Blessed By The Best

It's been a while since I've posted on here. Transitioning back into college life has made me quite busy in fact. Even taking the time to write this right now means I am putting off studying for a Greek quiz. But last week I found some interesting things out that I feel the need to share.

At the end of August after a year away from college life (even though I was still taking online classes) I finally made it on the campus of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. When I decided to transfer from Northwestern and pursue going to Moody I was almost crushed when the acceptance letter came back that I would not be allowed on campus until a year from then.

Even though I was disappointed about having to go back home for a year, I found that at the end of that year that I had grown significantly as a believer and many other good things came out of it. And when I did finally come to campus in August I only appreciated finally getting here even more.

I want to be involved as much as possible while I am here at Moody. I don't want to just do classes but I want to be involved in intramurals, Men's Basketball, Student Groups, and as a Student Ambassador.

This last group is the one that I have realized something that makes me blessed to be here even more. Student Ambassador's is a group on campus that the admissions office uses to give tours and host prospective students. At my interview for this group I learned that the program I got into, the one year online plus three on campus program, was not supposed to offered to transfer students. I should have only have gotten the option for the campus in Spokane, Washington which would not have been a good option for me.

The fact that I am here right now, learning the Bible in one of the best schools in the country, and being taught by some of the best professors, I am feeling exorbitantly blessed to be in the position that I am.

I once was utterly disappointed by the cards I was dealt almost two years ago, but now I am so thankful for God's grace and provision in my life. I only hope to use this time I have at MBI for God's glory.

One Life,

T'will soon be past.

Only what's done

For Christ will last.  

Yea Mon! No Problem

Just wanted to write about my experiences and time in Jamaica last week. It was a great time that I think I saw God work greatly in Jamaica and in our team.

Things started out a bit rocky. We drove up 3 hours to Minneapolis to fly to Dallas, but before we started the drive we had learned that the flight was delayed which meant that we would have about 20 minutes to get on our connecting flight in Dallas. 

When we arrived in Minneapolis we learned that that flight had been totally cancelled and they were going to put us on a flight to Miami which had exactly 22 open seats which was the exact number of our team, and this flight was leaving in 40 minutes. Meaning we had to get all 22 of us to check our bags, get through security and down to the gate.

It was amazing to see God work in order to get our team to Jamaica even if we got there later than we had planned. getting through Jamaica immigration and customs went smoothly for the most part but our transportation from Montego Bay to Black River, a 2 hour drive, was just a bit small. So we had to cram 5 people into 4 seats in almost every row while one of our leaders basically sat on our luggage in the back to keep it from falling on the people in front. 

Yet we made it to our hotel safely and were able to get some rest for Sunday Morning service. It was definitely an experience. We didn't realize they had a children's church and so hadn't prepared a lesson for the kids yet we made it work.

The next day everything seemed to finally go more the way we had planned. However we found that the kids seemed to be quite reserved and we had to work hard to get them to warm up to us. Singing songs were a struggle the first couple of days because we couldn't get the kids to do the motions with us. But by the end of the week everyone loved to sing the songs and didn't want us to stop.

My responsibilities for VBS were to teach 3 lessons and half of another to the eldest group of VBS goers. At first I was a bit discouraged, the first day we only had about 6-8 students in our group and because they weren't open those first days it was hard to dialogue with them one of my other youth leaders put it well when she said It's hard to know if we are getting through to them. 

These kids reminded me a lot of me growing up, most of them had been coming to church all there life and they knew most of the Sunday school answers. And so it did make it hard to know whether or not we were getting through to them. But again by the end of the week I felt like I had seen dramatic changes. They were asking questions and not goofing off as much as first days. I felt like what me and Dustin, my other teacher, were finally getting through. 

