July 2007 - Response to ladies questions

This was written in response to questions the ladies gave the men in Lifegroup. (written July 18, 2007)


1. If you could say one thing to encourage the ladies in LG, what would you say?
I have sisters and I want them to know that they are beautiful. Ladies, I want you to know that you are beautiful. You are captivating.

2. If you could say one thing to challenge the ladies in LG, what would you say?
The scripture is the Voice of God, it is so good. . . .Embrace godly and scriptural womanhood. . . . Ladies, don’t be caught in the trappings and oppression of our culture, to which we are no longer a part. Feed on God’s faithfulness, it challenges women to be so much more than our culture and to have more influence in the church, ministry, and the world, then they often do because the churches have bought into the culture. What God has for you is so good. Learn from Him, He is gentle and humble of heart.

3. How can the ladies in LG serve and honor you as men better? (be honest – they’re not going to know who wrote what)
I have often heard women (and men) make fun of the verses regarding women being in silence. These verses state within themselves that they are based on the authority of the command of Christ, the scripture, the apostleship of Paul, the design of God in creating women at Creation before sin entered the world, and the fact that they are scripture themselves. Based on this authority, they should not be taken lightly or laughed at. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Elsewhere it says, “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist, Says the LORD. But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word”. What ever your opinion is on these verses, they are scripture and they are based on strong authority, don’t take them lightly. If you really want to know what these verses mean, come as a child and believe your Father, trust Him. He is good and you might be surprised by what you find. Ladies, I say this because God’s vision for womanhood is bigger than mine or yours or anyone else’s. . . . Now, how does this relate to honoring men? Well, that is what makes it great. God has a lot of wonderful things to show you, if you are willing to learn and obey. Living out what God has for you is the best way you can honor us.

4. Why is it important to you as a man that the ladies seek God everyday?
Women are vital to the church and my own walk with the Lord. I need them to be close to the Lord. I need their godly influence in my life.

5. Why is it important to you that they walk in purity?
I want a wife who will walk with me in purity and passion. Purity is not something that ends when you get married. I am also a romantic and I want to be able to share that part of my life with only one woman. Also impurity brings shame and brings areas where you don’t feel you can be vulnerable and “naked”. I want to be able to be “naked and unashamed” with my wife.
Just a side comment, I know enough women to know that even though you may not struggle with lust in the same way men do, women do struggle and have bought into cultural perspectives that are not scriptural. Please fight to walk in purity not just in action, but in how you view and relate to men. When I said that I want a wife who is pure, I don’t just mean physically, but that she has a godly mindset in how she treats other men.

Another thing, please be modest. It is very awkward to talk with a woman, when if you look at and focus on her face, more is showing in your field of vision, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. I hate that. I want to feel like I can talk to a woman without seeing more than I want to and dishonoring her.

I think it is similar to what I said at first, the men in the church need women who will walk in purity with them.

6. If you had to pick some character qualities you wish the ladies in LG exemplified more of, what would they be?
The characteristic that I would like to see in the women of our life group is a desire for biblical womanhood. I would like to see them develop a deep hunger for God’s heart for femininity and to grow in maturity. I would like to see them challenge each other to be women after God’s own heart.

7. How would you as a man define womanhood or femininity (what is “lady-like” to you)?
I could list a lot of traits that I find beautiful in woman and lady-like, but my views and what I like are my own and although I think they express femininity well, the scripture alone can define femininity. To define femininity, I would encourage you to forget any cultural perspective you or anyone else might have and look at the scriptures, all of them; (I have several pages of them), and meditate on them. Know how femininity is defined in the culture of the Kingdom of God.
We all know Proverbs 31; it is a good place to start. I know some will try to idealize it, which is really ridiculous when you understand it. It is a very realistic view into the heart and practical lifestyle of a godly woman and has so many insights for us, today. A key scripture elsewhere says that a woman builds her home. Another scripture is 1 Peter 3, “but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” And there is more . . . daughters of the King, study God’s heart for you. Let His words wash over you.

8. At any given LG, what practically can the ladies do to bless you more? (engage in worship, dance with flags, etc…)
Believe in us as men and treat us like men. Trust us. Please, allow us to lead. Ladies, we desire to be a covering for you and we desire to honor you as men. Believe that we can honor and protect you. We so much desire to be this, give us opportunities.
One little thing you can do to help us is after life group don’t walk to you cars alone; allow us to walk you to your car. (I am not getting on to you for this, this is our responsibility, I am just showing you a way you can practically show us that you value us). Most of the time I don’t notice when women walk out (I’ll work on this), so if no man is there to walk you out, let us know that you are leaving and need someone to walk you out. That would be a huge help. If we are talking to someone interrupt us, its ok.

