My Grown-Up Christmas List (Part 3)

So we've reached the last installment of my 3-part series motivated by the Christmas song "My Grown-Up Christmas List." In the previous post, I listed out 4 things the lyricist asks Santa for which God has already promised to satisfy. In this post I intend to offer some encouragement for Christians to be agents of change practically in this world.

My basis for offering this encouragement is the Gospel. If I don't lay this foundation then my encouragements will come across as guilt trips and fail to miss the crucial point that we need a new heart which only the Gospel supplies. If you work to improve social ills without the Gospel, then you will inevitably do it for your own self-satisfaction or to feel like your life has meaning. Your satisfaction needs to be established already by the Gospel in order to treat social ills correctly and to guard you from burning out.

So then, how does the Gospel function as the motivation for improving social conditions? Let me present three ways:

1. The mission of Christ's first coming was to become poor so that the spiritually impoverished could become rich.

2. The mission of Christ's first coming was to become broken so that the spiritually sick could become whole.

3. The mission of Christ's first coming was to become fatherless so that spiritual orphans could become the children of God.

Think about how you have been affected in each of those three categories by the work of Christ. Now, I'm not going to spend time treating those. For the Christian, I think you can understand where I'm getting them from. (Perhaps in the future I'll do a more thorough job with those points.) So with those three things in view, let's turn them into Gospel-motivated, tangible action.

1. Impoverishing Ourselves for the Poor
Poverty is a major influence on a number of other social issues: racism, child neglect, drug addiction, and starvation to name a few. The more that people gather in urban areas, the less autonomous they become. That is, since people in urban or suburban areas cannot grow their own food, milk their own cows, and dig a well for their own water, they must have currency to exchange for life's essentials. When a person does not have the power to earn enough money (due to either their own poor choices or uncontrollable circumstances) then they cannot get what they need to sustain life.

Poverty is becoming an increasing problem because the world is becoming more and more urbanized. And it is, in turn, promoting many other social ills. So what should Christians do?

Well to start, they should go to where people are hurting. This was Jesus' method. He saw our poverty and came to us. Through sin, we were spiritually poor, having nothing with which we could bring to God to show our worth. So Christ, came to us that He might give us His righteousness and turn our spiritual poverty into unparalleled gain. Dear brothers and sisters, make it a mission to bring people out of poverty, just as Christ has done for you! Does this mean you have to go half way around the world? Nope. I guarantee there are poor people suffering in a city near you.

Second, they should give their resources so that the poor might become satisfied. Christ spared nothing for our sakes. He gave up His status, His comfort, His home, His company, and His love so that we might experience all of those things. Are you willing, with overflowing joy, to do the same for others so that they may know the Christ which you proclaim? And even if they don't come to know Him, will you do it anyway out of gratitude to Christ?

2. Becoming Sick to Make Others Well
I won't spend too much time here because this can become kind of abstract. But, here is my basic point: are you willing to give your comfort and even your health for the sake of others? Caring for people who are sick is a tremendous burden and puts you at risk of becoming sick yourself. But do you value your health and your comfort so much that you would hold onto it when you could give it for the sake of others?

Isaiah 53:5 tells of the day when our healing came through His stripes. Jesus was made sick and cursed so that our souls could be healed and we could be blessed. What a great Savior! Out of love for Christ, let us give up our comforts so that we may comfort others!

3. Fathering the Fatherless
For those of you who know my vocation, you will understand how dear orphan care is to me. Even though God's adoption of Israel isn't explicit in the Old Testament, they are referred to as His children many times. In the New Testament, one of the blessings associated with salvation is that of adoption. This elevates those whom God has redeemed from more than mere slaves or servants who owe Him a debt, but it assigns them the status of beloved children. At one time God was not our father. But He gave His only biological (begotten) Son, so that He could have myriads of adopted sons and daughters.

There are 147 million global orphans. There are 423,000 children in U.S. foster care who either need temporary care from loving foster parents or an adoptive family. Will you consider caring for orphans so that you may lavish them with the same love that God has lavished upon you? It is a parable to the world of what God has done to enlarge His family.

--

My prayer, brothers and sisters, is that you love Christ. I pray that you continue to see the many facets of His great love with which He has loved you. But my prayer doesn't end there. I pray that the appreciation you have for Christ overflows in good deeds to those who cannot pay you back. Is that not what Christ has done? He has paid a debt that we could never pay, so that we could have eternal life that we don't deserve.

