Nature

I feel more connected with God when I am outdoors, away from everything man-made (except my droid of course). Man has made some marvelous creations of art, architecture, and technology. But nothing can rival the glory and majesty of God's creation.

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Wise Engineering

The man who hears God's word and obeys it liken to a wise structural engineer.

The wise structural engineer built his building on a concrete pier and beam foundation. And when the hurricane came, the wind and water beat against it but could not shake it because it was well built.  The foolish structural engineer built his building on gumbo clay.  And when the hurricane came the house immediately collapsed, and the destruction of that building was great. 

See Luke 6:46-49.

Hike down memory trail

One of my favorite childhood activities was playing in the woods near my house.  As I grew older, this evolved into riding my dirt bike and four wheeler down the trails to the creek.  We had a maze of trails cut that led to a nice white sand bar on the bend of Village Creek.  We modified our trails over the years as land was developed and new houses were built. 

Ever since moving back to Silsbee I have wanted to try and find our old trails.  I finally got the chance over the past Christmas holiday.  The weather was nice and warm so the wife and I decided to take the dog and go for a hike.  The trail head was just as I remembered, tucked behind the neighbor’s fence..  Obviously the next generation of backwoods explorers have been keeping it cleared.  Soon, however, the trail disappeared into the underbrush of the thicket.  Two major hurricanes and six years of undergrowth had changed the landscape.  We decided to pick our way through the thicket in search of the trail.  Thanks to my wife’s orienteering skills, the beagle’s sense of direction, and google maps on my driod, we found our way to the main trail after about a half mile.

From there it was easy going down the trail to the abandoned dirt road, passing the brick chimney ruins, and on to the sandbar.  We let the dog off the leash to romp through the white sand and take a swim in the creek.  It was just as I remembered.  We hung out at the creek for a while and then hiked back home.

Click here to see a map of the hike.

Christmas Graph

12 Things I Love About Christmas

12. Christmas Music – Excluding Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls

11. Parades – What can I say, I’m a sucker for low boys with lights.

10. Egg Nogg – The Baptist kind, topped off with blue bell ice cream and a touch of cinnamon.

9. The Color Red – By far the most excellent of all colors.

8. Chicken & Dumplings – A Christmas staple.

7. Pastor’s Party – An LBC tradition full of food, fellowship, and worship. (I hated to miss it this year).

6. Buttermilk Pie – Best when eaten with a spoon.

5. Christmas Eve Punch – I know its really just sorbet and 7-up, but on Christmas eve it seems  magical.

4. Christmas Lights – The joy of lighting up the house with colorful lights almost makes me forget the time, frustration and cost it took to do it.

3. Shopping – Though I normally despise shopping, buying gifts for my wonderful, darling wife and my soon-to-be 3-year-old son is a true joy.

2. Family – Getting to spend time with all the family (including the in-laws), together and (mostly) happy.

1. Christ – Celebrating the birth of our Savior, our Lord, our Redeemer, our friend, and our God.  Remembering how the Word became flesh, to live in righteousness, and to suffer and die for the salvation of His elect.

Merry Christmas,

-DJ

And leaving everything he followed Him.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

Luke chapter 5 verses 27 and 28 chronicle the call of Levi (or Matthew).  This brief story of simple faith is remarkable.  It personifies God’s grace to unworthy sinners and the subsequent faith and action of a true disciple.

Levi was a tax collector, the vilest sort of sinner in Jewish society.  Tax collectors were Jews working for the Roman government.  They would collect the required amount of taxes plus a little extra to line their pockets.  They were the first century equivalent of Tony Soprano, extorting money from their fellow countrymen.  They were considered dishonest thieves and criminals.  The7y were typically accompanied by an entourage of thugs, soldiers, and various “sinners”.  These cats made up the bottom echelon of society, and were hated and scorned by the devout Jews.

Yet, this hopeless, despicable, hated tax collector was whom Jesus chose.  His grace overshadowed this man’s unworthiness, and Levi responded with simple yet astounding faith.  He followed Jesus, walking away from a table stacked with money.  He recognized Jesus to be the priceless pearl and traded the riches of this life for the riches of Christ.