The key to a man’s heart is respect. As we, men, want to find ways to let you know that you are loved, find ways like this that tell us that you do believe in and respect us as men and that you appreciate our covering over you.

9. What is your biggest pet-peeve about the ladies right now?
This is not what bothers me the most (that would probably be not valuing God’s word), but it fits more in the pet-peeve category probably than anything else. Many of you have stated that you desire men to lead, but often when women wait for men to lead out, it is at the most only a few minutes and often only seconds. There are many times where I was about to step out to lead, but then was not able to because of this (and I am not the only one this has happened to). So I hear women asking for men to lead out, but then declining to be patient and wait for them to lead. Do you really believe in the men in life group? Are there women who are willing to wait for months in silence and prayer, not leading out, and praying and waiting for men to lead, because they believe in the men and in their ability to lead, and trust that the Lord will raise them up? I would like to see such women in the church, women who are strong, women who believe in the men, and are willing support the men of the church in a very real way, not just with words. The scripture says that this strength will change an ungodly man’s heart. . . . It will change ours.
Please hear me in this. I know you do want men to lead and I do believe you do want to be women who support the men in the church. I know you strongly desire to build up the men in life group. You wrote us and challenged us to lead. And I thank you so much for that. And it encouraged me. I think we are just both learning how to live this out, how to live out manhood and womanhood in the church, and that’s ok, as long as we are walking toward God in this. Be willing to listen to God’s word in learning how to encourage us as men, all of it.

One of the things you can do to bless us practically is just refuse to lead. . . . Wait for the men to lead out in life group, no matter how long it takes. Ladies, allow us to learn to lead.
I know this can be hard. I know we as men need to step it up and we often fail you. We don’t always lead as we should. I know I don’t. Let us learn. Let us even fail at times. We will mess up and be faulty, but we will learn. Be patient. You don’t have to take up the slack, you can trust God. Don’t step out and lead, wait for us to do so in life group, even if it takes a long time. I think often that many of us have such a fear that God cannot speak to His church and so we step out ahead of God and hinder God’s work. Good things may still happen (God is so gracious to us), but we miss out on God’s best. God is a patient God and He is capable. And He will do things according to His word, not in spite of it.

Also know that as men, we often want to lead, but feel so unworthy to lead or to speak or even to pray. Many of us are also deeply hurt. Allow God to work on our hearts and wait; don’t lead. There are men who desire to be men, you can trust us. Prayer is an amazing thing, pray for us.

10. Feel free to send a message to the ladies in LG…write anything you’d like them to hear:
God has uniquely designed you as women. We as men are amazed by the gifts that God has given you. And we admire the strengths that you uniquely have as women. Women are amazing! You are beautiful. You are captivating. We want to walk along side you and build you up in the Lord and honor you as men.

Safety of being honest with little hurts.

Many times in communication, when we avoid the little hurts, we cause the big hurts.

I will not be moved -

So long self - MercyMe

From the book I am reading,. . . today's reading

James 4:1-3

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people!







"When two people have conflict, it is easy to see the war on the outside. But James points out that this war is an outgrowth of a war inside each person's heart. Desires are not being met, so people lash out in an attempt to satisfy those desires. In verse 4, James goes even further. He says that people engaging in ungodly conflict have already begun to worship someone or something other than God. They are guilty of spiritual adultery, which is another way to describe idolatry. The person is giving himself to a false lover.

This simple yet profound explanation of why we do what we do can have a radical impact on a person's life. It is radical because understanding our heart's idolatry opens the door for us to appropriate and apply the gospel. We have finally gotten to the root of things; we are no longer floating on the surface. We know that God is committed to reclaiming our hearts through the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. When we see our Thorns, they help us to detect our idols, our specific God-replacements, and our ruling desires. We see our hearts need transformation, and we are led to hunger and thirst for grace. This is exactly where James goes in verses 5-10."


Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.


"In verses 5 and 6, James says that God is a jealous lover who will not let you share your affection with anyone but him. . . .God is zealous to recapture our affections, so the Holy Spirit works to reclaim our hearts. Isn't this amazing? Most spurned lovers would not pursue the unfaithful spouse, but God pursues you. . . .

