My Summer

Hello Friends,

It is summer once again and, as many of you know whom I messaged from last summer, I have decided to focus on a spiritual discipline once again. Every summer we all have large lists of books we want to read and by the end of the summer we maybe make it through half way of the first one. So I have decided to do away with my book list for this year and focus on two items. First I plan to read the Pilgrims Progress all the way through as I have started it many times but can’t seem to finish. The second and most important is to read through the Bible as many times as I can this summer.

I really don’t know what that will look like, maybe once or twice or only a half. Yet I have been thinking that most of what I study at school is much more in depth and down among the trees which is very detailed and yet easy to find yourself lost. I hope to be able to get a better glimpse of the whole forest this summer. 

So I am telling all of you because like last year when I focused on prayer I would ask that you all hold me accountable to this. My summer is looking to be very busy yet I feel this could be the most important thing that I do. So please send me a quick message throughout the summer to make sure I am not falling on my face, also feel free to share what things you have been reading in scripture as encouragement as well. 

And even though I am not “focusing” on prayer this summer it is still something I want to implement more and more into my life. So please also feel free to send me what things I can be in prayer for you this summer. For myself please pray that I would not be discouraged in my efforts, I find more and more just how painfully slow sanctification is when I just want to be changed overnight and it can be very discouraging for me. Also I will be working anywhere from 45-55 hours a week this summer, as well as doing an “unofficial” internship with my church, and also preparing for my senior season on the basketball team. When I look at ahead to this plan for summer I find all I want to do is just lay in bed. So please also be in prayer for my stress and anxiety.

Thank you all so much,

Scott

Galatians 2:20

Thoughts From A Broken Jar

Sometimes it feels as if the whole world is bearing down on me, as if the worlds troubles were in my control to change.

Sometimes I feel that nobody wants me around except for some laughs, as if what other people thought about me was more important than my savior who died and gave his life for me (Gal. 2:20).

Sometimes I feel that there is only darkness, as if I didn't know the light of the world shining forth from me (Matt. 5:14).

Sometimes I feel that I have to be perfect, as if God didn't know that I am broken and has put people around me to help pick up my pieces.

Sometimes I feel as if there's more I need to do, as if what Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection weren't enough and I only do because he did.

Sometimes I feel like God made a mistake choosing me, as if God makes mistakes in extending grace and mercy.

Sometimes I feel like I am the only person who matters, as if others need me to function and God needed me for anything.

Sometimes I feel as if only God would break down my stupid pride so that all that would shine forth from my broken and beaten body is the treasure that God delights to place in broken vessels (2 Cor. 4:7-12).

I am afflicted in every way, but not crushed. I am perplexed, but not driven to despair. I am persecuted, but not forsaken. I am struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, SO THAT the life of Jesus may also be manifested in my body.

Is The World A Sinking Ship?

I have lately been thinking much about this picture above. As we are going through Revelation in Church and hearing Pastor Kevin talk about the new earth, I have been reminded about the common misconception that as Christians our end goal is to get to heaven. Now there are many problems with this idea such as the goal is heaven which is actually a secondary blessing of our saving faith whereas our main focus is God, we get to walk with God like Adam and Eve did, we will worship God without the negative effects of sin, all that we do in eternity will be God glorifying. As great as living forever in paradise may be I'm looking forward to being as near to God as I can. 

The next problem is that we have the "Greek/platonic idea" of eternity that just isn't correct. We will not be wearing diapers, floating in the clouds, playing harps. We think of our lives on earth as the waiting room before we get to eternity, but really heaven is going to be the waiting room until God redeems the earth. 

This is what we are looking forward too, a new earth without the corruption of sin. so the next question is, is this new earth brand new like a cosmic mulligan? Thankfully PK helpfully talked about this word "new" as really meaning "newness of quality" not of kind, so really we are looking forward to a RENEWED heaven and earth. 

Why is this important? because I believe that many of our ideas of the earth and Jesus are just like the cartoon at the top. We see the world as this great ship that is sinking due to Satan's evil and Jesus was able to come and save many off of this sinking ship. But this is a poor view of God's redemptive plan. 