My lesson planning went like this; Day 1: Creation, God makes all there is for His glory and man is to be representative of God on Earth. Day 2: Fall, Man has broken his image with God, he is no longer walking in obedience to God and must therefore pay the price, yet there is hope. Day 3: Gospel, Even though man is now a broken image of God rather than destroying us God has a plan to redeem us back to himself and He did it through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The bible tells us if only we have faith in Christ we will be saved, but more than that saved to be back in God's presence which is where we should long to be. Day 5: Worldview, I taught about man's ways to explain away an all powerful creator, i.e. evolution. We looked at Romans 1 which tells us that God has clearly shown himself to us yet because we want to be our own boss we harden our hearts to Him and explain him away. Also I taught that everyone has a worldview and as Christians our worldview must have biblical lenses.

Then on Friday night we had a outreach to the whole community which we had been going into the town of Black river nearly every night to witness to people and to invite them Friday to see the movie Courageous. we also did a couple of skits, songs, and some from our team gave testimonies. One lady came forward afterward to receive the gospel but I think that many more seeds were planted.

It was also neat to see a local man come to Christ that was helping with our construction team. And hopefully we will see him grow as we continue to partner with Black River Baptist. 

I have so much more I have to share but this post is already really long so thank you for any still reading. If you would like to know more about what our team and I did in Jamaica feel free to talk to me. It was a real blessing.

One Life...

I remembered this poem today and thought that I should share it with you. It was a driving force for me in my decision to go into ministry, the two repeating lines in this poem really struck at my heart. I hope it does for you as well.

“Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life’s busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past, 

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,

Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,

And stand before His Judgement seat;

Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,

Gently pleads for a better choice

Bidding me selfish aims to leave,

And to God’s holy will to cleave;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,

Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;

Each with its clays I must fulfill,

living for self or in His will;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,

When Satan would a victory score;

When self would seek to have its way,

Then help me Lord with joy to say;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,

In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;

Faithful and true what e’er the strife,

Pleasing Thee in my daily life;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,

And from the world now let me turn;

Living for Thee, and Thee alone,

Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;

Only one life, “twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,

Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;

And when at last I’ll hear the call,

I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;

Only one life,’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

CT Studd 

F.R.O.G

On this day last year, May 19 2011, my grandfather lost his battle with cancer and was taken home to be with the Lord.  The months leading up to this were some of the best and worst times in my life. It was near the time I had decided to change my major from Engineering to Biblical Studies that I learned the news that my grandpa was fighting for his life with pancreatic cancer.

If you never knew my Grandpa Green let me fill you in. He loved. No matter who you were or are my Grandpa genuinely cared for and loved you. That love also came out in the form of correction, he was not willing to take a blind eye to anyone's faults but would in love give correction.

He was a man of prayer, he and my grandma would pray for each person in my entire extended family before going to bed. I can remember one time my family was staying at my grandparents house for a visit I was watching TV and my grandparents had gone to bed about an hour before and when I went to the bathroom I could still hear them praying. I am certain that these faithful prayers contributed to each and everyone of my family and extended family's lives. My brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousin are all believers and I can't help but think those times in prayer had something to do with it And this was the time he spent praying for our family let alone any other times he would be praying for other people and things.

He was for many years a major influence to the college of Cedarville in Ohio, I have no idea the countless lives he impacted in his time there. He was an artist, he painted and drew many pieces that I still love to look at when we visit. He also did woodworking and carving. I am almost certain that my love for woodworking came from him even though I missed out on the drawing/painting gene that my sisters got. He was truly a handyman who would do it all around the house.

Lastly he was a man of God and Scripture. Obviously he was not perfect and had flaws like all of us but he was a student of the scriptures and did almost everything with his eyes set on God and his will. He was famous for giving out little rubber like frogs to most everyone he met. I can remember a couple times him giving them out to waitresses we had. But when he gave them out he would always ask do you know what FROG stands for? and says FROG mean Fully Rely On God or when you add an S for FROGS it is Fully Rely On God's Son, and then he proceeds to ask them how he could pray for them. My grandpa was a man that I hope I can become more like, a Christ follower.