Such is the good news.

Weekend Hike With the Dogs

See Map
Wildlife: 1 snake, several deer, and 1 armadillo.

Really?

Do we really need a massage/NIV parallel? Is there someone out there reading the NIV who says, "I wonder how this verse reads in the message." Is the message translation there to clear up all the complexities in the NIV? Don't they know that two wrongs don't make a right?

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Bad Company

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in the Bill Glass Week of Champions prison ministry event in Beaumont, Texas.  I was (providentially) assigned to the local short-term juvenile corrections facility.  There were six of us volunteers and twenty-six inmates, twenty guys and six girls.  There were two platform speakers that day, both retired NFL players.  They gave their testimony and shared the gospel.

I had a group of five guys whom I was able to spend most of the day with.  Some of them were “first-timers.”  For others, though, this was their third or fourth stint in juvy.  These young men ranged in age from 14 to 17, and were incarcerated for a number of different crimes.  Some were in for family violence, others for theft of parole violations.  I had the opportunity to hang out with them in the commons area and just talk and get to know them.  They were eager to talk because they don’t often get the opportunity.  After the speaker, we read through a gospel tract as a group.  I led the discussion about the scriptures by asking them specific questions.  Some of the guys were familiar with gospel, having been raised in church or exposed to other ministries such as opportunity camp.  They were all open and eager to discuss the gospel.  We also read through a short study guide that accompanied the tract.  It was difficult to gauge the genuineness of their response.  I led them in the acceptance prayer written on the tract, and they repeated after me.

Next, we ate lunch with them.  It was taco day.  I would rate the food as being slightly worse than high school cafeteria food.  After lunch they reluctantly went back to their cells for an hour or so.  In the afternoon, though, I was able to spend more time with them.

Getting to know these guys really opened my eyes.  They were emotionally and spiritually broken.  Unlike most of the teens I’ve come across before, they did not put on a tough guy front.  These fellas were real and honest.  They all said the same thing, “I just want to go home to my momma.”  It broke my heart to hear the pain in their voice as they told me their stories.  They were living in the consequences of their sins, and they knew it.  They wanted to get out, and never come back again. 

But some of them have already come back, several times.  I asked them what went wrong, what was the root cause.  They all gave the same answer.  They hung out with the wrong people.  When they would first get out, they were repentant and swore to go on the straight and narrow.  But soon they began to associate with their “homeboys” who negatively influenced them back into sin, crime and bondage. 

This reminds me of First Corinthians 15:33,

“Do not be deceived, bad company ruins good morals”

So please pray for these five young men.  Pray that the Father will draw them to Himself.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sin and show them their need for salvation.  Pray that they have ears to hear and hearts to understand the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.  Pray that they may be transformed and set free from the bondage of sin and death so that they may live for the Glory of God.

The key to a successful business.

Location, location, location.

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Christmas Lights

6824 lights, 9 extension chords, 28 manhours, 6 curse words, 3 marital spats, and one role of electrical tape.

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Happy Thanksgiving

"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed."

President Abraham Lincoln - 1863

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best"

George Washington - 1789

Dirty Feet

John chapter thirteen chronicles one of Jesus’ final acts of humility.  Jesus, the Son of God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, girded Himself with a towel, knelt down and washed His disciples’ feet.  Feet washing was a job for the lowest of slaves, but Jesus loved His disciples.  So on the eve of His crucifixion, He demonstrated His love by becoming the least.

He washed their feet one by one until he came to Simon Peter, who refused to be served by His master.  "You will never wash my feet—ever!" Peter said. But Jesus replied, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with Me."  So in typical Simon Peter fashion, he did an instantaneous, radical reaction.  "Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head” Peter replied.  If being washed by Jesus made him a part with Jesus, then Peter wanted all that he could.

Jesus’ reply is interesting.  "One who has bathed," Jesus told him, "doesn't need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean.