So when next Christmas comes around, don't ask Santa to fix the world. Trust that God will one day redeem it completely, and do what you can, with the power and influence you have, to enact change now. The poor, the sick, and the fatherless are in despair all year round. Don't wait until next Christmas to be charitable, start now.

May your increasing gratitude toward Christ produce an increase of self-sacrifical deeds toward suffering people!

My Grown-Up Christmas List (Part 2)

In my previous post, I brought to the table a Christmas song entitled "My Grown-Up Christmas List." The chorus of the song appeals to Santa for 4 essential things:

1. No more suffering
2. No more war
3. No more evil
4. Everlasting love

I made the point that this vision of society which the lyricist is asking Santa for has already been promised by one who is "much less fictional and way more powerful than Santa." I also brought up the point that people should be doing what they can, within their sphere of power and influence, to bring about the songwriter's requests without asking Santa.

This post is all about what God has in store regarding the end of suffering, war, evil, and His everlasting love. So allow me to take them point by point.

1. No More Suffering
Isaiah 51:10
"And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

Notice particularly the last part of this verse that goes "sorrow and sighing shall flee away." The imagery tells of suffering not merely ceasing, but it's hurried departure away from God's redeemed, joy-filled people. This would have been an exceptionally enticing picture to Isaiah's audience who would be experiencing exile. Because of suffering, we are all experiencing exile in some way. Our bodies, minds, and emotions were not designed to suffer and be burdened. We were originally designed for the Garden of Eden which entailed no such suffering physically, relationally, or emotionally. But now, people suffer in these ways constantly. This is not as it should be. Isaiah's prophecy pictures a day when this degeneration of the created order will be restored.

So why ask Santa for that which God has promised for His redeemed? Instead, find endurance for your suffering in the hope of God's coming restoration. Find satisfaction in the the reality that Jesus became a "man of sorrows" so that you would have sorrow no more.

Matthew 5:3-4
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

2. No More War
Isaiah 2:4
"He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

When God's final rule extends to the whole earth, those who make war will turn their implements into tools for tilling the land. Instead of fighting, people will be farming. They will be engaging in an activity which makes use of our natural resources and promotes human thriving. This is juxtaposed to war which uses natural products to make weapons which crush human lives and deny humans the ability to flourish.

Why again, would you ask Santa to cease all war? Is he powerful enough to do that? Instead, find solace in the fact that Jesus made the greatest act of war against our true enemies at the cross. And, all praise to God, He defeated them for our sakes!

Colossians 2:15
"He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Christ]."

3. No More Evil
Jeremiah 3:17
"At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart."

In this passage evil is portrayed as a condition instead of a force. The actions which cause the suffering and war which plague the world come out of people whose hearts are diseased by evil. God promises, that in this day, people will no longer be bound to their evil hearts. This is because God will give them a new heart and will put His Spirit in them so that they will gladly walk in His ways (Ezk. 36:26-27). Then we will no longer hurt and oppress one another, but we will delight in the delight of others as we worship God together.

Can Santa give you a new heart so that you are no longer fundamentally evil? Christ, through His death and resurrection, has secured for you a new heart and sent His Spirit to you. God will finalize all of this in days to come.

4. Everlasting Love
Psalm 103:17
"But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him..."

The love that we exhibit toward one another is typically motivated by self-interest or obligation. This is distinct from God's love which proceeds from His character, not from an external pressure. God is love and God is eternal. Therefore, His saving, covenantal love is an everlasting love which has no condition. He loves you and saves you because He has loved you from eternity past. We do tend to think of His past love, but what about His future love? Since it is everlasting, that means His love will be showered on His children for eternity to come. What a great future God has in store for those who love Him!

Can Santa bless you with everlasting love and acceptance? Well, he doesn't ever really promise those things because they aren't within his power. He promises gifts which will satisfy you for an infinitesimally small amount of time. In fact, they normally just whet your insatiable appetite for more material goods. And they won't satisfy your need for absolute love and acceptance which can only be found in the eternal love of God. And that love comes because God doled out the penalty for your failures and sin on His Son, Jesus Christ. What an infinitely greater gift then the dissatisfying material goods that you received today!