As a kid I could always remember my Grandpa and I getting in these sort of wrestling matches where he would get hold of me and I would try to escape but I never could. My grandpa was a strong healthy man that I loved to be around as a kid. I am ashamed to say that I loved my grandpa more for the fun side of being around him than for who he was as a Christ follower. It wasn't until my first year of college that I really appreciated the man he was the pillar my family could stand on proudly and yet his fight with cancer had weakened him greatly.

I never truly knew what strength was until I saw my grandpa at his weakest physically yet so strong spiritually. He wasn't afraid of death he was one who truly believed that "to die is gain." My grandfather taught me that physical strength and health is no substitute for a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. I will never forget the great lump I had in my throat during his funeral it was hard to breath let alone speak. He became my role model especially after my change in majors and it was so hard to see him go.

I am writing this to celebrate the life my grandpa lived and the impact he has left on me. I also hope that my grandpa would be an example for all of us on how to live life. Put God first and foremost in the center of our lives, love other to a greater magnitude than ourselves, be willing to give up your own life for the sake of knowing and loving God, do not fear death for we will not be taken one second before our time and when we are taken we will see the Lord and that is our whole desire and joy.

Fully Rely On God

To Die Is Gain?

I was listening to a song by a Christian rapper, Trip Lee, and in this song is a line that goes,

I'm good, here come the pain.
I'm good, ya they can kill me,
I'm good, to die is gain.

And I as I was listening to these lines, I was just pumped up by it. I found myself thinking, "AMEN," or as my pastor so ecstatically preached the other week, "I AGREE!"

But as I continued to think on those words, "ya they can kill me...to die is gain," I began to think, "do I agree?" "Do I truly believe, 'to die is gain'?" Does how I live line up with that belief, "death is gain." And I was broken, it didn't line up. Intellectually I believe that five hundred percent but the evidence of my own life shows only a reluctance, a fear.

This is the challenge I want to present in this post. First, do we as Christians truly believe to die is gain. And second are we living like it.

I can't help but admire the man that was Paul. He truly lived like death is gain. Paul's desire was to depart this earth and be with Christ (Philippians 1:23) and yet he knew that God's plan for him was to remain (Philippians 1:24) and so, as I talked about in a much earlier post http://theprisonerssetfree.blogspot.com/2011/10/untuchable.html, Paul lived in an untouchable manner. He lived for Christ while in the back of his mind he knew death was much better (Philippians 1:21).

Trip Lee later on in the same song tells us why death is gain,

I know that I must suffer, that'll only make me tougher. 
Death is just a doorway to take me to my faithful lover....
Let the storms come hunt us and hurt us.
They can't take our Lord from us, we got us a verdict. Not guilty.

Romans 14:8 says,

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Again the message is the same, we are the Lord's in life and death.

So again the challenge for me and that I am extending to you, Will we live in a manner that shows our "desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better?"

The Shocking Truth ???

 

The other night I was attending a Navigators meeting, which is a ministry that is found mostly on college campuses, and they had a guest speaker that came in for the first time and gave us quite an interesting lesson. His lesson was aimed at Easter coming up and spoke from 2 Corinthians 5:21. His premise was that it is essential for us to know and believe that Jesus Christ was both sinless and the greatest sinner ever.

A little bit shocking? I thought so too, but decided to see how he came to such a strange view and why. Again he based this argument off of 2 Corinthians 5:21 which reads in the ESV,

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

He also used a similar passage from Galatians 3:13, which says that Jesus became a curse.

He went on to say that even though Jesus had never sinned and was totally righteous he became guilty of all the sin that anyone in the world has ever or will commit, and that at the cross he was punished  because he took on all the guilt of sin of the world. He also commented that as Christ took on our sins we took his righteousness, which is commonly known as the Great Exchange. All of this was what he called "the shocking truth."

