Welcome Back...

So, it has been a while...

There is much to be concerned with, the economy, "global warming" (in quotations for sarcastic indication), radical Islamic terrorism, the political status of the USA and the up coming elections, Jimmy Carter meeting with terrorists (probably wearing his sweater), the hurricane prediction for 2008 including 15 named storms, the rising prices of oil, the floundering housing market, the falling dollar, the immigration debate, the gradual Islamization (I think I made that word up) of Europe, and so many other big and little issues surrounding this life. But guess what... IT WILL ALL WORK OUT! Why? God is sovereign. Believe it and it will be the end of worry!

The Story of Christianity

Last night I was invited to speak at the Interfaith Dialogue held at NOVA Southeastern University. There were seven different speakers who each were given five minutes to present their faith and then there was a period for Q&A from the audience. Here is a copy of what I presented...

"I am excited to speak about my greatest passion here…

Intro: Every good story has four parts: a setting, problem, climax, and resolution. Allow me five minutes to share with you the story of the Bible, the Story of Christianity, so that you may better understand the world in which you live, the God who Created it, and the free offer of salvation for all who ask.

The setting begins with these words, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…”

God: Creator, Sustainer, Absolutely perfect in every aspect of His being, All Powerful, All Knowing, and unchanging, He is Just and Holy, and All Things were Created for His Glory

God spoke the universe into existence, with humanity as the crown of His creation, bearing His image.

Humanity was created perfect and enjoyed perfect unity and communion with God. But, humanity willfully rebelled against God, the Sovereign Creator, Ruler & Sustainer of all life.

This state of rebellion is called sin, and God being perfectly holy, just and righteous, cannot allow sin to go unpunished. All of humanity, since that time has been born into sin, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.”

That puts everybody here in the boat of being a sinner. “What are you talking about? I’m a good guy. I’ve never had detention, I make good grades, I try to do what is right and what is expected of me, I mean come on! I’m not that bad!” Well not that bad is still bad. And compared to God’s righteous and holy standard, it quickly becomes real bad.

And God can’t just dismiss sin. He can’t just say, well ok, I’ll just forget about that. For that would be a travesty of justice. It would be like the judge in the case against Michael Devlin who reportedly has admitted to kidnapping those two boys in Missouri, “You are free to go.” Every person in this room would be outraged. You would be forming picket lines and demanding that judge to be taken off the bench, “He is not fit to rule because he is UNJUST!”

Thus, the Problem. Human effort can never reach the standard of God’s perfection and God’s justice demands payment for sins committed. So, how can God being Just, reconcile a fallen humanity to Himself?

The climax comes at the Climax of history: The Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ.

Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world. More than just a great teacher, He is God. He was present with God before the foundations of the world, and humbled Himself by leaving the glories of heaven to live here among us.

Jesus’ coming is the center point of all history, even our calendar is based upon His coming. He came for one reason…to die. He came and lived a perfect life and offered Himself as the payment to God, for the sinful humanity, who put Him to death.
He was crucified on a Roman cross and buried in a borrowed tomb and rose again on the third day conquering sin and death.
He died in your place, so that you can live in the reward He earned, eternal life with God, in the glories of heaven. Jesus’ death allows God to be just and punish all sin, and enables Him to show great mercy in forgiving sinners. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is what reconciles a rebellious humanity to God.

You see, in Christianity, it is not about what you have done, or need to do, or a certain magical combination of steps which will grant you eternal happiness. No, it is about what God, through Jesus Christ, has done for you. All you must do is believe. Jesus said himself, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me.” In Jesus Christ there is full assurance of eternal life, and great joy and hope in this life. It is not merely standards and principles, but through Jesus Christ, there is a real and active, daily relationship with God.

The Resolution is that the Good News of Jesus Christ is going forth and people are believing. They are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation from their sins, and finding great peace, hope and joy in Him. And one day, Jesus Christ will return. And on that day every one will know that He is Lord, for He will return as the ruling King and Judge of all the earth. For those who have believed, they will be with Him in Glory, but for those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ, their payment will be due and they will have to pay their debt to their Maker.

The Hope of the Christian is found in Jesus Christ alone, and the Good News of His salvation is for all who will believe. And for those who do believe, their duty is to share the message of Christ in love, knowing that apart from the mercy and grace of God, no one would believe."

Ok...So Christmas Was Last Month...

If you have ever had a small child or even been a small child, you know that around Christmas time the anticipation can be overwhelming. I can remember times when I was growing up, where the excitement about the coming of Christmas was electric. I couldn't wait. I couldn't even sleep as it got closer and closer and more and more presents were under the tree. More and more lights were seen around town, and Christmas music filled the radio frequencies. As a small child, I was about to pop with excitement by the time Christmas arrived.

So earlier today I was reading through the first several chapter of Luke and it struck me; the angels, the multitude of heavenly hosts, had been waiting for Christmas. They had been waiting for Christmas like eager children, knowing that it was coming, SINCE BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME! Can you imagine their excitement?

Typically when we think of the lines: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (ESV) we think of some five-year-olds, dressed as angels, struggling to muttering the lines in the middle of some Christmas play, while they wave to their parents. This is not the picture we should have.