Romans 8:38-39
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I hope and pray that your heart finds such comfort in what God intends to do with this broken world that we live in. His plan and purposes are for our good and are all towards restoration. God is not simply going to burn this world to the ground, He is going to restore it to its former splendor in which no terrible thing will ever happen again. In the next post, I want to explore the responsibility that we who have been redeemed have in the restoration that can begin now.

Merry Christmas!

My Grown-Up Christmas List (Part 1)

There's a fairly popular Christmas song out there called "Grown-Up Christmas List." Perhaps you've heard it? It was written in 1990 by David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner, but didn't get much attention. Then in 1992, Amy Grant covered it, adding a verse. Her version received much more acclaim than Foster and Thompson-Jenner's. It has since been remade by a plethora of popular artists. The version I am most familiar with, and the one which I prefer, is Michael Bublé's from his 'Let it Snow' EP.

I enjoy the music itself as well as the sentiment expressed in the lyrics. The author is speaking in first-person to Santa, recalling the days of sitting on Santa's knee making requests. Now the author has come back, as an adult, to give Santa her new Christmas list. Instead of listing off the material items she wants, the author selflessly asks Santa for a total social and cultural restoration throughout the world. Here's how the chorus goes:

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

As I previously noted, the song does carry a great sentiment and I would hope that most people desire the above-mentioned things. The problem is that the author is asking Santa.

Now, I know what you'll say: "Dustin, the author understands that Santa isn't real. She is just trying to express her desire for the world to be a better place in a poetic fashion."

To which I would reply: "Yes of course."

But two issues still remain for me:

1. Didn't someone much less fictional and way more powerful than Santa already promise those things?
2. How can you begin to bring about that kind of restoration with the power and influence you have?

Consider these two questions for a moment. I will be giving my thoughts on each in a couple of upcoming posts.

My encouragement for you, dear reader, is to help this song come to life by doing something selfless for someone who can't pay you back this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!
-Dustin

The Remarkable Trust of Mary

Luke 1:38:
"Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her."

Consider Mary's statement for a moment. Well actually, let's first consider what has led up to this statement by Mary.

The angel Gabriel, who is God's personal messenger, is sent to bring Mary some exciting and very troubling news. The exciting news is that Mary has been picked by God to give birth to the Savior of the world. The bad news is that she is going to get pregnant outside of wedlock. It would look like Mary had been promiscuous. This had a number of consequences:
-Her engagement is broken along with her fiance's heart
-Her whole family is disgraced
-Her family disowns her
-Her community hates her
-She is stoned (Dt. 22:23-24) resulting in her death and the baby's death
-If they somehow weren't stoned, then the child would be ridiculed his entire life for being born out of debauchery

So NOW consider Mary's response to Gabriel in light of these potential consequences of her miraculous pregnancy. Observe three things that Mary understands deeply:
1. God is sovereign and will work things out
2. God is powerful and can do whatever He decides He wishes to
3. God is good and whatever He decides to do is good

This story should bring you to have the same kind of trust as Mary. It's unlikely that your trials are as intense as hers, but you may be struggling and suffering. Know that God is sovereign, powerful, and good. The inevitable result will be the same trust and submission to Him as Mary.

May you know God richly and trust Him deeply!

So What is Christianity Anyway?

To the Christian and Non-Christian alike: what do you think Christianity is?

Let me offer some possible answers that you may identify with:

1. Membership in the Republican party (and avid watcher of Fox News)
2. Unscientific and illogical
3. Gay-bashing
4. Pro-life
5. Church attendance
6. Racism
7. Creationism
8. Home-schooling
9. Fire and brimstone
10. Intolerance

If you identify any of those things as the essential nature of Christianity then there is only one word to describe your perspective: wrong.

I say this not in a critical or harsh way, but that you may know the truth of the matter. Allow me to describe, as briefly as possible, the essential nature of the Christian faith and hide this in your heart for future reference:

God is holy. Humans are evil. God judges evil harshly. Humans are in danger of God's coming judgment. Jesus comes to pay the humans' penalty. God pours out His eternal hatred of evil and His judgment against it on Jesus instead of humans. Those humans who don't repent and trust in Jesus perish according to their rejection of God's offer of pardon. They will die forever. Those humans who repent of their sin and put their complete trust in Christ are spared from God's wrath. These people are Christians. They treasure Jesus, worship God, walk according to the Spirit, and are sent out to share this good news with the rest of the world. They will live forever beholding the glory of their Lord with full delight in Him.