But is he right? Is Jesus Christ both the worst sinner of all time; more so than Hitler, Stalin, or Judas Iscariot; and sinless and righteous?

How can Jesus be guilty of my sin, or your sin? How can he be guilty of all the sin of the world and yet be reigning in heaven or have a name that is above all names? How can we worship someone who is "guilty" of all sin of all time?

The speaker made a typical and disastrous mistake. He read into the text and replaced words with different words, Jesus was made sin, NOT a sinner.

So what does it mean that Jesus Christ has become sin? In the Greek the word is hamartia which is used and translated in two ways. It is translated as "sin," but it is also commonly used to mean a "sin offering."

According to Strong's Greek Dictionary of New Testament Words,

In 2 Cor. 5:21 "Him... He made to be sin" indicates that God dealt with Him as He must deal with "sin," and that Christ fulfilled what was typified in the guilt offering. 

So, Jesus was made to be a sin offering in our place. This agrees with other Scripture as well.

Ephesians 5:2

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Hebrews 10:10

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

1 John 2:2

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

 Charles Spurgeon also commented on this passage that,

Not only was he not guilty of any sin which he committed himself, but he was not guilty of our sins. No guilt can possibly attach to a man who has not been guilty. He must have had complicity in the deed itself, or else no guilt can possibly be laid on him. Jesus Christ stands in the midst of all the divine thunders, and suffers all the punishment, but not a drop of sin ever stained him. In no sense is he ever a guilty man, but always is he an accepted and a holy one.

Jesus was the propitiation for sin, not that He was sinful himself but because He was totally and utterly sinless  and because of His position as God meaning that He is infinitely valuable He was able to take the punishment of all sin everywhere once and for all. And in Him we become the righteousness of God.

Getting Hit By A MACK Truck

 

I was listening to a sermon by David Platt the other day and he gave an illustration about salvation that I really enjoyed and thought I should share.

If I came in 15 minutes late today and told you that I am late today because, as I was changing a tire on the side of the highway I got hit by a MACK truck, which hurt quite a bit, I then finished fixing my tire and then got in my car and came here. You know I would be lying because you may not know much, but you know that when a person gets hit by a MACK truck you look different.

When a person comes face to face with the God of the universe in the flesh, the savior king of the nations, and righteous judge of all people's, who is sovereign over everything in the world. When you meet him you look different. Everything looks different. It is impossible to look the same.

I don't doubt that there are some in this room playing Christian but you've never truly met Jesus for who he is.

To leave behind / lay down, everything in your life doesn't make sense until you realize who the king is. And when you realize who He is, laying down everything is the ONLY thing that makes sense. 

 I enjoyed this illustration because, first of all it was funny, and secondly its true.

That being said this is a scary thing to realize. It's a heart check that we all need to think about.

Am I a radically different person than who I was before my salvation? If the answer is no then we need to do some serious soul searching, but if the answer is yes we should rejoice and praise God for His saving work in our lives, yet we still have to realize that we still have a long way to go.

We must always be struggling and striving to become more like the person of Christ.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 20:22)

Inward Thoughts

I've been thinking lately how in my writing on this blog I incorporate others into it. Usually I'm ranting about how we as Christians should but don't follow this or that well. But I want to make clear I am ranting at myself. When I write a post on here it usually something that strikes me personally and I do see it as an area we all as Christians should be working on but the main focus for me writing is for me. I am calling myself out or am sharing something that was encouraging or convicting in my reading.

When I write about how when someone tells you your and heir of the world and you walk away with little to no change because of that its sad. I'm really putting myself in those shoes, I am torn up that I have little or no change when Paul tells me I am an heir of the world with Christ. When I rant at the world for the evil in it I am all too aware of my own faults and failures.

Isn't it so easy to cheer on Jesus when he's giving it to the pharisees (Luke 18:9-14) without realizing I am the pharisee, not the sinner crying out to God on the street corner. We cheer on Jesus when he gives it to the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30) yet don't realize that I as a poor college student am so much wealthier than even that rich man. In Luke 17:11-19 when Jesus cleanses 10 lepers it is so easy to be indignant at the 9 who didn't return to worship at Jesus' feet and then realize I am part of the 9.

