another worldview, however, at work in our day. It is the atheistic evolutionary worldview whereby its proponents seek to answer the questions of human existence and experience. Science alone is sufficient to provide us with these answers (given we simply observe the evidence through a naturalistic lens).

To the naturalist, our universe is nothing more than the product one "thing" bumping into another "thing" a long time ago, and producing another "thing" which produced another "thing" when it bumped into some"thing" else (whew!). After billions of years, these chain reactions produced the organism we call human.

For the naturalistic atheist, people are nothing more than the product of genes trying to survive. Staying alive and reproducing other bodies that are good at staying alive is the only purposeful mechanism of cellular life in the world. This is the process of nature to winnow out less-than-efficient molecular organisms. The strong survive. The weak die off. This is just the way things are.

I wonder, however, what the naturalist thinks when he receives the type of "breaking news" I spoke of before. What goes on in his mind when he hears the news of a six year old little girl who was video taped by her father as she was forced to perform oral sex on him (this happened, by the way, a few years back - the man is now, thankfully, in prison).

Do they see it "scientifically" as the cause and effect process of molecular survival? Will they go to straight to the scientific method in an effort to figure out what is going on in this poor girl's sphere of the universe? I wonder if they will begin with a hypothesis before they jump to a judgment. I wonder if their initial deepest problem lies in the question "What is this?" rather than the judgment, "This should not be!"

I doubt it.

The naturalistic, evolutionary world view has no category at all for the repulsive feelings every image bearer feels when they hear such a story. A person like Richard Dawkins can only make observations about "what is". He has, however, absolutely no basis for making assertions as to "what ought to be." He can only state that the father did this to his little girl; not that the father should not have done it.

And this is the danger of atheistic naturalism. It reduces humanity to the product of mindless molecular reactions. It handcuffs these "products" from making moral judgments about what "ought" and what "ought not" be. In a society in which this worldview pervades, and where objective morality is reasoned away, only the strong survive. The weak are left to die off.

This world, for the evolutionist, is nothing more than natural selection taking its course - the genetic quest for survival. Some genes are not so efficient (like the father mentioned above), and consequently die off.

Am I saying all atheists condone what this father did? No. I'm not. I know atheists who would deeply desire the man's judicial punishment. All I am saying is, given their worldview, they have no basis for those judicial desires. The fact that they jump to judgments faster than hypotheses, is evidence that people are more than the product of mindless molecular reactions. The deep conviction they have, that "this is not how things are supposed to be," is evidence of the very God they seek to deny.

Rest: It's What We're All After

If you are human, especially a human who works or parents other small humans, you probably have ingrained within the framework of your day, a longing for the time in the near future when you can rest.  The kids are sleeping and you have just put up the last dish - you turn out the kitchen light, lock the doors, walk over to the bed, sit on the edge of it, and let out a long, vocal breath as you remove your shoes.

Future times of rest are not alien to human experience. They are part of our image-of-God-ness. Life can feel like a high repetition set in the gym; and as your muscles begin to burn, you tough through "two more" because you know the resistance will be soon removed. That's the rest we are all after - the life of no resistance.

In that life, our desires perfectly align with the desires of others. No one asks us to do what we don't want to do. There is no conflict. No mental or emotional strain that comes from being at odds with another individual. Our lives are "in harmony". They are peaceful.

We long for a life of no worldly resistance, when we will no longer worry about money, sickness, natural disasters, national security, or snakes sneaking in the house. There will be no need to constantly ensure our children are safe - safe from predators, speeding cars, poisonous bugs, maverick illnesses, and/or bullies at recess.  The external world will be for us and not against us. And we will be in harmony with that world. We will be at peace with it.

The longing in every human heart for this peaceful life is by design. It is not a fairy tale or arbitrary convention of men. It is godly in every sense, good in every part, and possible for every person.

The fact that our world is not like this now, is indicative of the fact that something is wrong. The big deep breath of relief at the end of the day comes when things are not chaotic, conflicting or crazy. Those small times are shadows of the way things are supposed to be. They direct us to the Substance in whom all things are right and nothing is wrong. The big deep breath is just a small piece of the biblical concept of hope. It is a glimpse of rest which is only found in Christ - the Prince of Peace.

It is important for our life and the lives of those around us that we understand hope properly. Our obedience is at stake, and our love for others as well. There are at least two errors people make in their quest for ultimate peace.