Let me now share ten contrasts to the above ten things that you should see in Christians as a result of God's mercy on them:

1. They honor and pray for every government official (1 Tim. 2:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:17)
2. They know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge (Eph. 3:19)
3. They understand that they have offended God just like every other human and desire that all other sinners be saved and come to a saving knowledge of Christ (1 Tim. 2:3-4)
4. They contend for the lives of unborn children since no child is a mistake regardless of the circumstances of that child's conception (Ps. 22:10, 82:3)
5. They delight to be with other Christians encouraging one another (Heb. 10:24-25)
6. They see all humans as equally created in God's image and they know that in heaven there will be folks from every "tribe and language and people and nation" (Gen 1:27; Rev. 5:9)
7. They know that God has created everything which exists (Isa. 40:28; Jn. 1:3)
8. They realize that no matter which mode of schooling Christian parents choose for their children, they are charged with raising them up in the "discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4)
9. They understand the reality of hell and eternal punishment and so they proclaim the way of salvation through Christ so that people may know Christ and live forever to the praise of God's glorious grace (Mt. 25:41; Rom. 10:17)
10. They know that there is no other name by which people can be saved than the name of Christ (Acts 4:12)

To the Non-Christian:
Please hear me when I say that you must put your trust in Christ to be saved! This is not some religious invite to be a part of my club. This is what God demands from you: put your faith in His Son so that you may be spared from His righteous anger against you for your sins. He will lavish you with grace and He will become your supreme treasure in this life and the life to come!

To the Christian:
Ditch any measure of identity that you find in the first ten things I listed. They will not save you, nor do they please God. What pleases God is Christ, so be found in Him. Think about the Good News as often as you can, love God with all that you are, and give your life so that people may come to know the Savior.

"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 1:24-25

With love and grace,
-Dustin

The Father's Delight

During a time of prayer this week, God spoke to me deeply about His fatherly love. Since I consider myself to be somewhat of an intellectual and care about “theological accuracy”, I find myself struggling with a critical heart towards other pastors, worship leaders, etc. It is all too easy for me to want to criticize and look down on other Christians because they sing songs that are not right, or pastors preach messages that don't measure up to the theology I subscribe to. But Praise be to God that He doesn't allow me to continue thinking that way!

He gave me a picture as I was praying. He said,

"Dustin, pretend you are a father. Your 5-year old son writes you a letter about how much he loves you. Words are spelled wrong, every 'E' is backwards, and the grammar is terrible. What matters to you? Does it drive you crazy that his English is poor? Or are you so moved by that little boy's act of love, that you don't care about the misspellings and bad grammar? You are just so overjoyed that your child loves you and that he wanted you to know that he loves you. That's how I feel. My kids will never get it completely right while they are on earth. Sure, as they get older, I will correct their grammar. But my main concern is that they love me and that they are willing to show it."

I was so humbled by this picture. I still am not sure how to adequately express how I feel. I want to rejoice with God when His children worship Him, even if it's a little off! I want to be one of His children that worships Him, even though I know my ways are imperfect and in need of refining. I trust that God will continue to be a faithful Father who corrects my poor “theological grammar.” I also know that He finds satisfaction in me, and all of His kids, right now as we are bumbling about. He is such a good and gracious Father. I am praying that God puts this compassion in me as I move closer to starting a family and being a father.

May our Heavenly Father grant you a greater understanding of His steadfast love!

The Miraculous Christian Life

This week I have been drawn to the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. One of the passages I came across in my Bible reading was the story in Acts 20 of Paul raising Eutychus from the dead. This is the somewhat comical pericope where Paul is speaking until midnight and Eutychus falls alseep listening to him. He was seated on a third story window and tumbled out backwards to his death. Luke specifically writes that he was “taken up dead.” Paul goes down, cradles Eutychus in his arms, and assures the others that “his life is still in him.”

This miracle was not wrought by Paul. He has no inner ability to miraculously resurrect another human from death. Instead, God uses an extended and boring speech by Paul as an opportunity to display His awesome power. What a powerful and capable God we serve! Whatever He wishes to do, He is able to do.