The blood that Christ shed on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins has cleansed us of all unrighteousness.  By grace through faith in Christ Jesus we are transformed into new creations, no longer enslaved to the wickedness of the flesh.  We have been declared righteous and guiltless. 

Yet we are still sojourners in this sin-filled earth.  And as a result, we get our feet dirty with the pollutants of this world.  That’s why it is imperative that we humbly come to Jesus and ask Him to wash our feet, to cleanse us.  We must confess our transgressions and our lawless deeds and trust in His abundant mercy and grace.  In this way we can be unstained by the world, and we will be completely clean.

Saturday Hike With The Wife And Dog

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=208609099771668457914.000495812c605996a61bc

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I Agree

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Showing Up

“Eighty percent of life is showing up.”  That is one of my mom’s favorite sayings.  I’m not sure how she calculated eighty and not seventy or eighty two and seven sixteenths or whatever, but eighty it was.  The remaining twenty percent also seemed to be a mystery.  At the time I assumed it was composed of cleaning my room, doing homework, and eating my vegetables.  Irregardless, there is some truth and wisdom in the philosophy behind this quote.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

In Christ, we are a new creation with the purpose of performing good works for His glory.  Thank God that He didn’t give us this commission and then shove us off on our way.  Instead he graciously and sovereignly prepares the good works for us.  Our role is to show up, willing to work and sacrifice in obedience to His declared will.

May the Lord grant me the courage to show up, and the faith to trust Him for the rest.

One reason I love living in small town Texas

This is an excerpert from the front page of the local paper. When was the last time you read a prayer in the Times or the Post? And this is no ambiguos prayer to the ecleptic god of liberal america. No sir. It is a prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right there on the front page.

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Sow & Sleep

This Sunday after church, our Sunday school group is planning an evangelism blitzkrieg.  We will be knocking on doors in the surrounding neighborhood and in the dorms on campus.  We will be armed with tracts, flyers, and cookies.  Our goal is to meet people, share the gospel, invite them to church, pray with them, or simply give encouragement (with love and cookies). 

We have done this for several years with mixed results.  We have had many doors shut in our face, but there have also been a few people whom we have cultivated a relationship with.

Although this evangelism en masse event was my idea this year, I must admit that I am a little apprehensive.  Talking to people is not my strong suite.  God saw fit not to include that gift in my basket.  That doesn’t excuse me from my duty to share the gospel, though.  It just means I have toe (faithfully) try harder, and pray harder.

I tend to worry about what to say, or what technique to use.  I’m scared I’ll do something stupid and mess up the opportunity.  I am comforted in this by God’s sovereignty.

Mark 4:26-29

²⁶ And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. ²⁸ For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Notice that the sower is only responsible for sowing the seed.  The sower cannot cause the seeds to germinate and grow.  He simply sows the seed and then goes to sleep.  The sower doesn’t know how the seed grows, he just watches it until harvest time.

In the same way, it is our responsibility to sow the word.  God changes a person’s heart to accept the gospel, not me.  God causes the growth, I only sow and sleep, He does the rest.

So in the end, what I say, or how clever or funny I am is not as important .  My job is to be faithful and obedient and simply go and do, trusting God to take care of the rest.

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. – 1 Cor. 3:7

Fiery Faith

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king…"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

I cannot think of any text that better exemplifies genuine faith.  In the face of agonizing terror and death, these three young men put their trust solely in God.  They had no promise of divine intervention, no assurance that God was going to save their lives.  They laid it all on the line in obedience to God’s law.  They trusted in God’s sovereignty, knowing that He has the power to save them if He so willed. 

God did indeed save them from a fiery death in the furnace.  Notice how the characteristics of their faith were different from some of the modern conceptions of faith.  They were not protected from the flames with positive thinking.  They didn’t bind up the flames in the Lord’s name.  They didn’t rebuke the fire, inciting the power of God through their magic words.  Nor did they stubbornly insist that the flames don’t really exist if they just really, really believe without doubting.  They didn’t bargain with God, or make empty vows.