1) We believe ultimate peace will come in this life through earthly means. We live with the expectation that people will be sinless and not invade our quest for peace. We believe that if we just reach a certain corporate position, make a certain amount of money, and have a certain type of phone, car or spouse, everything will finally be fine.

But ultimate peace will not come in this life and it will most certainly not come through earthly means. This is why we become frustrated with our children when they won't go to sleep. This is why we argue with our spouse when she doesn't meet our selfish expectations. It's why we hoard our money in an over desire for occupational retirement.

2) We also commonly disbelieve that ultimate peace could ever happen. And so we give up. Hopeless singles who have no view of heaven often fall into sexual immorality. Fathers who don't believe in glory run from their responsibilities at home. The executive or athlete that didn't make the cut are suddenly confronted with the reasonableness of pointing a revolver at themselves. The 18 year old who thought life outside of their parents home would provide ultimate freedom, finds himself consuming any substance (or person) he can find in an effort to deal with the reality of his conflicted conscience.

We will do anything (moral or not) to make this life different (tattoos, irresponsible vacations, substance abuse, or whatever), because we have lost all hope for heaven. Live it up today, for tomorrow we die.

But if Christ is risen, if he is real, then we have a good reason to enjoy those small times of rest without over-desiring them. When our expectations are interrupted at night by a sick child, we can let go and shift our ultimate hope heavenward. When our spouse is less-than-perfect, we can patiently love with our hope fixed in glory - when they will be all that we knew they could be (and more).

And until that glorious day comes, we can "now" find shade in the shadows of rest, knowing that the Substance is soon to come and bring us home. It will happen Christian. And when he comes on the clouds, you can take that eternally long, restful breath. Life will forever be peaceful.

Derek Minor (formerly known as PRo): New Free Mixtape

Get this. It's free...and really good.

Six Reasons Why Denominations are a Good Thing

There are apparently thousands of evangelical Christian denominations. Most people are familiar with only a few - Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc. There are those who have ecumenical goals and are "non-denominational." But even they are a denomination in themselves.  Because of this diversity in evangelicalism, it is not uncommon to hear indictments that these churches are less than unified, loving and/or tolerant of one another. Denominationalism seems to be the glaring blemish on the face of Protestantism.

I don't think it has to be this way. Certainly, there are blemishes; but blemishes are everywhere in a fallen world. This doesn't make the blemishes right, but only admits the reality that the Church survives as a fellowship of saved sinners. This being said, blemishes don't have to eclipse the beauties that lie within the realm of diverse denominational Christianity. Just because a person is a sinner, doesn't mean that we cannot also call them, in another sense, a saint.

Being an ordained minister in the PCA, I live with the reality that I am not ordained in, say, the Baptist church. When I speak with ministers of other denominations, there are differences between us - even disagreements. We know this. It is the truth of our religious situation. I am of the strong opinion that we can use our differences in these matters as wonderful opportunities to love. Yes, the verse still rings true for us, "they shall know we are Christians by our love."

I am implying that denominationalism is loving for many reasons. Here are just a few of them.

First, denominationalism helps us to know each other better. Knowledge is often the best means to deepening our love for others. When I know what denomination my brother or sister is a part of, I immediately place him or her within a categorical sphere. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing if done with love. It is good for us to know where we stand. By knowing, we can both make an informed decision when standing with one another in love.

Second, denominationalism reminds us that a person doesn't have to be right in order to be loved. This truth should ring every Christian ear, as well as flow frequently from every Christian tongue. It is a testimony to a person's Christ-likeness that being right is not a prerequisite for being loved. When denominations willingly embrace one another in love, we embody this truth.

Third, denominationalism protects us from being blindsided by off-the-wall beliefs. A person who will not side with common and clear denominational standards is like a knuckle ball pitcher. You don't really know what to expect. This is simply less than loving. Helping others manage expectations is one of the best things we can do for another person. Most people don't enjoy surprises. Denominationalism eliminates the anxiety associated with the possibility of a theological mine blowing up in your face.

Fourth, denominationalism is a constant call for communal humility. Sure, we may have a healthy level of pride in our church's standards; but for the most part, being at odds with another image bearer, on any big or small point of doctrine, should humble us. Humility is a breading ground for love.

