Looking Back

I am sitting here writing this long awaited post at the conclusion of 3 years working on my D.Min degree from Southern Evangelical Seminary. It has been a great journey in which I have come to understand that God has gifted us all with, as Luke puts it, “many convincing proofs” concerning the person and redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ. I have been strengthened in my resolve through the use of apologetics, but have also learned another lesson concerning the faith to which I now even more strongly hold . I have learned that the Spirit that lives within me is by far the greatest witness of the truth of the gospel message.

In Psalm 145:3 it states, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.” Some translations use the phrase ‘ is unsearchable’ for ‘no one can fathom’. The image is that God is beyond human comprehension. We dare not as finite beings attempt to speak of the infinite as if we have somehow grasped even a shadow of His true glory. We know but in part and only that which He has chosen to reveal. He is infinite perfection and boggles the minds of any who think that they have bested Him.

As an infinite being, He is self-existent. His Word goes unbroken from the minute it was spoken. Man may write books refuting His existence, but the truth of the matter is, they simply cling to their own wishes. They may claim that His truth cannot be proven but their logic smells of contradictions. Accountability is what they fear and so they commit the oldest of sins. Their pride betrays them and labels them the as the ‘fool who says there is no God.” I tire of people who hold up the New Atheists as being men of knowledge. Shall we define as knowledgeable those who foolishly deny what is most reasonable?

Aquinas once stated, “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” Why is this the case? The faithful do not require that they have all the answers for the mysteries of God. They only rejoice in the ones that He has chosen to reveal and in them they find more than enough proof. Their spirit is at ease because they have tasted the truth of God and know it is more than sufficient. Would it change the heart of a man who refuses to believe if God were to appear right before him. The answer is likely ‘no’. For me apologetics helps to clear the path so that the gospel may do its work. It is reasonable faith but man may deny the planting of the seed.

Apologetics is a powerful tool for intellectual doubt, but it has its limits. It is up to us to help clear the way for the gospel and it is up to man to clear his own mind from volitional or emotional blocks to the planting.

At the conclusion of my D.Min journey, I have come to understand that the education and preparation is only really beginning!:)

The Gospel Made Clear

This is a powerful portrayal of the extent of the gospel message. It is far more than breaking the chains of sin. It is unleashing and empowering us for the mission. This video shows us that the gospel message is that God has paid the penalty, provided a purpose and prepares us for battle. We are called to engage this world as ambassadors of the King. This video clip will remind us that we are saved for a purpose. The prison chains are broken and the prison door is open….

The Heart Cannot Exalt in What the Mind Rejects

“The heart cannot exalt in what the mind rejects.”- Stephen Myer. My studies in Christian Apologetics have caused me to think a lot about the relationship between reason and faith. I understand clearly that some see a tension between the two. But I have learned that reason is not in opposition to faith. As I look throughout the Bible, I see intentionality in the narrative. I see God revealing Himself in such a way that a reasoning mind can grasp His revealed truths. If God is the source of all things then He is also the source of logic and reason. These concepts are defined by Him as well. All truth flows from the Creator and is defined according to His understanding and not ours. Is it therefore unreasonable to believe that God can perform miracles which some see as a suspension of reason. The fact is that some try to set limits on reality based on their preunderstandings. Simply understood, God is Reason and He defines its parameters. What we may see as suspension of reason may in reality be God working within the fullness of reason. So, when our finite minds reject what we believe is outside the realm of reality maybe we might just be using too limiting of a definition.

Loss of the Metanarrative

Postmodernism is a word we hear a lot of today. When you ask people what it means, you might just get some odd stares. By postmodern , I am not talking about architecture, art, or interior design. I am talking about a breakdown in reality. A denial of any unifying story or a cessation of the search for any universal truth. Postmodernism results in a redefinition of truth itself. In many ways, it is a response to the modernist appeal to empirical means as the only way of obtaining knowledge of the world. Postmodernists have a suspicious nature. Truth claims are seen as ways of holding power over people. No metanarrative or grand story can possibly hold sway over all people. The Christian metanarrative is suspect so is the metanarratives of any other belief system. There is no standard to guide us and there is no foundational core to humanity. There is no big picture. For a postmodern, experience is the key to finding truth and that truth is subjective. Imposing any one metanarrative on society is seen as a struggle for control or as intolerant.

But what happens when the postmodern attempts to live by these standards? Simple, they don’t live by them. Everyone has a worldview that they live by. And the truth is, they expect others to accept it too. Ideologies like this fail because they can’t be lived out consistently. When we go against first principles of logic, soon something has to give.

