Thoughts on Scripture and life
for the glory of Jesus Christ
Reflections on Work Life
For me, adjusting from college life to work life was hard. It took me four months to wake up in the morning on a weekday and not immediately think, "Lord, I really don't want to go to work today." And that was with a no-stress training period, an understanding manager, and absolutely nothing to complain about.
Why? Why did I have such a difficult time? It would not be an oversimplification to say my grief was due to my poor theology of work. I didn't think rightly about work because I had a wrong framework for working as a Christian. Sure, I had thought about it a few times in the context of school, but I had not figured out how to glorify God with my life when most of my waking hours are spent doing inherently 'unspiritual' things. I needed a better understanding of Scripture.
The Theory of Relativity
Few other theories in physics come close to the stunning beauty, and revolutionary nature, as Einstein's. We can no longer describe physical phenomenon in absolute terms and call ourselves accurate; instead everything must be described in terms of relativity.
But the idea of relativity didn't stay in the cosmos. It came to Earth. Modern man has brought Einstein's theory of general relativity from the realm of physics into metaphysics, from science into philosophy. The zeitgeist, or spirit of the times, can be summarized in the term "moral relativism."
Satisfied in You - The Sing Team
Why are you downcast, oh my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
I can remember when You showed Your face to me
As a deer pants for water so my soul thirsts for You
And when I behold Your glory You so faithfully renew
Like a bed of rest for my fainting flesh
I am satisfied in You
Ephesians 2:10 — Saved Unto Good Works
How shall we respond to the gospel of this grace? As those who have been forgiven much, we are to love much! The Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke 7:47, "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Indeed, the mark of a Christian is someone who loves God (Eph 6:24). Now then, as those who love God, because God loved us first, what shall we do? How shall we respond to this great love?
Good works. Grace-motived, God-entranced, faith-fueled, Spirit-empowered, good works.
A Philosophy of the Christian Life
What is the Christian life?
Surely, it is more than the activities that fill the time and events that occupy the calendar. Scripture reading, prayer, service, fellowship, and acts of love are of the utmost importance, but being a Christian is more than the sum of those parts.
How To: Read the Bible
God wrote a Book. It is the very Word of God, God's perfect message from His own mouth through His servants for His people. By His Word, God unveils the mystery of the universe, unfolds His plans hidden from before time began, prophecies the end from the beginning, secures His everlasting promises, calls His elect from death unto life, equips His Church for the work of service, damns the unrepentant to their doom, and seals the fate of the world.
Ignorance's False Hope and False Faith
John Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress is a must-read for every Christian. Although Bunyan wrote in the 17th century, his characterization of people within the world is uncannily accurate. Herein is helpful wisdom for every saint navigating to the Heavenly Kingdom.
Below is the story of Ignorance, and his tragically false assurance of salvation. He stands for every religious person too ignorant to know that he is lost. Oh Lord, open the eyes of the blind.
Ephesians 2:8-9 — Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Soli Deo Gloria
In the 1500s, God brought about a Reformation of the Christian world: the true gospel was set free from the corrupt Catholic religion and the Word of God was unleashed to save and sanctify once again. As the movement developed, the Reformers came to agree on five central tenets, which we now call the Solas of the Reformation:
- Solus Christus: Christ alone. Jesus Christ is the only mediator of salvation between God and man — not the pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, or kings. Christ alone is the head of His Church, and what He says and does trumps the authority of men.
- Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone. God's Word alone is the final and highest authority, trumping church tradition and ecclesiological decree.
- Sola Gratia: By grace alone. Grace alone is the means of salvation. God is not inclined to save because of anything inherent to man; He saves for His purposes, by His mercy, alone.
- Sola Fide: By faith alone. Salvation is through faith alone — not through the works or merit of man. Good deeds contribute nothing to a sinner's justification, and no amount of indulgences (buying certificates to get less time in purgatory) will change that fact.
- Soli Deo Gloria: To the glory to God alone. God alone deserves glory in all things. He alone deserves reverence and worship — not the pope, not the venerable saints, not icons, not relics.
Ephesians 2:7 — The Glorious Grace of God
If you're a Christian who has tasted the depths of God, the wonders of His love, and the glories of His character in the face of Christ, you ain't seen nothing yet.
To Every Man Who Will Die
Let us not have to say in a hesitating way one to another, "I trust he is happy; he talked so nicely one day; and he seemed so pleased with a chapter in the Bible on another occasion; and he liked such a person, who is a good man."
To the Church of God in America
Blessed are you, O Church of God, when you are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for yours is the kingdom of heaven! Blessed are you when people persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you — hypocrite, bigot, homophobe — because of Jesus Christ. Rejoice! Be glad! For your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
"Homosexual Marriage" in America
Today, June 26th, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. You may find these resources helpful.
Ephesians 2:6 — New Life and True Life
It wouldn't take much to prove Christianity wrong.
Any atheist, any evolutionist, any Jew, any religionist knows it. If I were them, and I were to set out to prove that Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, etc. were all a lie, I would go for the jugular. I would go for the one thing upon which all of Christianity stands, the one thing which validates all other hopes, the one claim of the Bible, about which all other truths orbit.
For if I could show that this one thing, that one doctrine, were not true, it would prove definitively, once and for all, that Jesus Christ and everything associated with Him, was a sham, a myth, a lie.
What is that doctrine? It's not the literal six-day creation. It's not the coming judgment of the world. It's not the existence of miracles. It's not the existence of Satan. It's not hell.
It's the resurrection - the real, literal, bodily, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Where Were You - Ghost Ship
"God, I do not understand this world
Everything is dying and broken
Why do I see nothing but suffering?
"God, I'm asking could this be Your plan?
Sin has taken hold of this whole land
Will You not say anything else to me?"
Throwback: Good Friday
And with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last, bowed His head, and yielded up His spirit.
Words are Always Necessary
"Preach the Gospel at all times; use words if necessary" is a stupid quote. Preach the Gospel at all times; it requires words.
We Need the Word of God
After showing that the Church, from it's conception in the first century even to the modern day, has always believed that the Bible is the Word of God, B.B. Warfield asks the question, "Why? Why is it that Christians have always believed that the Word says, God says?" ...Of all doctrines that the Bible teaches, why has this truth stood with such fierce tenacity from the very beginning? B.B. Warfield explains.
Heaven's Humility
Pleading Evangelism: A Definition From Key Examples
Evangelism needs pleading — words spoken in such a way as to affect the will through the heart. In this post, I want to give a few key examples from the Scriptures of pleading, that we would understand what pleading evangelism is. This post has two sections: an example of pleading with God, and examples of pleading with sinners.
Do You Love Your Jesus?
…Love to the Lord Jesus Christ is no hidden, secret, impalpable thing. It is like the light — it will be seen. It is like sound — it will be heard. It is like heat — it will be felt. Where it exists it cannot be hid. Where it cannot be seen you may be sure there is none.