Satan has some measure of victory in this picture, he was able to sink the good ship God created and only by luck was Jesus able to save some of Satan's victims. Satan may be destroyed in the end but he sank the ship. 

If we were to believe that this world is too far gone and we just need to believe in Jesus to get onto safety then we believe that Satan is victorious in this world in a way. But this is not true. The world is not a sinking ship, God's redemptive plan is not only for humanity but for all of the universe. He is redeeming a people for himself to place on a renewed earth that sin in not only not present but not even longed after.

I cannot wait for the day when sin will lose all appeal, that I will have no attraction to sin whatsoever.

That is the glorious vision of God's work not the cartoon above. He is so utterly victorious that it only looked as though Satan would have a small victory but in the end "one little word shall fell him!" 

A Time In Africa

Getting back in the groove of school and life has been crazy for me so please forgive the lateness of this post. I was so blessed to have been able to go to Africa over spring break, specifically Ethiopia. I currently am having a little Africa withdraw, I want to be back there with the Ethiopian people so much. But I am back in the states now and will be using my experience from this trip to hopefully further my ministry.

First: Thank you everyone who prayed and supported me financially on this trip, none of this happens without you!

Cultural Context: They spoke the language Amharic. The people are very poor or very rich I didn't see a middle class. Traffic is crazy. I could not get over that they made there scaffolding from sticks. People are very friendly and easy to talk to, though a lot of them hoped to get something from you. People's day's started early in the morning because it got dark around 7:30pm.

What did we do?

Day 1: Flying into Ethiopia was crazy. Our travels and time zone changes meant that we skipped a day getting there. We arrived Tuesday (3am) went to bed then woke up on Tuesday (7am). Once that happened there was no hope for me knowing what day it was. The first thing I noticed about Ethiopia is that the sun is very bright at 6 in the morning. That first day was really cool because I was able to walk in the city a little bit, we were driven around the city a little bit and we got to speak to the whole nation. i.e. we had a news conference to talk about the tournament we were playing in and got to explain a bit of why we were really there in Addis Ababa the capitol of Ethiopia. In summary, culture shock and spoke to a nation.

Days 2-5: From Wednesday through Saturday we got this awesome opportunity to play Ethiopian professional basketball teams at the YMCA in Addis Ababa each day. Before we played these games we had awesome opportunities to go to local schools and play there teams and talk with the students at each of these schools. It was neat to see all the people that we were able to reach an talk to through the language of basketball. I feel like there are some that do not believe in using sports as a ministry but our team was able to go places and have immediate common ground with people that we maybe would not have been able to talk with or go to without using the sport of Basketball as our common language. The last day of the tournament we had a cool opportunity to go out to eat with the some of the players from the Ethiopian "dream team" and just get to know them and speak with them.

Day 6: Sunday morning we traveled from the Capitol, Addis Ababa, to Axum a very religious city. We were able to tour around Axum a bit before leaving to Shire (pronounced Shee-reh) an hour or so away. Axum is the city that has a temple which claims to contain the Arc of the Covenant. Also we visited the ruins of the Queen of Sheba's palace and some tombs. When we arrived in Shire we immediately went over to their outdoor court to play the local team there in Shire and were able to very quickly make relationships with kids and the people there in Shire. I was blown away by God's creation on this day.

Days 7-8: This day we went out to see a school that was run by two women who help orphans, abandoned, refugee children, and lone women. Our team fell in love with the kids of this school that we decided to help them out by splitting our group into a small build group to build a basketball court for them. While the rest of the group was able to put on a basketball clinic for the people in Shire. Another thing we did on these days was to visit a local church where our chaplain for the trip did some pastor training, some of the team did Sunday school teacher training, and we were able to worship with the church in one of their services.

Day 9: We took about 10 hours of our day to travel to and from a refugee camp for the Eritrean people. I wish we could have spent more time actually in the camp but due to the nature of the roads we had to leave rather soon after we got there. We were able to eat a meal there with a local missionary pastor in the refugee camps and then we were able to worship with the Christian refugees there and some from our team were able to share some encouraging words to the church there.