Fifth, if we move forward in humility, we can become stronger in our Christian convictions. When someone I love believes something else, I am more encouraged to consider their words and worldview. We are not persuaded to believe what they believe in order to be in relationship with them (we've already established this doesn't have to happen); but out of respect for them, we listen and value what they believe. When considering their point of view through the lens of Scripture (our only unquestionable authority), we can either stand firm in our convictions, or we can stand corrected - and this without a war, because of love.

Finally, denominationalism should bring us all to hope in heaven. Denominations are only necessary in a fallen world. But one day the world will not be fallen. We will not be fallen. Therefore, denoms will be wholly unnecessary. At that time, everyone who has simply placed their faith in the risen Savior, Jesus Christ, will live without sin and disagreement together, forever. Let the Church say, "Amen."

There are plenty of issues I did not address in this post. I simply don't have the time or space for an exhaustive work on the epistemological complexities of denominational Christianity. My purpose is only to state, and show, that denominationalism doesn't have to be only a blemish on the face of Protestant Christianity. And that it can be a wonderful opportunity for Christians to show off the love of our common Lord.

Will Our Grandchildren Be Rich?

With the steady decline of the moral state of America, and with the increasing weight of debt our nation seems to be accumulating, it doesn't take a genius to reasonably postulate that the sun may be setting on the American international enterprise. The camel's back is bending. Any number of straws are ready to add the final breaking blow.

Jesus spoke of how a person should be able to interpret the times. So, I don't think the previous paragraph to be completely uncalled for. Sure, there are some fanatics out there with an artillery in their basement next to their ten-year supply of canned goods. These folks are looking for a national conspiracy under every political rock. I'm not one of those guys, and this post is not the revealing of some proposed conspiracy.

Being a father of four, it is difficult to hear the older generation say things like, "I don't necessarily fear what will happen during our lifetime. It's your grandchildren that I fear for," and not take at least some of what they mean seriously. It is difficult to keep from building strategies to prepare my children now for what they will face when they have children of their own.

Wisdom should remind us of the difficulty of this task. The strategies that will carry a person through difficult times are not superficial "how-to's" but ideological movements of being.

In other words, we ought not be so worried about what our children and grandchildren will do during their lifetime, but what they will be. Should they lose the luxuries of our everyday life, will they be blessed? Should Christian activities be prohibited by law, will they be Christian? Should poverty come upon them, will they be rich? And should they lose their lives, will they be saved?

I don't really know if I am fanatical or not. But I am a bit overwhelmed by the task, not only to actively teach my children what to do (practical steps are necessary in life), but also (and more importantly) to passively teach them how to be. I fear I am failing this task miserably.

And then I am reminded and encouraged of the gospel of grace. Not that it removes my obligations, but that it fulfills them in Christ. It is the gospel that reminds me that should every national sun set, Christ is supremely sufficient to shine through. I may not be there to teach my grandchildren about treasures in heaven. And I may not be there to supply and support with Christian values.

But Christ will. He is more significant than I. He is more powerful than I. And he is closer to my children than I will ever be. I hope and trust that he will use this sinner, along with many other means, to prepare our children for what lies ahead.

Paris Can Wait

The Bible tells us this life is not all there is. If the Scriptures are true, there is a resurrection from the dead, whereby people are "glorified". We will be given new bodies which are not subject to decay, disease, and sin. Our thoughts about this glorification should have a significant impact on our lives now. According to 1 Corinthians 15, there is only one of two lives to live - a life that believes in the resurrection and a life that doesn't.

The resurrection is both spiritual and physical. Because the Lord has created both "realms" both are very important. Neither one is to be neglected. In other words, in eternity, we will probably not be floating around like ghosts; but will more than likely walk around as people (kind of like now but better).

Along with the resurrection comes the recreation. Our bodies will be new (1Cor 15), and so will the heavens and the earth (2Pet 3:11-13). The creation presently groans for this (Rom 8). It will be a creation without decay, disease, and the effects of sin. Revelation 21 gives ample descriptions of what the new heaven and earth will look like. I struggle with believing it will be that good.

The thought and reality of the new heavens and the new earth should also cause us to live differently. We should shape our lives around the fact that this world will one day not be like it is now. Holiness and godliness are a few words to describe how we should be as we long for the coming day of the Lord, when the transition will begin.

The new earth will be more real to us than the old one. There will be one day, in a million years or so, when we look back on this present "breath of life" and shake our heads. We will wonder why we loved it too much. We will wonder why we labored too hard to see all of it, as if we would not have an eternity to do so.