I verses 5-6, God moves toward you and in verses 7-10, he invites you to move toward him. God gives you grace at the very moment you are straying, and promises to give you even more when you repent and humble yourself before him. He loves to shower his mercy upon the humble.

An essential element of growing in grace is a willingness to look at what fuels the ungodly responses in your life. "Purify your hearts", says James. Look at what you allowed to become more attractive to you than the Lord. "Wash your hands," he continues. Exchange your sinful responses for godly ones. . . ."

(quotes form "How People Change" by Lane and Tripp)

Shaken bottle

You have heard the saying comparing trials to a container filled with liquid that states that when we are shaken who we truly are comes out. This is true . . . but I am finding out that who I truly am is not so great. And when I am shaken, sin is right there with me. I am so thankful that this life we live is not about who I am, but it is about who He is. And as I trust in His grace, He glorifies Himself in my life, because He is bigger than all my faults and sins. He is God and I am not.

To forgive - Do we believe?

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. – Matthew 5:23,24

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. – Colossians 3:13

Why is that we don’t believe? When our hearts are hurt, we run, we hide, we push others away, but we don’t believe. God has called us to forgive. God has called us to love. God has called us to love even in the hardships and the hurts and when we are sinned against. He has called us to love when love is not returned. He has called us to love our enemies. He has called us to this, not because we are capable of loving or bearing the hurt and pain and suffering, but because He is our refuge and He knows our hurt and pain and our broken heart. And He knows what it takes to heal our hearts. It takes being near Him and making Him our refuge. When we push others away and choose not to forgive, we disobey God, who has called us to grow in love, and we run away from trusting God to be our shelter in the pain. We cannot fully heal till we have forgiven. And even in those situations where it seems impossible to forgive, there is a God full of compassion, who longs to walk along side with us, who longs to hold us and to be with us and to give us the strength to live. We can live our lives seeking to protect ourselves or we can allow God to protect us to be our shelter. So do we believe? Our we willing to trust, and to love, and to forgive?

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." – Matthew 18

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. – Luke 6

Read this : Love is worth fighting for

More beautiful you - Jonny Diaz

"a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 5

I wrote earlier on the need for men to be brothers, men who will honor women in the Lord, not just look for a wife. Brothers must be men who protect and encourage the women around them. However, this responsibility is not the major domain of brothers. Instead most of the weight of encouraging and protecting women fall on fathers and mothers. As brothers, we encourage and protect our sisters under the covering of older men and women. More than needing brothers, women need fathers and mothers to be their protectors and encouragers. As brothers, we must remember that it is not our job to replace this covering, but to submit to it, and to encourage women to find this. If we point to ourselves to be this, we have failed. I want to encourage the women to find older women, older couples to be a covering for them.


For part 1: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 1
For part 2: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 2
For part 3: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 3
For part 4: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 4
For part 5: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 5

Broken Dreams Poem...

As children bring
their broken toys
with tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams
to God
because He was my friend!

But then instead
of leaving Him
in peace to work alone,
I hung around
and tried to help
with ways
that were my own.

At last I snatched them back
and cried,
"How can you be so slow?"
"My child," He said
"What could I do?
You never did let go."

-- Author Unknown

Could I

Movies and sexual immorality, pt 2

Someone asked me why I wouldn't see this movie:

The commercials I have seen show a sex scene. And I have seen enough, where if that were my daughter or my wife, I'd be upset and angry and broken about it. So I don't see that I can say that its not ok for my daughter or my wife and then be ok with seeing it with another woman. That would be pretty hypocritical. And it would be wrong.

Basically, for me its more of a justice reason than a lust reason. Although both are definitely issues. We have a culture where men would rather be entertained, turn their heads for a moment, and watch a movie that dishonors a woman than to stand up for her and protect her. When we support movies like this we are supporting an industry that dishonors both men and women.

So we have a choice to be entertained or to be men (or Christians).




Read this, it will give you a better idea of where I am coming from: Purity and Justice

Movies and sexual impurity

I was talking with a friend, tonight, how I would like to see the new Star Trek movie, but will not go see it because it demeans and dishonors women. As I was talking with him, I realized and started discussing with him how I don't know one man, who is able to watch movies that have sexual content, even if they choose to turn away or switch the channel, who does not deal with sexual impurity in their own lives. Not one.