They simply submitted to God in faith, trusting to decree their fate. They placed their confidence and their lives in the hands of the Almighty.  This is genuine faith in action.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a jerk like me.

I graduated from high school eight years ago.  In that time, I have lost touch with my former classmates.  But living in my hometown, I sometimes run across my schoolmates from yesteryear. 

That happened to me last week.  I was at a meet-the-teacher night for the Mothers Day Out my son will be attending.  As we were waiting for it to begin, all of my attention was on my boy.  He was determined to collect every offering envelope and visitor card from the pew in front of us.  As he began throwing the leaflet confetti into the air, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Standing there was a fella I graduated with.  To be honest, I wasn’t all that excited to see him.  In high school he was a real jerk, or at least that’s what I thought.  I always felt he was arrogant and rude. 

As I stood up to shake his hand, I was startled by the full enveloping bear hug thrown at me.  I quickly realized that something was different.  He smiled and we talked for a minute.  He was kind, friendly, and genuinely caring.  All that went through my mind was, “Hey, this cat reminds mf Jesus.”  We only had a minute to converse because the program was beginning, but that meeting left a strong impression on me.

I was reminded of the power of the gospel to genuinely change people.  I need to be reminded of that from time to time.  It gives me encouragement and hope, for if God can change a jerk like him, then He can change a jerk like me.

1 year, 365 days, 88 posts, 841 hits, 9 states, 7 countries, one purpose

for His glory

'tis better to give

Matthew 5:40-42 (New King James Version)

⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

My conviction based on this passage is to give to anyone and everyone who asks of me. This is a hardline approach, but that’s the kind of guy Jesus is. His words are crystal clear, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Jesus doesn’t put any provisions or conditions on this principle. They ask, we give. Black and white, plain and simple.

I know the objections that are mulling in your mind. “But what if they use the money to buy boos, or drugs, or a copy of The Shack.”

Well, first of all you cannot control other people’s actions. Neither can you always accurately judge others motivations. Your responsibility as a disciple of Christ is to give. What they do with it is on them.

Even if their motivation is to take advantage of you, you are still to give in love. In fact, we are called to give above and beyond what they ask.

“And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”

I am by no means a perfect practitioner of this principle. My heart is to give unto the Lord. However, I sometimes miss opportunities, and other times I act out of legalism and not love. My heart is to consistently apply this command of Christ in a loving, cheerful manner.

This principle, I believe, encompasses everything from the homeless guy begging on the street to the girl scout selling outrageously overpriced cookies at my door.

Give to everyone who asks. Give more than they ask, and do more than they require. Such is the job description of every follower of Christ.

"Pastor Yanked From Capitol Over 'Jesus' Prayer"

A Baptist pastor in North Carolina was “relieved of his duties as an honorary chaplain of the state house of representatives after he closed a prayer by invoking the name of Jesus.”

He was told not to “use the name Jesus. We have some people here that can be offended.” Read the whole article here.

This baffles me. If Christianity is offensive to them, then why are they praying? It would be better to just stop the charade and give up the hypocrisy. They might as well pray to the naked statue of Lady Justice. It would probably offend less people.

Pastors pray. Pastors pray in the name of Jesus. That's their job, its what they do.

To ask a pastor not to would be like asking a structural engineer to design a building without using any math. After all, some people don’t understand math and are offended by it (especially fractions).

Or its like going to a doctor and asking him to treat you without using any of that offensive medicine stuff. It just don’t make no dadburn sense.

I am encouraged, though, by this pastor’s actions. He fought the good fight of faith in the face of persecution. I pray (in the name of Jesus Christ) that God will bless him for it, both now and in eternity.

Spiritual Gift Cop-Out

It sometimes seems that we are too concerned about what our specific spiritual gift is. We take batteries of multiple choice tests to determine our spiritual gift aptitude. We categorize ourselves into predefined groups and put on or respective “prophet” or “server” t-shirt. We can then begin to serve God, but only within the limits of our newly discovered gift.