Day 10: Thursday we finished up the basketball court for Abraham's Oasis on this day. We ran into a lot of snags and setbacks in the process of building these hoops but God was in it and we finally were able to have a court for the kids.

Day 11-12: Friday we flew back to  Addis Ababa and we visited some more schools in the area. On Saturday we were able to visit a marketplace and rest up most of the day. We went to the airport around 11pm to fly back to Istanbul, Turkey and then home to Chicago.

Day 13: All Sunday we spent flying back to Chicago. We had a long layover in Istanbul so a group went on a mini tour of the city before our flight back to Chicago. We finally arrived back around 8pm Chicago time.

Phew, With all that said I don't even know how to explain everything we did because there is so much more that this but I now want to talk about the impact this trip has had on me.

I am so blessed by all those who prayed and supported me financially on this trip. So I want to say thank you a thousand times over. You made it possible for me to go to Ethiopia this spring break and therefore it is because of you that I have been able to be so blessed encouraged and grow so much by this trip.

First thing that happened from this trip was a great growth between myself and my team in relation to one another. The closeness and experiences shared between us will never be the same, we were sick together, talked together, laughed together, and reached out to the Ethiopian people together. I am so thankful to have been able to know my team members better due to this trip.

Next, it was amazing to see our national missionaries Bekalu and Jordan work along side us, and how patient they were with us. I was blessed by the Christians already in Ethiopia who served us without asking for anything  in return. And I was blessed by the people of Ethiopia even those who tried to get us relentlessly to by their sunglasses, or belts, or maps. They are beautiful images of God and my heart goes out to them.

Bekalu, our missionary who helped us all two weeks, told us that we had been a great encouragement to the Christians and churches where we were ministering. Our goal was to to come serve the people of Ethiopia by the name of Jesus Christ, we were able to do that but I feel like so much more that the people, Christians, and churches of Ethiopia served me so much more than I ever could repay. It was amazing just to see the mountains and the rest of God's creation in Ethiopia that this trip would have been impacted

I have learned so much and am still taking in and processing sights, sounds and other such things from this trip. I praise God for the opportunity I had in Ethiopia, I am finding hard to just write out the impacts it has had on my life.

Thank you all again for your prayer and support feel free to contact me if you would like to know more about what we did in, what I saw and felt, etc.

We Made It

We have arrived to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We made it to our hotel last night at 4am. It was a long journey, we missed all of Monday due to travel and time zone changes. But all the travels went very smoothly and we are blessed. Thank you to all of you who prayed that my long legs would get an aisle seat, it worked.

Today we had an amazing opportunity to share to all of Ethiopia. We had a nationally televised news conference in order to talk about our upcoming tournament with the national teams. Our coaches and a couple players were able to convey that we are here to serve Ethiopia as Christ washed the feet of his disciples. It was an incredible opportunity to get the name of Christ spread to the whole nation.

Tomorrow we begin playing against national teams and hope to spread the gospel to both players and the crowds.

Ethiopia is incredible, please continue to pray for our team and our impact we may have for Christ. 

The Chase

It has been quite a while since I last really posted, I have had many ideas and topics which have been floating about but just haven't had much time to sit down and write it out. I however am writing now because I can't get an image out of my head and I just want to share it.

I'm not sure where it came from or why, but what I can't seem to get away from and just keep thinking and overwhelming myself with, is this image of chasing after God.

Now everyone has heard all the Bible references about the Christian walk being like a race that we run but for some reason  this image has just become real to me. I am running there is pain and exhaustion when I run it's not easy but the goal at the end of this race is God and that is worth all the side aches and shortness of breathe.

More specifically though I have just had this image of a child chasing his father. A child will do anything to reach his father but sometimes that child falls along the way. A child is not as stable on their feet as an adult it doesn't take much for them to trip. But what happens next is the greatest part. The child is met by his father and picked up and comforted before the chase again resumes.

This is the image I have been seeing in my own life and walk. I am striving so hard to get to the Father, but I trip and fall, I am not yet sure of foot. I still have a long way to grow. But I am not left in my pain and disgrace from having fallen God meets me where I am in the form of Jesus Christ who picks me up and offers comfort and direction. He points me to the Father so I can resume my chase after Him. The joy and prize of my faith.