Psalm 37, Proverbs 3 - He will act

Psalm 37

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

Proverbs 3

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

Scripture verses - trust when afraid

Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

--Psalm 62:8

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
--1 Peter 5:6,7





The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

--Philippians 4:6,7

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

--Luke 12:32

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

--Matthew 6

fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
--Isaiah 41:10

Revelation Song - Kari Jobe

Picture the stories about Jesus as you listen to this:

Love is something worth fighting for

The last few weeks, God has been really impressing on me this verse. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” This Sunday, my pastor talked about a man who was in a fox hole in the middle of a battle trembling, afraid, frozen with fear, and unable to get up and fight. Later, after the battle, a sergeant talked with him, and he told him that those who are able to fight are able to do so because they already know that they are dead.

Love is not something that is experienced and lived in the comfortable Christian-ease lifestyle. Love is something that is lived in the reality of the battles of life. Love is a theology that must be learned in the trenches, in the mud, and in the mire of life.

We often try to protect our hearts. We stay trembling in the fox hole, afraid because running out into the battle field makes our hearts vulnerable and puts us at risk of dying. We stay in our comfortable Christian-ease environment seeking “safe and holy” relationships. We believe . . .A Christian’s heart shouldn’t be broken or hurt or devastated or unprotected. Relationships shouldn’t be messy. . . But then Christ comes and shocks us. He doesn’t live a life of protecting His heart. He comes to love by dying.

He tells us to forgive those who have sinned against us. He tells us to turn the other cheek, when we are wronged. He tells us to serve more, when we are taken advantage of. He tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. He tells us to love as He has loved us. You see, you cannot love until you are dead.

The scripture tells us to protect our hearts from seduction and evil, but it never tells us to protect our hearts from righteousness and godly love. When it comes to godly love we are commanded to die.

Love is still a worthy cause - Sara Groves

I love my lips - Larry the cucumber

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

A good and pleasant life is found when we are together

Psalm 133: A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

I think if we want what is good and pleasant, if we want the blessing. We must press in to love each other, even in difficult circumstances. Even in the most broken of circumstances. Even when we have wronged each other. Even when we are afraid. Healing is not found in running from hard situations, but running toward each other in love. A good and pleasant life is found when we choose to love and live together and walk through hardships together.

I think it is hard sometimes, because our hearts are involved. When we pursue love our hearts become vulnerable. And its scary because we don't know if we can hold up. Here is the thing, we are not any good at protecting our hearts. It doesn't work. But when we pursue and run after God abandoning our hearts to Him, and we pursue to love others in His strength, He upholds us and becomes our refuge and strength. He is also our healer and our rescuer.


"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

From the inside out - Hillsong

to Love

Jesus said that no greater love is this, that a man would lay down his life for another. Laying your life down, frees you to love. Because you are dead, you can run not seeking your own agenda or desires. Your pursuit becomes loving other to build them up and encourage them in Christ not to gain what you desire.

This is free, disciplined, radical, unabandoned, safe love that is from Christ. This is the kind of love that I want to know and live.

A few of the things I have learned this week

I don't know where God is leading me, but I can trust that He will lead me. And that As I seek His face and walk in integrity, He will make my path straight for me. And whatever happens, its ok to step out, because He will be there keeping me from stumbling. I don't have to be afraid.

We can spend our lives running after our dreams, or we can spend our lives trusting in God.

May God enable others to see my weakness

This may sound strange. But hope others see me as weak. Not in a pitiful sense, but in the sense that what ever strength is seen in me is credited to Christ, and not to me. If my words are strong, it is because Christ is strong. If my actions are strong, it is because Christ is strong. This gives God the glory.

Also I don't want to be seen as strong, because it gives way for people believing that if they just do this, or have this much quiet time, or read this much, that that is what it takes to live the Christian walk. No, it is by grace and grace alone. By seeking the face of Christ. By falling in love with Christ and wanting to know Him. The sick were healed when they came to Christ. We are sanctified when we come to Christ.

So I hope others see me as weak, but also see the power of Christ in me and know that He is faithful, strong, and loving.

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled upright, and godly lives in this present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." --Titus 2:11-14

"Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest in me." -- 2 Corinthians 12:9

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"

I thought about titling this: Why Calvinists evangelize?