If we fast forward to today, we do still hear tales of miracles happening. In third world countries I catch reports of miraculous happenings pouring in regularly. In America, the number seems to be staggeringly less. We only hear about them from Pentecostals and they are largely disregarded by the majority of other Christian groups.

My goal here is not to criticize “intellectual” Christians or to criticize the more “experiential” Christians. However, I would like to say, that I think we should see more miracles in the churches of Southern California. I do not think we should get together just to perform miracles, but I do think we should pray for and expect them. Miracles were a part of the Christian life in the Bible. Jesus would go and heal large groups of sick people (see Mark 6:53-56). He was out and about healing regularly. In Acts, it is the same way. Miracles are part of the Christian culture.

Now, I understand that miracles do not create faith (Luke 16:30-31). I also know that we cannot “make miracles happen”. But we are children of the God who can! And miracles do serve an important role. In Matthew 9:6 Jesus explains that He is healing so that they will know He has the authority to forgive sins. We need miracles so that Jesus' authority to forgive sins will be displayed!

In my view, it is a “you do not have because you do not ask” scenario. I am reminded constantly of how I do not ask God for things. I wonder why my church isn't growing, why I can't find a job, why my family members aren't saved, etc. It's good that I think about those things, but I typically never ask God to do anything about it! Now, I am wondering why we don't see many miracles in our churches today. Well, I guess I'll start asking...

May our capable God reveal to you His supernatural power so that all people will know He has the authority to forgive sins!

Seeing the Big Picture

"Origen’s overriding concern was to allow the whole Bible to speak for itself, whatever a single text may seem to say, for when the Bible speaks it speaks for God who inspired it." -Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language

Origen (185-254) was a great teacher in the early years of the church. The quote about him above from Bruce Shelley contains a great principle about Bible reading and study. Too many times we get caught up in petty disagreements about passages because we do not treat individual texts with the framework of the whole Bible in mind.

I pray that we would all not be hasty in our interpretation of difficult passages. Let us read and read and read! Think of passages in terms of what God is teaching us through the whole revelation of the Bible. This will help bring many odd texts into clearer focus.

May the Holy Spirit grant you understanding, wisdom, and growth as you study the word of God!

God's Aboveness and Closeness

This week I have been caught up with the transcendence of God. This was inspired in large part by my daily Bible readings taking me through the account of the building of Solomon’s Temple in 2 Chronicles. One verse struck me the most: “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!” (2 Chronicles 6:18). I love the juxtaposition that this verse creates. Solomon creates a Temple for the Lord but then wonders out loud if God can actually dwell in it. He recognizes that he has created this house for God, but in all reality the God that he created it for cannot be contained in it.

The incredible thing to me is that God does indeed dwell with man on the earth! Even though He is so great that He is greater than the heavens, He does make His dwelling place among people. He did it in the Tabernacle while Israel was in the wilderness, then He inhabited this Temple built by Solomon, and now He dwells in the midst of the Church. Only a God as transcendent as ours could make Himself immanent and personal. He walked among the people of Israel (Lev. 26:12), He walked among people as Jesus Christ (John 1:14), and now the Church is the Temple of the Living God (2 Cor. 6:16).

Then, where this really hits home, is that this same God that Solomon writes of, regards me individually. I am known by Him intimately, personally, and relationally. This is the truth that I cannot hope to every truly comprehend. The one, true, powerful, mighty, glorious, and gracious God of the universe knows and loves Dustin Smetona. May that truth never lose its power!

I pray that you would know God's greatness, how high above you He is. I also pray that you would know His nearness and His great compassion that He pours out on sinners like us! Blessings to you in Christ Jesus!

Helping the Hopeless

With the recent tragedy in Haiti, all of us are made somewhat aware of how bad some humans have it in the world. Some would say that Haiti got what it deserved (I am not one of those people). Others would see the plight of the Haitians and be moved with compassion to help those who have been displaced, who don't have the bare necessities, or who have been orphaned by the disaster. We must all understand that the Haitians are 100% in need of foreign help. Even if you are a hard-hearted jerk and think they deserved what happened, you must realize that there are thousands of people who were faultless. Yeah, you could blame the government for not being ready, but there are still thousands of people utterly dependent upon the kindness of others and hopeless unless someone helps them without any hope of repayment.