This strategy does make sense, especially in the corporate world. It is efficient to find the strengths and talents of your human resources and put them into a job in which they can excel. The problem with this approach is that it pigeon holes the believer, not leaving room for God.

So next time the offering plate is passed to you, don’t think,”Oh I’m a teacher not a giver.” And don’t show up to the next work day to only show mercy while everyone else paints or cuts grass or repaves the parking lot. In other words, don’t use your spiritual gift as a cop-out.

Even though we all have our individual gifts, we are all called to a variety of service. My advice is to not worry so much about what your particular gift is, and just willing and humbly serve wherever there is a need. All that other jive will follow. After all, God has already prepared your good works beforehand. Your job is simply to walk in them.

Inked

Is it a sin to get a tattoo? Should Christians get tattoos? Are tattoos wrong? What does the Bible say about tattoos?

There has been resurgence in the popularity of tattoos in the US. According to a 2006 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 36% of 18 to 25 year olds and 40% of 26 to 40 year olds have at least one tattoo.

The art and practice of tattooing dates back almost as far as recorded history. Mummies with tattoo markings have been discovered in Egypt, and Julius Caesar described the Germanic tribes of Northern Europe as being heavily tattooed. Tattooing was prominent in many ancient cultures around the world, including the Japanese, Chinese, Polynesians, New Zealanders, Persians, and Native Americans.

Tattooing must have also bee prevalent in Old Testament Palestine. Leviticus 19:28 forbids cutting the body for the dead and receiving tattoo marks. So what does this implication have for Christians today?

“Ahh” you might say, “but we are not under the law but under grace.” And you would be correct. However, it is important to investigate the reason why God forbade this practice.

All of the tattooing cultures have one common thread: paganism. Tattoos have historically been a trademark of pagan worship and ritual. One purpose of the Levitican law was to distinctly separate the appearance and persona of God’s chosen people.

As Christians, we too are called to be noticeably different from the surrounding pagan culture. Therefore, it is my opinion that Christians should not get tattoos. I am by no means implying that the heart with Mom tattooed on your bicep is an express ticket to hell. I also understand that many believers have tattoos left over from a bygone era of pre-salvation darkness. Praise God for His grace, because we all carry baggage (consequences) in the remnants of our flesh.

However, post-salvation tattoos are unwise, and do not honor God. We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, temples of the Holy Spirit. We are God’s adopted children, a holy priesthood, a royal race, and as such we are to be markedly different from the world.

for His glory,

DJ

un humilde petición

I have a request for the Latin-American community. Please, stop naming your sons Jesus. I know that naming a child after someone is a form of honor, kinda like naming your son Junior (or Bubba in these parts). It’s just that it makes things confusing and strange.

When spoken, it’s not a problem. I am cool with “heysoos.” It’s the written form that starts getting sticky. I guess it’s because I have such a high respect for the name that it is somewhat odd when I have to cc Jesus on an email about BRMBs.

It can be a considerable cause of confusion. “Were you talking about Jesus the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Holy Son of God, the Sacrificial Lamb, the omnipotent sustainer of all the universe, or where you talking about Jesus from accounting?”

So please, Spanish speaking Americans, stop naming your children Jesus, it is confusing us white folks.

1Peter 2:13-17

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ¹⁵For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. ¹⁶Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. ¹⁷Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

This is a hard passage to swallow. We want to obey God, but we don’t want to submit to authority. We would rather cloak our rebellion to authority in righteous indignation. After all, why should we obey the wicked pagans just because they happen to be in a position of civil authority? Besides, we are smarter than them anyway, right? I know what’s best for me, and I shouldn’t have to submit to the bone heads in Washington, or Austin for that matter, or the city council, or the DPS officer who patrols my morning commute, or my boss, or the church leaders…

Like it or not, though, submission to human institutions and authorities is a vital aspect of obedience to God’s will. This offends our fallen nature, and so we reinterpret and rewrite scripture to suit our sinful desires. For me, it usually goes something like this:

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men (as long as I agree with them): whether to the king, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those (other idiots) who do wrong and to commend those who do right (me). ¹⁵For it is God's will that by doing (what is right in my own eyes) good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. ¹⁶Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of (to be served by) God. ¹⁷Show proper respect to everyone (whom I like and deem not to be an idiot): Love the brotherhood of believers (as long as they are Dispensationist, Pro-life, Reformed, Southern Baptists who affirm the sanctity of marriage, premillennialist eschatology, progressive sanctification, cessationism, Calvinism, new earth creationism, substitutionary atonement, Christocentrism, natural hermeneutics, expository homiletics, and prefer acoustical guitars to organs) , fear (show mild reverence to) God, honor the king (if he is a Republican).

Scripture should change me, not vise versa.

Manly Biblical Mandates of Masculinity for Men

Scripture often uses imagery as a literary device to illustrate a concept. This effective technique employs common, physical forms to represent abstract idea. The Bible has many metaphors involving athletics, fighting, and soldiers. These concepts are all masculine in nature, and further prove that masculinity is an important aspect of Biblical Christianity.

1Corinthians 9:24
Ephesians 6:11
1Timothy 6:12
2Timothy 2:3-4
2Timothy 4:7
Hebrews 12:1

The "L" Word

Love is all too often misunderstood. The word conjures images of candle light dinners, moonlit walks on the beach, heart shaped boxed of chocolate, and sappy chic flic movies. We tend to associate love with romance and ooshy gooshy emotions.

The Bible describes love in a much different way. According to the infamous love chapter, love is patient, kind, not envious, humble, not rude, selfless, long tempered, not vengeful, joyful in truth, protective, trusting, hopeful and preserving (1Cor. 13:4-7).

The gist of it is that love is defines as being selfless, and esteeming others as more important than yourself in both word and deed.

Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

I can think of nothing more manly than this.

Man Up

1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Paul is exhorting the church in Corinth to boldly and courageously defend the faith. He commands to “act like men.”

So what does he mean by this. The context shows that men are to be diligent minutemen always on the alert, to stand steadfast in the faith, and to be spiritually strong.

The opposite of being manly is acting womanly. In Isaiah 19:16, Jeremiah 51:30 and Nahum 3:13, the enemies of God are insulted as being like women. God’s judgment on these nations causes them to “tremble and be in dread” because “their strength is exhausted.”

This is not, however, an insult to women. Women are delicate, sensitive, and nurturing. These are admirable and necessary attributes. Indeed this was God’s design and purpose for the weaker vessel. It is right for women to be feminine, and men to be masculine.

Try this. Go and tell your wife that as a mother she is like a Navy Seal. She probably won’t take too kindly to that comment. It is right and good for women to be feminine, and men to be masculine.

Therefore, we men must heed this call to man up and be watchful, steadfast, and strong.

for His glory,
DJ

Ecclesiastical Sissification

Over the past century or so, the evangelical church-at-large has grown increasingly effeminate. Church has become a soft, delicate, and dainty. The hard truths are softened, the rough edges are sanded down. Our sanctuaries are decorated with flowers and pastels. The hard hitting truths of Scripture are replaced with lessons on getting in touch with our emotions, or discussion on our hurts, feelings, and personal relationships. There are in my opinion two causes of the demise of ecclesiastical masculinity.

First, is the acceptance and normalization of feminist ideology. Masculinity has become a four letter word, a character flaw that must be fixed.

The foremost culprit, however, is us men, and our disobedience to our Scriptural role. Since the Garden of Eden, men have abdicated their spiritual duties. The problem is that men are too timid, too lazy, too immature, too ignorant, or simply too carnal. It’s no wonder that the church has grown more feminine, there has not been enough manly influence to balance the equation.

A recent trend has emerged in an attempt to recover masculine identity in the church. Vile, corrupt, and filthy language from the pulpit, crude jokes, back woods retreats, men's fellowships at the saloon, cigar smoking, violent movies, and sporting events are all too common techniques. The problem is that these appeal to a worldly definition of manliness, not the Biblical and Christ-centered example.