The angels were ready and well prepared. There was not one who muttered or struggled to remember the line. They were exploding with zeal and excitement about spreading the greatest message the world has ever and will ever hear. They couldn't wait to celebrate, to show up in the radiance of the glory of God and triumphantly proclaim the news of the coming of humanity's Messiah.

You know the funny thing is, they don't even get the full joy of it. Jesus came as the Savior of human beings, not of angels. In fact, Peter states that the angels long to know the love of God as we humans know it in the redemption of Christ.

So picture it. The angels eagerly waiting since before the beginning, as little children wait for Christmas, to announce the first Christmas. Joyously and with great zeal they proclaimed the message, that they, themselves, would never fully know.

So why aren't we more excited, as little children now celebrating Christmas?

Technology: Good or Bad

Some could argue that technological advances are causing the downfall of the American society, yet we must be careful not to equate the technology itself with the poor and sinful usage of it. Computers, although often frustrating and confusing, are not inherently wrong, bad or sinful. How people use computers could very well be wrong, bad and sinful, but the computer itself is not a moral agent simply the medium through which moral actions can occur.

Often the advances in technology can be extremely useful and beneficial in one's walk with God. For instance: My wife and I recently got a new Zune, Microsoft's MP3 player. This enabled us to listen to a large part of Desiring God, by John Piper while driving 14 hours back to our home after the New Year's Holiday.

It used to be that I dreaded, absolutely dreaded, these long drives, but if we can listen to all or most of a great book throughout the trip, bring it on. I was still wiped after the trip, but it was a much better trip than before. We even made record time on the way back, legally, but I don't think there is any real connection between the drive time and the book on MP3.

Technology is great when used for good purposes, this blog for example as well. But as with everything in life we must see that we are good stewards of all that God has given to us.

Supersaturated By the Word of Christ

Have you ever experienced real Southern sweet tea? I know if you are from NYC or Chicago or out West somewhere, you really don’t know what that means, unless you have traveled to the South. Sweet Tea in the South is a sacred rite, the brewing of which is a delicate process. The key to real Southern Sweet Tea is creating a supersaturated sugar water solution, into which the tea is steeped. This results in almost a syrup called Sweet Tea.
This is in contrast to all of those glasses of tea that come unsweetened at the restaurant, and after adding almost a half cup of sugar, still tastes mildly sweet, with a ton of granules settled at the bottom.
The command of the Scripture in Colossians 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…, is a call to be supersaturated by the Word of Christ. This comes through constant reading, meditation, memorization, discussion, and examination of the Bible. So much so that there is no distinction between your life and the Word of Christ in your life. In everything you do or say your life should be characterized by the Word of Christ within you. You need to be supersaturated by the Word of Christ.

A Glimpse of God's Heart from the Apostle John

When you read through the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, it is massively important to view the stories that John stacks up next to one another in order to get the full picture of what the Holy Spirit is saying through the apostle's writing. We as modern readers tend to read with the chapters and sub-headings dividing the text into autonomous sections which simply provide an episodic conglomeration of events in the life of Christ. In reality, when John wrote the Gospel account, there were no such divisions; it all goes together in a masterful way.

Take, for instance chapters three and four of the Gospel of John. In the American church we hear the story of Nicodemus, we hear the story of the woman at the well, we hear the story of John the Baptist saying, "I must decrease and he must increase", and we also hear the story of the faith of the official from Capernaum whose son was healed by Jesus without even a visit. Yet too often we hear each one without any thought to the connection or order in which John has placed them in the text.

Nicodemus was the teacher of the Jews, a respected and educated man, who came and sought Jesus at night. Jesus called him to believe. The disciples of John the Baptist were Jewish people who had believed John's message, and John the Baptist points them to believe and follow Jesus. The woman at the well was a Samaritan, an adulteress sinner, ashamed to be in public, Jesus called her to believe in Him as well. Then many Samaritans came and they also believed in Jesus. Then a Gentile official from Capernaum came seeking Jesus for the healing of his son and Jesus challenged him to believe and he did along with all his household.

Each of these people were from a different place, different walk of lifes, different belief systems, different genders, different occupations, different . . . everything! And Jesus' response to each is the same message: "Believe."

When we get a hold of this picture from the life of Christ, is should change our perspective on how we view those around us. The Gospel message is not just for middle class Americans who dress and smell like me. The Gospel is for every living creature, every language group, every skin color, every ethnicity, every person.

It Will All Work Out

The average person will worry about things over which they have no control, and often this will dominate their day, week, month, year, maybe even their life. For instance, in South Florida people are worried about hurricanes, but there is no one in South Florida who can cause or prevent them. So why worry? Prepare, yes. But don't waste energy, effort, time and emtion with anxiety and worry about hurricanes.

The science is there to show the damaging effects of worry on one's health and mental ability. It is logically clear that worrying will in no way change the situation for the better, yet it will only make one less able to function and cope with the situation at hand.

As opposed to worry, try reminding yourself of this simple little phrase: "It will all work out." The One who created this world and is in control of it's affairs, is caring for every little detail. He is the only One who can control the things which we so often worry about, therefore, rather than making ourselves sick with anxiety and stress, we should turn our trust over to Him who knows what is best.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." - Apostle Paul