When asked when he doubts God, John Piper replied not about the bridge that had just collapsed in Minneapolis or of his family struggle but he said, "I doubt God because of the painful slowness of my own sanctification."

It is a hard thing when we think that we've made such progress in our walk only to find out we are the pharisee in the story. Sanctification is a painful struggle 

Come Quick Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20)

Heirs Of The World

I am breaking this all down from one of John Pipers sermons in Romans over chapter 4 verse 13

If I were to tell you today that you had inherited one million dollars and all you have to do is wait 24 hours so I can verify the information and you can have the money, Wouldn't you leave there with a bit of a spring in your step? Wouldn't you tell everybody you know? Wouldn't you burst out randomly throughout the day in joy and excitement. I know I would.

John Piper would ask some follow up questions. Why then, when we hear that Jesus has made us heirs of the world that we walk out of church whistling through the day rather than being stunned by this news?


One million dollars is "nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing compared to what I am saying" -John Piper

"There are truths in the bible that are so stunning and so wonderful that when you read them you feel like they are so far out there that my little problem here has no connection to that at all so we just don't even connect." - John Piper

How do we know that we are heirs of the world?

Romans 4:13 "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith."

Psalm 2:8 "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession."

Hebrews 1:2 "...He has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."


We are in Christ because of our salvation, and Jesus Christ is himself the heir of the world.
Galatians 3:29 ties Romans 4:13 to us, "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise."

What does that mean to inherit the world?
1 Corinthians 3:21-23 " So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s."

How can we all inherit the whole world?
If our union with Christ is so profound and so deep that in him we will be co-owners with him the implication is that there will be such unity and such a harmony and such a togetherness that there will be no difficulty in you having it all and I having it all because we are going to be so happy in giving and we will have absolute wisdom to figure it out, just like a husband and a wife when the deed on the house reads co-owned. -John Piper

Luke 19:12-26 In this parable we are the servants, we have been given what we do not own, we are merely the tenants watching over what we have been given. Right now, today, you own nothing. It all belongs to God, and God is waiting to see if we will use His goods for His glory. If we can't manage what is another's, who is going to give you what is yours?

What difference does this inheritance do for you.
1. Let it fill you with Joy.
2. Let it make you secure and strong in suffering.
3. Venture something on this God because of this hope.
"Be a little bit crazy!... Let me loose, let me free, let me do something crazy, let me sell my business and go overseas, let me be part of a small group and risk somebody asking me a personal question.... Be Crazy! Don't just coast anymore!" -John Piper
4. Give God glory!

We are Heirs of the World!

We're Not The Point

I've been seeing this video posted a lot today and I just watched it. I thought that it was good; however, there is one sentence that bothered me a bit and would like to caution against.

At one point the speaker says that while Jesus was on the cross he was "thinking about you."

The problem I have with that is that Jesus came not to die for us, strictly speaking, but for Himself. God is ultimately about Himself. We are not the point, God is and always will be. We revere those around us greater than ourselves and no one is greater than the Lord. Therefore it would be wrong for God to make much of anyone other than Himself. The death of Jesus on the cross to save us from damnation was not about us but about the glorification of God through is Son on this Earth.

The grace of God is so magnified in the cross that it should drive us to our knees in reverence and worship. We are all guilty sinners, and none of us has anything special that made God think, "I need him or her on my team." The fact that we have not been wiped from this planet is a token of the grace and mercy of God and for which we should worship Him all the more.

Again, I liked this video for all of it accept that one statement, which I wish could have been left out or altered.

We are not the point, God is. The death of Christ was for God's glorification through our salvation

"I will praise you, O Lord my God,
with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever."
- Psalm 86:12