So in celebration of Fathers Day, I am beginning a mini-series on Manly Biblical Mandates of Masculinity for Men.

Thank you, Lord Jesus

For various reasons, the last few days have been discouraging for me. However, God has lifted my spirit and renewed my faith through His mercy and goodness toward a dear friend. A church member was recently diagnosed with cancer and has been going through treatment for it. This man is a true paradigm of the greatest generation. He always has a colorful and memorable anecdote for every situation. I have truly enjoyed getting to know him over the last few years.

This morning as I was in the middle of my routine drudgery at the office, I received a text message asking for prayer. They were at the doc's office awaiting the test results. I said a short prayer, asking for healing and good results.

So I got back to my rat killin', not giving it another thought. A little while later, for whatever reason, I thought of him and began to pray again. I didn't even finish my opening "Dear Lord Jesus" when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. After I finished my quick prayer I read the most wonderful message. "No cancer. Give thanks to God. His mercies are new every morning"

Praise God.

-DJ

Bumper Sticker Theology

Let go and let God.

I have been given this advice several times, by several (well-intentioned) people, and in several different situations. I have often wondered what it really means, and what it truly advocates. What am I to let go of? What am I letting God do? While this pithy cliché is cleverly worded, is it truly a Biblical principle?

This expression was popularized by Charles Gallaudet Trumball, a strong advocate of Keswick, deeper-life theology. He advocated a radically passive view of sanctification by faith alone that practically eliminated the need for any sort of human effort. He taught that the reason the average Christian does not attain victory over sin is that he or she tries too hard.

In this view, spiritual maturity and holiness can be attained completely and instantaneously. The supposed key to this instant sanctification is to just get out of your own way and stop trying to live a godly life and trust God to change you without any effort on your part. The assumption is that you cannot try and trust at the same time. Our effort, struggle and diligence supposedly does nothing more than “frustrate the grace of God” and makes Christ’s power “futile.”

This view is a form of the erroneous doctrine of quietism. Quietism is a totally passive approach to sanctification. Quoting Phil Johnson, “It teaches that sanctification cannot occur until we give up striving for it. It is an attempt to become holy by abandoning all effort and simply trusting in God to remove the temptation to sin.”

Quietism requires a secondary leap of faith after salvation. You are saved when you believe, but then you are made perfect and holy after you really, really believe. This creates two separate classes of Christians, the merely saved and the true disciples. Also, this trusting without trying approach suggests that we should defer obedience until we get the right feeling. It leads to the hunt for some ecstatic experience or some miraculous event whereby sin is totally eradicated from our life. This quick-fix, no-effort-required mentality sets the stage for future failure and guilt when temptations and trials do come (and they certainly will). I have to admit that this idea is, at first, quite appealing. Oh if only I could be completely rid of the cancerous sin that plagues my flesh. But is this quick-fix, instant-holiness, termination-of-all indwelling-sin-though-passivity a Biblical promise?

Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

This passage highlights the delicate balance in the process of sanctification. On the one side, it emphasizes human responsibility to work out our own salvation. On the other hand, God is sovereignly working in us to make us willing and able to do His good pleasure.

Maintaining this equilibrium is crucial. Stressing one aspect more than the other leads to certain error. An overemphasis on the human responsibility leads into the bondage of legalism. An overemphasis on God’s divine work leads to the errors of quietism

The Bible teaches that sanctification is a process in which the believer actively cooperates with God. Spiritual growth is accomplished by practicing obedience though faith in Christ. Through the regeneration of the Spirit, we are now dead to sin and alive to God (Rom. 6:11). Now therefore, we must not let sin reign in our mortal bodies (Rom. 6:12). This does involve “letting go”our pride, selfishness, and sinful will. But this surrender is a work of proactive faith, not passive conviction. We are commanded to do the will of God, not sit on the sidelines and wait for it to happen.