I can do nothing but marvel at the grace of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

Ethiopia Trip

Scott Green

Moody Bible Institute

820 N. LaSalle Blvd.

Chicago, IL  60610

Dear Friends and Family,

The Moody Bible Institute men’s basketball team is on the verge of seeing God’s faithfulness at work in ways we could never imagine for ourselves.  He has opened a door for cross-cultural ministry through the use of basketball.

I am committed to making Jesus Christ known to the world.  As a member of the Moody Bible Institute men’s basketball team I make that commitment to the team and humbly before God.  Through our team, we desire to encourage believers and communicate our love for Jesus Christ.

We are looking forward to seeing God work this spring.  In mid-March, Innovative Missions Opportunities (IMO) has invited us to come to Ethiopia to minister to local national families and individuals.  The goal of IMO is to bring the gospel to parts of the world where the gospel has never been before.  We will be working alongside the missionaries to encourage and train the Ethiopian people in the Word of God, using sports as a ministry, and basketball.  We will be running clinics and encouraging them through Bible studies and worshipping with them.  In the times we are not running clinics, we will have opportunities to participate in various ministries throughout Ethiopia.  These might include sharing in churches, house churches, ministering with children, encouraging and supporting the local missionaries, and playing basketball games against Ethiopian teams.

We are looking for individuals to be involved with us as we prepare for this trip. If I can ask only one thing from you, I would ask that you shower our team and this trip with prayer. Specifically pray that God will do a mighty work in our lives and equip us for His service.  Also, ask God whether He would have you partner with us financially. Please pray that the Lord unites us as a group and prepares us for the task ahead.

I look forward to sharing the fruits of God’s ministry with you upon our return.  May God richly bless you.

Sincerely in Christ,

Scott Green

Please complete the Minisrty Trip Response Card and mail it directly to:

DRM Department- Moody Basketball Team/Ethiopia

Moody Bible Institute
820 N. La Salle
Chicago, IL 60610

                If you are participating financially, you may do so by check, payable to the Moody Bible Institute, or by credit card.  Tax-deductible receipts will be issued to all donors including the student.  The cost of the trip is $2500 per person.  This includes training, travel, and ministry expenses.  **In the event I do not go on the trip or I raise money over what is required, the money will be used to support similar missions’ projects and administrative expenses, and will be under the complete discretion and control of the Moody Bible Institute. Therefore your contribution is nonrefundable.

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

He Came Himself

Christmas has just come and gone and many of us took a bit of time to reflect on the coming of Jesus into the world. Christmas is so common place and the focus is not so much on Jesus anymore as it is "giving." We all go to church and sing the songs and then that is all the thinking we do, now onto the fun stuff. Yet, I listened to a sermon by David Platt a bit ago and he really helped to bring the focus back onto why we celebrate Christmas and it's not about the trees, decorations, giving, getting, or gaining 10 lbs in straight cookies. Our focus should be on Jesus and who He is.

Emanuel, God with us.

Think about that. Jesus is God on earth in flesh and blood. Even more crazy is the idea that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He was able to fully identify with us as human beings and be infinitely valuable so as to be able to bear the sin of the entire world. God is with sinful, evil, corrupted man. Not because we are anything special but because God is ultimately about God and that leads to love and grace for us.

In the words of David Platt, "What do you do with that? It just knocks you off your feet."

The us is the most crazy thing about Christmas. God with us.


Later in the sermon Platt gave an illustration that I thought was great when someone asks the question, Why? Why would God come to be with sinful man?

The illustration is this: Guys, when you prepare to marry your wife, do you go yourself or do you send some other guy to ask her to marry you? Of course you go yourself because it is your relationship with her. God did not send this messenger or that messenger, this prophet or that prophet, because in matters of love one must go himself.

"God has come for a sin stained world for sin stained men and women."

"He lived the life we could not live and died the death we deserved to die and then rose from the grave conquering the enemy we could not conquer."