In other words, Paris can wait. The pyramids can wait. The trip to Australia can wait (note for all you travelers out there - notice I did not say Australia should wait. I could not possibly lay that upon your conscience).

The common saying, "I must see [said geographical location] before I die", has no place in the Christian experience. Sure, we may travel as resources permit; albeit in a way that brings glory to God (1Cor10:31). But, there is absolutely no temporal pressure to do so.

For some reason, we have allowed eschatology to fall from its rightful place as the reason for our soteriology (cf. Col 1:3-5).

Given this theological shift, our desire to travel overshadows our obligation to disciple; and our excitement for Europe has eclipsed the expediency to evangelize. And so we are of all people most pitiful. But we are only so if the resurrection and recreation are true. If they are not true, we are pretty smart. We should make every effort to see every speck of geography before we die.

If we never die, however, imagine the possibilities. Imagine the new places. Imagine the glory of a recreated Paris, Egypt, and Australia. And imagine having no less days to visit those places than when we had first begun. O, glorious day! It makes all the sense in the world to labor with all our might storing up treasures in this heaven - living sacrificially now, that we may enjoy our eternal reward then.

A Possible Story Behind the Suicides of NFL Athletes

Imagine being 17 years old and having millions of people hanging on your decisions. Imagine being a physical specimen at an early age, so much so that your abilities are the topic of everyday discussion for many grown men. Your picture is everywhere. Signs are made with your name on them. And it is not uncommon for you to hear tens of thousands of people shouting your praise.

The only distinction between you and the common man is that you can play the game better. The game gives and allows liberties that most will never know. And you are one of the very few who regularly experience the intoxicating surge of public praise.

You are an athlete in the 21st century - the height of human experience and the object of everyone's worshipful attention. With very little regard for who you are, it seems as if everyone loves you for what you are. The only problem is you are not mature enough to know the difference.

Even as a baby, the beer was in your bottle. As soon as you could grab a ball, you heard things like, "You're gonna be a football player one day." You also learned from a very early age that this must be your goal in life if you are to excite your father's attention at all. He screams for those players on television; but when you come home from school with an "A", all you get is a pat on the back. It just makes sense. Your survival lies in the game.

And you finally make it. You sign on with a division-I ball team and do well enough to make it on draft day. You've always heard that this is all you need to retire. The checks have started, surely they will never stop. You've been a player all of your life. You are bigger than life. It will never end. Again, you have made it.

Self-control is something that you were never taught. Those liberties you received as a star athlete have served only to cripple you for the responsibilities of manhood. So you run back to the game, and surround yourself with others who seek their refuge in the game as well. Clothes, cars, homes and jewelry fill the void you are now noticing - but only for a little while.

There is something deep inside of you saying, "I have made it. Why am I still searching?" You answer by holding on tighter. Game day is not too far away. Everyone will love you tomorrow.

Two years fly by. They are a blur. The next star in line starts nudging you out of the way. He's better than you and you know it. Things that you have done and possessions that you have bought are now responsibilities that linger over your head day and night. There was a time when you got a check. Now you need the check. Once you caught life, now life is catching you.

Then it happens. You're done. Whether by injury or whatever, you are forced into retirement. The checks have stopped. The praise on Sundays is over. Liberties have been replaced by liabilities. The doors of freedom are now slammed shut. In a matter of days, you are a nobody. A has-been. Now people begin paying attention to who you are rather than what you are. You are now old enough to feel the difference. And it hurts. It hurts bad.

From the beginning of your life, sports were your life. Now sports are gone. The logic isn't very difficult to follow. Life is not worth living anymore. I can only imagine this may very well be the story of O.J. Murdock and others like him. Behind all of the muscle, speed and talent lies a boy who was never taught how to be a man. He was never warned about life outside of the sport. And when life catches him, he has no where to turn but to end himself. This is nothing short of tragedy.

Three People You Must Have in Your Life

There are three types of people every Christian should have in his or her life. The Christian life is one lived in community where people are sharpened, encouraged, convicted, and edified by other people. One of the biggest ploys of the enemy is to get the believer alone, believing that his life is better off lived that way. Alone we atrophy; but in community we are pruned by the uniqueness of the other as we grow as the family of God.

With this said, each Christian should have at least one mentor, companion, and disciple in his or her life. To say it differently, we should have a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy to commune with in this earthly wilderness. Two of these are easy, while one is less so.