One aspect of God’s will for each of us is our sanctification. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thess. 4:3). Abstinence from sin is certainly not a passive act, it is a dynamic action. Sometimes the not doing is more difficult than the doing.

Scripture also commands us to flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness (2 Tim. 2:22). We are not instructed to kick back and wait on righteousness to come to us. We are to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33).

Fleeing temptation is an act of obedience that results in spiritual growth and being further set apart from sin. Never are we promised that God will abolish all temptations in our lives. Instead, He promises to never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, and in that temptation He will always provide an emergency escape rout ( Cor. 10:13).

In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul explained that we as Christians have been saved for the purpose of good works. Thankfully, God has sovereignly prepared them beforehand, but it is our responsibility to walk in them (Eph. 2:10). Again, we can clearly see the tension between human responsibility and divine sovereignty. It is not a case of either/or but of and/both.

My intention is not to imply that our active obedience and good works can be accomplished apart from faith in Christ. Indeed, we are enabled to follow Christ in obedience only because of His strength. Obedience purely from our own strength and for our own credit is legalism. Only through acknowledging our own weakness can we be strong in Christ (2 Cor. 12:10).

It is imperative for our spiritual growth and sanctification that we maintain the equilibrium between responsibility of active obedience and pursuit of righteousness, and reliance on God’s power, strength, and regeneration.

for His glory.
DJ

The two tenets of atheism

I once read that there are two foundational beliefs held modern atheism:

1. God does not exist.

2. I hate Him for it.

Is God Dead?

Fredrick Nietzsche is considered by some to be the father of modern atheism. He was also a pioneer in the postmodern philosophical movement. His most well known quote comes from his book “The Gay Science” published in 1882.

“God is dead. God remains dead. We have killed him.”

This has been the atheist mantra for over a hundred years. Nietzsche never believed in a literal deity, instead this was his way of saying that religion and spirituality are no longer a viable source of wisdom in this modern, enlightened age. The supposed death of god is a rejection of all absolute values themselves. This loss of a universal moral law inevitably leads to nihilism.

Nihilism is the philosophical belief that life is completely void of meaning, purpose, and intrinsic value. Nihilism also asserts that morality does not inherently exist, but that it is abstractly conceived. In other words, it denies the moral argument of general revelation. It supposes that all of the moral principles, which are strikingly similar throughout all of ancient and modern history, are a fabrication of mankind.

Nietzsche was especially hostile toward Christianity. He viewed the Christian faith as the true cause of human bondage, oppression, and suffering. He saw himself as a philosophical messiah, setting the people free from the evils of religious thought. This is apparent in the following quote:

“When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident... By breaking one main concept out of Christianity, the faith in God, one breaks the whole: nothing necessary remains in one's hands.”



Nietzsche was wrong. God is not dead. He is very much alive, and he is in complete control of the cosmos. His moral law and His truth defined in His Word are eternal and absolute. The church has not ceased, and will continue to persevere until Christ’s return. Not even the gates of hades can overpower the church (Matt. 16:18).

The existence of God is clearly evident through His general revelation in creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1). God has made Himself known to all mankind.

Romans 1:19-20
Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

The pride of life hardens the heart and darkens the mind. Nietzsche, the fool who said in his hear that there is no God, made the mistake of elevating the human mind above God. He deified man by His assertion that earthly wisdom and knowledge has killed the notion of God.

Over a century later, the church is alive and well. God is not alive, but Nietzsche on the other hand is dead. In 1889 at the age of 44, Nietzsche had a complete mental breakdown. He wrote several letters to his close friends and colleagues that were incoherent and full of Christian allusions. One of these “madness letters” stated the following:

"I have had Caiaphas put in fetters. Also, last year I was crucified by the German doctors in a very drawn-out manner. Wilhelm, Bismarck, and all anti-Semites abolished."

Nietzsche was admitted to an insane asylum and was later cared for by his mother and sister. He spent the last eleven years of his life gripped by madness.

God is the sovereign creator and sustainer of the universe. Nietzsche was a madman.

for His glory,
DJ