For those of you who are Christians, if you haven't given financially to the crisis in Haiti, then I would beg you to go to http://churcheshelpingchurches.com/ and donate to their cause. Pastors Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald are working to help the Christians in Haiti. Read what they are up to, pray about it, and give. If you don't give to them, then give to somebody over there. It doesn't need to be much, just give what pleases you to help other Christians.

This tragedy is awful, but there are other tragedies in the world that are much more sustained than this earthquake or the tsunamis or Hurricane Katrina. The one which breaks my heart the most is the sex trade. There are millions of women and children taken into slavery to be used as sexual objects for men with money. Here's an article that will give you a little bit of insight into the sex trade in Thailand: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=12616

Why is all of this important? As a Christian, kindness to the downtrodden paints a distinct theological picture. When we respond to people's suffering with help, care, and love we show the world our God. Our God seeks out the weak and poor in spirit and makes those people His children and heirs of His kingdom. Being weak and poor in spirit is not dependent upon socioeconomic level. Every human is bound to sin and wickedness. We all need the mercy of God to rescue us from that pit. When His redeemed people go about showing tangible love and grace by giving and helping, we declare that God has treated us with great love and grace.

One final note: it is easy for us to get caught up in social work and leave the gospel behind. The most important part about social work is ministering Christ to people. What do starving, homeless, parentless kids in Haiti need more than food, water, and shelter? They need Christ. We must allow Christ to satisfy their physical needs through His people in order to show that Christ will also satisfy their souls eternally.

May the Lord bless you all as you go out and minister to the broken!

God Rejects Natural Selection

"The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."
-Psalm 9:9

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation."
-Psalm 68:5

"The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed."
-Psalm 103:6

"The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."
-Isaiah 29:19

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?"
-Isaiah 58:6

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
-James 1:27

I quote all of these verses to show one thing: God cares deeply for those who are oppressed, abused, and exploited. Jesus taught this principle as the first "Beatitude" when He said "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." Those who have absolutely nothing, who are destitute and abandoned. Those who have no hope and who cry out for God's rescue. Those are the ones whom God loves most. He restores pitiful wretches so that "what is weak in the world" may "shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).

This flies in the face of the Darwinian understanding of "natural selection." Now, on some level, I do believe that natural selection is true. The weak do die off if they are not cared for. But, God does not hold the view that we should simply let the weak dissipate because they are a nuisance and a burden. Instead, He implores us to care for them. And He, Himself, promises to take care of them! Read the above verses for proof of that.

Brothers and sisters, we are all weak, blind, naked, and poor (Rev. 3:17). Yet, God has loved us so much that He restores us in Christ. Even when we were unable to help ourselves, He helped us. And our newfound responsibility is to go and do likewise to others. When we do, we will reveal the character and the glory of God! God Almighty personally cares for the widows, orphans, poor, sick, and crippled. When we act like Him, we reveal to the world who He is. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17).

I pray that the Spirit would convict us to be mindful of the poor, the oppressed, the exploited, the marginalized, the widows, and the orphans that are among us. May God grant them grace, truth, and love through His church.

Glory Reveals Sin

"And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'"
-Luke 5:6-8

Many of us remember this particular short story. This is a segment of the occasion where Jesus tells Peter to go back out and drop his nets, even though Peter insists that they have fished all night with no results. Peter agrees and ends up almost taking down two boats because the amount of fish was so great.

This story is an amazing witness to Jesus' command over nature. It magnifies His divine nature. What I find to be so interesting is actually Peter's response to the miracle. Notice that Peter does not say: "Wow Jesus, you're amazing!" Instead, he tells Jesus to get away from him because he is a "sinful man."

A striking truth rises to the surface from this story. This truth being that the glory of God reveals the pitiful state of humans. In Psalm 8:3-4, after the psalmist gazes at the magnitude of God's creation in the heavens, he is astounded at how God would even be "mindful" of mankind. God is so awesome, as His creation reveals. And against that background, mankind is so insignificant.

Yet, we make so much of ourselves don't we? We glory in our technologies, our intellect, our possessions, our empires, our wealth. But we don't glory in God, we don't delight in our Maker. Read again the verse I have listed at the top of this blog. Paul is saying that his desire is that his readers would have "ample cause" to "glory in Christ Jesus."