The Christian metanarrative forms a foundation for belief and a unifying structure that can be consistently followed because it is based on truth. It is based on a truth that corresponds with reality as it truly is not necessarily as we wish it to be. The search then is to find a metanarrative that corresponds with truth. In the Christian metanarrative, we see a 3-fold progression. Creation-Fall of Man- Redemption. These form a structure upon which the metanarrative of Christianity is based. Many accuse those that follow Christianity of power plays. They charge that the Christian metanarrative neglects the marginalized in our society. This is far from true. The Christian metanarrative calls for us to place others before ourselves and to care for the widows and orphans. The metanarrative is not flawed though some followers of it may fail to follow it in truth. Never judge the whole of something by the bad examples of it.

My appeal to you is this. Look into the metanarrative of Chrisianity and see if it speaks to the truth of what exists in our reality. Does it form a structure of truth that addresses the real needs of mankind.? Does it paint a picture of who we truly are? If it does, then why not heed to its truth. Without a metanarrative of truth, man is left to just form their own opinions. What if there is a purpose to this life? Wouldn’t you want to know what that truth is?

Hillsong Kiev- From the Inside Out- Russian

Not sure why, but my mind has been on Belarus and my friends there. When I was there, I sang in a Russian Christian band and loved every minute of it. I miss dearly singing in such a beautiful language. Found this on Youtube from Hillsong. Hope you enjoy it.

Balance Beam Christians

It is interesting how we often tell people to be safe and not take any risks when all we seem to hear concerning the early disciples is that they risked everything. They didn’t take the easy route and play it safe. The Christian life sometimes calls for us to not live it safe. We have to risk it a little. Being on mission is supposed to be the mindset of ALL Christians not just our ministers in the church or the mission field. There has been enough of our running after the American Dream and settling down. Each and every day has to be lived with a sense of intentionality. We have a mission to perform- a Commission. If we get distracted by running after money, fame, picket fences, and the like, we lose contact with the real reason we are here. If we get comfy with our ‘fire insurance’ response to living the Christian life, we verge into the realm of lukewarmness. That’s not a place anyone wants to be. Scripture teaches that a Christian will be known by their works. It is not their works that are doing the saving, but they do show or reveal the saved. Think about it…..

Hot Air Balloon or Mountain Climbing Christianity

In youth group yesterday, one of our youth gave an incredible analogy concerning the Christian life. He stated that some believe that the Christian life is to be like a hot air balloon ride. You accept Christ and then it is straight up, up, and away in that beautiful balloon. No worries. No struggles.  The realities of  life are different, however. Often we experience the initial joy and excitement and then a spiritual road block hits us. We struggle. We question. We wonder what happened to that initial fire within. Some respond well to the obstacles and continue to grow through the trials. Others get discouraged because they may have failed to count the cost of discipleship. Turbulence has hit their hot air balloon and it takes a dive.

Others view Christianity as a climb up a mountain. Our Christian life has its switchbacks and ascents but it also has its rough terrain that has to be traversed. We sometimes feel that we are climbing in circles but the reality is we are slowly winding up that mountain towards the summit. It takes work. We overcome. We grow tired but we press on. That is the reality of the Christian life. It requires perseverance and work. Daily stresses and setbacks come but how we deal with them in the Spirit is what constitutes our witness.

So are you a hot air balloon Christian? How is that working out for you? Or are you climbing that mountain taking in the scenery and enjoying the journey even if it has its tumbles along the way?

Repentance

“When you teach a child writing, you hold its hand while it forms the letters because you are forming them. We love and reason because God loves and reasons and holds our hand while we do it. “- C.S. Lewis

Ever wonder how we repent of sin? We are told to repent of our sin but how is that possible when it is our very ‘badness’ that precipitates the need for the one thing we are unable to accomplish on our own?

Lewis says that we can do it but not on our own. “We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another.”

Do you see it? Repentance and transformation is of God not of man. The ability to repent lies in our partaking of God’s nature and not relying on our own. That is why the ‘good works’ mentality of other religions fails. It is God working in us that provides the possibility of living a righteous life.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4-5

The Christian Identity Crisis

Edgar Guest once wrote: “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I’d rather one would walk with me than merely show the way. I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give but there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.”

One of our greatest struggles as Christians is in the area of our new identity. A lot of the time, we seem to suffer from an identity crisis. The reality that we have been made new in Christ does not exactly seem to transfer to our behaviors.We may still act like, talk like, and think like our old self.

2 Peter 1:8-9 states: “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”

These qualities are the transformational qualities that we are to add to our lives daily. We are to be adding faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, and the list goes on.  We are to partake of God’s divine nature. A true transformation should be happening. We should be becoming more Christ-like.

The passage also tells us the reason why we don’t seem different sometimes. We are blind and have forgotten that we have been cleansed and are free from the bondage of our sin. Having been cleansed, we put back on the dirty clothes!

So the key is to REMEMBER  whose we are, who we are, and what we are becoming….don’t suffer from an identity crisis. He has far greater things for you than what this world can offer.

The River Community Church Block Party

The River Community Church Block Party, posted with vodpod

This is our church ministering together and the rapper is Ben Coleman (Benefit) He is our youth and worship leader.