A mentor is someone you look up to. They are more seasoned in the faith. Their Christian life is one you admire and seek to exemplify. A mentor should not be a dead person or author. This would be a cop-out. Rather, he or she must be one who is in your life, who loves you and cares for your well being. Your mentor must be strong and intentional enough to confront your sins, address your weaknesses, and encourage your strengths. He or she should be able to lead you to the finish line of faith.

A companion is a little different than a mentor. Barnabas was a companion to Paul as Joshua was to Caleb. Companions are typically on the same spiritual plane as we are. The flow of benefits and needs tends to go both ways. While a mentor knows more about what it means to be [like] Christ, a companion knows more about what it means to be you. They can relate better and tend to know more about you than any other. Companions know all your junk and strive to address all of that junk redemptively. Mentors lead you to the finish line of faith, while companions carry you across.

A disciple is the most difficult person to have in your life. They are a Timothy to Paul, and a Joshua to Moses. They follow you, listen to you, and seek to exemplify things about you. To state it differently: you lead them, you teach them, and you live a life before them worthy of exemplifying. They are spiritual children. You must care enough to confront their sins, help their weaknesses, and encourage their strengths.

Mentors and companions tend to fill us, while disciples tend to drain us. This sounds more negative than it really should. There are enjoyable things we do that fill us (like eating); and there are enjoyable things we do that drain us (like playing a sport).

Quite honestly, if there is one person lacking in most people's lives, it is the disciple. We live in a culture that is overpopulated with the "married-without-children" social group. We like being fed, but often resist feeding others. We like being taught, but resist teaching others. We like choosing our biblical subjects, but resist learning what someone else needs to know. This whole Christian thing is great, as long as I don't have to be inconvenienced by the needs of someone less sanctified. Too many people believe they need to "enjoy their Christianity" before they have "christian children."

If mentors and companions fill our heads with theology, disciples tend to drag that theology into our hearts. Because this is a painful process of "losing one's life" and "carrying one's cross" we tend to neglect the disciple making process. Evangelism now becomes risky. What if they believe? If they accept Christ, they become a spiritual newborn we must feed, care for, and raise up in the faith.

Mentors and companions may tell us to get into the Word, but disciples force us to get into the Word. They ask questions and need answers. They need theology that is processed and more digested. Most disciples need the spiritual bread of good doctrine that has been baked in the oven of our own experience. Disciples do a great deal of keeping us in the faith. If we fall, they may fall. If we grow, they stand a greater chance to grow. Therefore, we cannot fall; we must grow.

This concept is nothing new. You may have read it in a book or heard your friend or pastor talking about it. Nevertheless, it is needed. I hope this encourages you.

The Most Significant Thing About A Christian Home is Not That It is Clean

There are families that I look up to. The way they manage their home, and their children is admirable and worthy of exemplifying. Things just work for them. The wife is able to do everything she needs to do and the husband does the same. The house is always tidy, vacuumed and dusted. It is quiet, peaceful and...Christian.

At least this is what the homes look like while we are there. Most of us get our lives and homes together before company arrives only to let everything "fall back into place" after they leave. Therefore, setting our expectations this high is nothing short of unreasonable and even burdensome.

I am coming to find that the last word that should be used to describe a Christian and his/her home is "tidy." Not that tidy is bad, but it should be preceded by a number of other, more significant, adjectives.

Most of us live in homes that fall well short of biblical norms and cultural expectations. And many of us try so hard striving to reach those norms and expectations that we live with the constant cloud of condemnation over our heads. I know I can fall into the trap of trying to get my home to look like what I'd like my life to look like - clean, controlled, sinless, without chaos, and perfect.

During these times a few comments by Jay Adams in his book Christian Living in the Home, are particularly helpful. He writes, "The first and most important fact to remember about a truly Christian home is that sinners live there. The notion that the Christian home is a perfect or near perfect place is decidedly not biblical...A truly Christian home is a place where sinners live; but it is also a place where the members of that home admit the fact and understand the problem, know what to do about it, and as a result grow by grace."

This helps me cope with the imperfections that I see in my home. This also helps me to notice my family when I come home from work, rather than immediately notice what may need to be picked up. The standard for my home, in one very significant sense, has been met in Christ. In him we can rest. In him we are clean, peaceful, and Christian.

Yes, if you come to my home, chances are you will see some sin. But we must be thankful that, unlike all others, Christ doesn't shy away from sin. In the midst of the Christian home is Christ, who saves the sinners who live there.