Psalm 33:4-9
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

2 Peter 3:5
For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,

Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

Here is what is significant. God the heavens and earth with His spoken word. God did this for a reason. The artist, the God who could have created the universe by any means, chose purposely and deliberately to use the spoken word. And even though the world sees this as foolish, by faith we know this to be true, because the word of the Lord is upright. God made this choice to create the worlds by His word, because He was going to use the same means to create something more significant and more difficult with the spoken word – new life. It is the foolishness of the preaching of the word that God uses to bring a dead man’s soul to life. And this word, this gospel, has power. This is why we preach the Gospel. Because the word of the Lord has power and will not return to Him void. When God says, “Let there be light”. There is light.

There is another significance to this. Christ is the Word. And just as all created things were made through him and are sustained by Him. So it is the same with this new life.

Romans 10:14-17
14 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? 15 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!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:21
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Preaching with people, not at people

Jesus spoke the truth. He confronted sin. He would not compromise. He turned over tables in the temple. He spoke against the Pharisees. He confronted men and took action even though it made others angry. I think a lot of us can identify with Jesus in these things. We to want to speak out against sin and injustice. But are we identifying with Jesus?

"Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him."
-Mark 2:15

You read what he taught and He did not say easy things. He spoke the truth. But Jesus didn't preach at people, He preached with people. Jesus spoke the truth with tax collectors and sinners. Even when it came to the Pharisees you see him coming to them and preaching with them, confronting them where they are at. Cutting to the heart of issues. Healing on the Sabboth, turning over tables, allowing them to ask him questions. Jesus engaged people.

My week . . . or so

This week has been hard. I feel like a dork. My emotions have been so disheveled and confusing. And my response to it has a desperation. I am feeling stuff and having fears that I know are wrong. I am ok and I know I am ok, because I have already given the situation to the Lord and determined to walk in integrity. And I will do my best to be bold and step up, however the situation turns out. But my emotions are a mess. A lot of fear and anxiety and foolishness that I know is foolishness, but my emotions aren't cooperating. And I am not impressed with my response. In fact I am frustrated by how I am responding. I hate it. I am mad at myself. I feel like a failure because I am not stronger. I feel like I am messing everything up because I am not stronger.

Why am I saying this. Well, read the Psalms. Our hope cannot be in ourselves. I have to hope in God. I wish I could walk this Christian walk as a strong man. But I am not. It is only by His grace. I have no good thing apart from Him. I don't trust myself, but I do trust Him. His work of redemption works here and now in my real life, in my real messed upness. And some how out of all this mess and the wreck that I am, He is my refuge and He will vindicate me and make me trustworthy. Not for my glory, but for His.

One more time - Disciple

Wrestling with God

Sometimes hearing the Lord, comes from wrestling with the Lord as Jacob did. We know that He is our only hope. He alone has the answer. And so we wrestle with God, knowing we have no other place to go, until He gives us His blessing. We don't wrestle because it weakens God, it weakens us. We wrestle because we have faith in who He is.

Tenth Avenue North - Love is Here

The One

Skillet - Whispers In The Dark

What God has told me.

I will not loose what I have committed to the LORD.

He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

Walk in integrity, wait patiently for the LORD.

. . . And He will uphold me in these things, because I can't.

To be torn apart, will we follow? . . .

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:5-11

Several years ago, while a group of people were praying for me, I was given two pictures by them. One was of a Lion in the desert, content under the shade of a tree. The other was me walking through thorns, being torn apart and bleeding, but behind me where the blood was flowers began to bloom. I liked the first picture, I don’t know that I could say I liked the second one. It scared me. At the time I was going through a difficult time, and didn’t see how I could handle this. But I am learning that if I am to truly minister in this world where sin has reeked so much havoc, the only way I can do that is to go through it, just as Christ did. Christ said that we our to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. This means that just as He humbled himself and came to a fallen broken earth and reached out to the hurting and despised, the drunk and harlots, and the sinners. He touched the lepers, the sick, and smelly beggars. He was born in a manger. He suffered and died. He took our sin upon himself. And we are to be like Christ.

Here is the paradox the picture of suffering and the picture of the strength and contentment of the Lion are the same. You can’t have one without the other. The slain Lamb is the Lion. And so we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing the strength, the joy, and the power of the Kingdom and the King that we serve.

Lecrae Beyond Belief

Trust the Lord to provide what we need in a spouse

"Young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."