This is the magnitude of what we should celebrate in the birth of Jesus Christ.

"In matters of love one must go himself." -David Platt

The Sickness of Fallen Man

Recently my attention has been drawn to Penn State University and the appalling scandal that is developing. An ex-defensive coordinator is being charged with something like 40 counts of child molestation, involving 8 boys that we know of and possibly dozens more. This person is currently out on bail living 1000ft from an elementary school. He started a charity for at risk children and as it turns out it is those, already at-risk children, that this man has been preying on. It is sick and terrible.

The worst part is that there have been countless number of people who had a chance to stop this man from ruining the lives of these children and their families and they did NOTHING.

There have been eyewitnesses that reported this to his coach who in turn reported it to the athletic director who did nothing. This AD is currently being prosecuted, but this begs the question why did this eyewitness do nothing to stop the man and protect that child or at the very least dial 911? Why did this legendary coach who is known for his morals not follow up on this incident or call the cops himself? Why was this man allowed on campus as early as last week, when this person was being investigated as early as 1998? And why were the charges dropped the first time (I believe it was in 2002 or it was '07) and simply given this sorry excuse for a man a slap on the wrist?

All these questions are being asked right now and it seems that reporters are only scratching the surface of the heinous cover up which is nearly as heinous as the actions of the man, because they allowed this man to continue to do as he pleased and ruin more lives.

All of this is only a pointer to how far we as human beings have fallen since the garden and how far we continue to fall can only be imagined, but no one wants to do that so acts like this continue to happen because humanity is turning a blind eye to it.

So the next question that needs to be asked is, "how can humanity stop this downward tailspin of sin and horrors?" The only answer that is sufficient is that we need a savior. Creating our own solutions throughout history has only ever added to mutation and then new ways for sin. As humanity we have a way of mutating every good thing God has ever given to us, food, marriage, health, wealth, etc. We need to be saved from ourselves.

And that is where the gospel comes in. This world needs to know about Jesus Christ who died for the sin of you and me, not for His own for He had none. But the greatest thing is that He has risen and in doing so defeated sin and death and only asks for us to believe upon Him to be saved that we might be "sons of God."

This Penn State scandal is reminding me more than ever that I have this gospel and must take it to a world who needs it, whether that be across the ocean or next door.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:14-15 )

All of humanity try's to cover up sin and offenses just like those involved at Penn State, but we as Christians are declared righteous and are being sanctified because of this gospel. Shall we not share the water of life to the world?  It is the sick that need a physician and that is Jesus who has passed us the medicine to care for the world, let us not fail Him.

Untuchable

                         

Think about the apostle Paul, what comes to mind?

Author, missionary, man of God, martyr, pillar of faith? Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village Church in Texas, would claim that the apostle Paul was untouchable.

Untouchable? surely not. Lets think about that list Paul gives us in 2 Corinthians 11:22-29

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

 Does that sound untouchable to you, beaten, flogged, imprisoned, shipwrecked, adrift at sea, danger from everyone? Where is it I see untouchable as being a characteristic of the apostle Paul?

First, If you threaten to kill him Paul says, "to die is gain." (Phil. 1:21). Paul is ready to die, in fact he almost can't wait to die in order that he might be in the presence of his Lord and savior Jesus Christ. "...My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." (Phil. 1:23)

Then, we decide to let him live, and Paul says, "for to me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21).

Well then we will beat you. And Paul will reply, "I am ready and welcome suffering for the sake of Christ." (Phil. 1:29)

Alright Paul then we won't kill you and just throw you in jail. Paul's response is alright I'll convert all the guards and most of the prisoners.

Paul is indeed untouchable. Lets go back to the 2 Corinthians passage, because before he lists off all these troubles, he says, "for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Cor. 4:17). Isn't that crazy? Paul sees flogging, beatings, shipwrecks, and being stoned and left for dead, as being light afflictions.

Why does the apostle Paul seem so untouchable, so free? Because he is so filled up by the gospel of Christ. That is how we become free and untouchable like Paul, we constantly go back to the gospel.

It is when we are willing to die that we will be able to truly live.