Look back up at this verse from Luke 5 and ask yourself a question: did Jesus come to do miracles? If so, what were His miracles for? The answer comes just a few verses later in Luke 5:24. Jesus explains that He is healing the paralytic so that those around may know that He has the authority to forgive sins. That's why He does miracles! So that all may know that He can forgive sins!

In light of that, Peter's response to Jesus' miracle is rather appropriate. When Christ completes His miracle, Peter is ruined by how sinful He is compared to Christ's holiness. Now Peter's heart is softened and Jesus can speak forgiveness and peace to Him.

Brothers and sisters, I pray that the miracles of Jesus would continue. I know that Christ uses miracles to bring sinners like Peter (and the rest of us) to repentance and faith in Him. I pray that the church would walk in Christ's power to heal the sick and cast out demons. However, I also pray that those miracles would not be our focal point. Above all we must proclaim the Gospel in such a way that sinners may come to Christ truly. If our end is not to glorify Christ and His cross, then the means we use are pointless before we even start.

May God grant us power, through His Spirit, to spread the heart-, mind-, and soul-changing Gospel of truth!

Our RIghteousness, Hope, and Peace

"For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham."
-Luke 3:8b (ESV)

In this passage, John the Baptist is making a strong point that people are not justified by their bloodline. This reasoning was used by the Jews to show that they were the people of God. However, John the Baptist makes the same point that Jesus does in John 8:39 when He is responding to this same mentality. Jesus tells the Jews in John 8 that if they were of Abraham they would be doing the same works that Abraham did. What then is the work that Jesus calls people to do? Jesus makes the answer clear enough in John 6:29: "Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.'" Back in Luke 3, John the Baptist commands his audience to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance."

This establishes a clear connection in my mind. When we believe in Christ, we repent of our sins and cast ourselves upon His mercy. This act of repentance and casting ourselves upon Christ's mercy is not a one-time deal, we do it continually. Christ has established and upholds our new covenant with God (Luke 22:20, 1 Cor. 11:25, Heb. 8:1-7) being our continual Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). Since He continues to intercede, we continue to repent (Jam. 5:16) and be transformed by the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). What an incredible work our Lord has done and continues to do! May our response of humble submission show His perfection, glory, and majesty!

Let me end by circling back to the issue of bloodlines. The mentality of these Jews has not escaped our culture. There are plenty of us who find our justification in church attendance, Sunday school, charitable deeds, and financial giving. We are not justified before God by any of those things! GOD JUSTIFIES. Remember, He can justify stones if He wants to! If we do good works without Christ then we are still in danger of God's wrath. They accomplish nothing for us. But, Christ has accomplished incredible things for us. It is through Him alone that we are justified and considered righteous before God. Do those good works because Christ has done such a great work for you and in you. Let us proclaim boldly along with the writer of this hymn, Robert Lowry:

"This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

Praise to you, Jesus Christ, for making us righteous before God!

Savoring Christ in 2010

Well here we are in the second day of 2010. A decade has passed and another begins. We have all encountered different experiences, trials, triumphs, and losses. Some of us feel like we know exactly what to expect this upcoming year and some of us are in utter despair because we have no idea what is coming. Some of us are excited because we need a new start and some of us wish that 2009 would never end. For all of us, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 still rings true. We are all in a season understanding that there is "a time for every matter under heaven..." All the "matters" that needed to be addressed this last year have been addressed, and now we look to the new "matters" of this next year.

The "matters" I have to look forward to addressing in 2010 are many. They include finishing my bachelor's degree, involvement in a healthcare chaplaincy, getting a full-time job, finding a place to live, potentially getting married, starting seminary, and continuing to serve my church. I am excited about all these things, even though I understand that along with them comes a million or so details to work out.

Most of all, I'm so thankful for the God that has adopted me as His son. I realize that no matter which "matters under heaven" are being addressed, the Lord and His care for me will never change. It brings me such great joy to proclaim with the psalmist that "your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness." Reflecting on this last year and thinking forward to this next year has reminded me so specifically of God's steadfast love and faithfulness to me personally. And not only to me, but I know that God has been "showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments" (Deut. 5:10).

Brothers and sisters, I pray that you enjoy God this upcoming year. I pray that you rejoice in Christ because of the salvation He has brought to you! Delight in Him and allow His love and faithfulness to remain in your sight. Make seeking Him your ultimate goal for 2010. He will never fail or falter in His faithfulness to you.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." -Ephesians 1:3-4