It can be hard to choose to be a godly man or women and watch as other men and women are finding spouses and you have nothing. And you wonder what is wrong with you and where are the promises of God and why am I not married? Why is this person falling for this person and not for me? Why am I holding on to what is good? Is it for nothing? I was reading Psalm 37 and it says "Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked." I realized that living as a godly man or woman does not mean I will become rich and get married. In fact, I may have very little, but it is better. My living for righteousness is not for others, it is for my Beloved. It is because I enjoy and delight in my God. Here is the promise: that as we live for him, we may go unnoticed by the world, but we won't go unnoticed by a God who pursues us and wants the best for us and loves us and delights in us. And so we do not fret at things that fade, but instead we trust the words of a good Shepherd:

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him, fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, "

I have my fears. I find it easy to hold on to what I think I need or want. I can believe this woman is the woman I should marry and I can try to hold on hard, but I am often wrong. Beloved, we must continue to trust Him, who knows us and our needs, more than we know ourselves. When He says, "No" it is because He knows us and loves us. He is a good Father who will not give us a stone when we ask for bread. He knows what we need. We can trust Him with our hearts.

"I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant and their faces shall never be shamed."

"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

Wait on your knees for the Lord for a husband

I wrote earlier about a man finding a wife on his knees. A woman must wait to give her heart to her husband on her knees as well. I think with all the false ideas it is easy to be swept away by a man who is not a man who will be a safe place for your heart. It is so easy to buy the false claim that charm and beauty will satisfy the deepest longings of our heart.

I think there are men who are emotional and run after a woman with romanticized gestures winning a woman's heart through appearances that fade. I think there are other men who wait on the Lord, refusing to capture a woman's heart through romanticized gestures, but instead seeking to build her up through words and actions that don't fade away. These men are sometimes more romantic, but choose not to win a woman by those means, because they want to protect the women around them to be a safe place. They also want to learn to have healthy relationships with other women and still remain faithful to his wife, even while he is single.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. Find a man who delights in the Lord.

A few basic false assumptions about origins

• The Evolution (Darwinian) Theory of the origin of man based on science. In reality it is based on inference. It is a more excepted inference, but only an inference.
  
• Time is constant everywhere at all times. It is probably was and maybe is not.
  
• Environmental conditions have been the same on Earth throughout time. Evidence shows that something significant possibly has changed. (And I am not talking about ice ages, etc.)
• Genesis 1 and 2 contradict each other. This is a misconception of scope. Genesis 2 is a description of Eden, a special garden made for man on the 6th day. (There is always a People, Place, and King). A careful reading will show that there are no contradictions.
  
• Genesis 1 contradicts science, for me it challenges my understanding of science. I find it quite fascinating to read.
  
• It takes a long period of time for certain geologic features to occur, this depends on the conditions.The Bible records geologic events that indicate that significant changes could have occurred.
• God has no place in science, God only has no place in science if we can prove He has no place in science. If a God exist, that God will have a significant impact on nature and must be considered objectively. So the assumption that there is no God rules out a significant possibility. This does not mean we do not do science with integrity, but we also cannot interpret the facts or make inferences from the bases on the idea that there is no God, if that is not the only interpretation. We must allow for both possibilities in our inferences. What this means as for as the integrity of science is that we need to be honest that there are some things that we don't know and that what is being taught is only educated guesses or inferences based on the data that we have at this time.
  

The Laws of Science

We have a God who over and over again proves that science obeys Him and not the other way around. And yet we have a hard time believing this. Often He uses science, but also often the Bible records Him doing miracles that contradict the laws of science.

Your hands that are holding me

Trying to figure out my mess, my broken heart, my sin

When I struggle or my heart is broken or I've failed or I don't feel anything at all, I find myself wanting to figure it all out. I rush to and fro trying to understand the situation, my heart, how to get better. I don't sleep at night and don't get things done in the day, because my mind is trying to wrap around the events and feelings. I am wanting to understand who I am and why.

As God's love washes over me, I am learning that I don't have to figure it all out. I don't have to run to and fro. There is only one place I need to run. And that is into the arms of Jesus. When I come to Him, He doesn't always give me the answers I was searching for or I thought I needed, or make it so that I have it all figured out. Instead of listening to us and fixing it, He loves us. . . He holds me in His arms and gives me Himself. I don't think the deep longings of our heart is to have everything fixed, I think the deep longing of our hearts are by a man who has given everything for us. It is a person, not an understanding, that meets our needs.

God cares for us. He says that He knows our needs. And we can trust Him. We are more valuable than lilies and sparrows.

". . . casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

God bless the broken heart

Portraying Christ in our lives

Bruce Marchiano, the man who played Jesus in the Matthew movie, was speaking this Sunday morning. He said that when he got chosen to play the role of Jesus, he was overwhelmed. He felt the burden of representing Jesus in this film. And he cried out to God desperately asking God to make him like Jesus so that, who Christ is would come forth in the film.

He also talked about one scene where they used a real beggar. This man could be smelt before he even got close. Bruce had a hard time thinking about being touched by this man. But as the scene began, he was overwhelmed and kissed the man's hands. And when the scene ended, he grabbed the man in his arms and just began to weep.

We are ambassadors on behalf of God. We represent Jesus, not in a film but in something greater, the real world. This should cause us to desperately cry out to God and ask Him to make us like Jesus, so that Christ might come forth in our lives.

Happy Resurrection

Today, it has really bothered me when people say "Happy Easter". This is the first year I think I have really felt this way. And its not because I think its evil to say "Happy Easter". It is that this year I want to hear about the power of the resurrection, and even though saying "Happy Easter" has become synonymous with many to meaning celebrating the resurrection. This year I was longing to hear it proclaimed straight forward. I wanted to hear the power behind it. And I was longing to hear, "Happy Resurrection Day". I think that's cool, because I want to hunger to hear about the Resurrection. Anyways, Happy Resurrection Day :)

The cost of loving others

When Christ said that there is not greater love than one who lays down his life for another and commanded us to love as He has loved us. He meant it. Loving others will cost us our life. We must lay it down to love.

The sun stove

Love

Sometimes doing the noble thing is the the thing that will break your heart the most. But I believe that love is worth a broken heart.

"a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 4

Men, we must be men who pursue our wives, not in the passions of our desire or in the arena of social agendas or church events or relationships, but instead on our knees in prayer, and in the word and with accountability with other men. As we develop relationships with our sisters, our intentions should be to build them up and encourage them as brothers. Its ok to get to know a woman, I think we can be so concerned about our motivations that we create an unhealthy wall between us and our sisters, but its not ok to do so in a way that takes her. As a brother you should seek her best, to learn how to encourage her in the Lord. This means realizing that in your relationship with a woman that she needs a brother, first. I think when we are attracted to a woman; we can make getting to know her a means to find out if she is the one, instead of honestly just trying to get to know her. When in reality she doesn’t need to fit our concept of what we want her to be, she is the Lord’s and serves him and not us. And so as we get to know our sisters, we need to encourage them in what God is doing in their lives, not try to figure out how they fit our own plan. There may be times that you find your self desiring to pursue a woman, but because you are seeking a wife on your knees and with accountability from other men, you know that pursuing her is not what is best for her. And as a brother you have to deny your desires and continue to encourage her in what God is doing in her life. Love is often laying down your own desires for another. If we are to pursue marriage, God will show us this on our knees, not in us trying to figure it out in the confusion and messiness of our feelings and social agendas. In our interactions with other women we need to allow them to be who God is making them to be. I don’t want a woman to feel like she has to jump through the hoops of my agenda in order to be beautiful. And I don’t want her to feel like she has to compare herself to other women (Which is why I want to learn to treat all my sisters well and equally beautiful). God has made her beautiful and I want to encourage that beauty.

Men, when you are a man that pursues a woman on your knees and in the word and with accountability, it allows the women to feel safe, because they know that your relationships with them are for the purpose of encouraging them and building them up because they are beautiful, not to determine whether they are beautiful. They also know that they can count on you as a brother, because you are willing to lay down your desires for them, even when it hurts. And they know that in your pursuit of a wife, your not holding up a standard that they have to live up to, but are waiting on the Lord for His council on who to pursue. And they know that the determination of whether you are pursuing them as a wife is not because they don’t measure up and it is not dependent on some standard that they must live up to, but because you are a man on your knees, seeking God’s will with integrity from a sincere and solid desire to hear the Lord. So instead of following your passions, you stand in integrity and love with the heart of God.

I know some amazing women. And I know for myself that as I pursue a wife this way, I can honestly say that in my flesh I might pursue them and the reason I am not pursuing them is not because they are not worthy or physically beautiful, but because I must follow the Lord. And it would break my heart if they felt like they were not worthy or beautiful, because that is so far from the truth. And I hope that as I walk in the solid foundation of seeking a wife on my knees, that that security and strength will encourage my sisters in the Lord. I believe that as men stand in integrity of who God is, women will feel beautiful and cherished. There will still be hurt and messy relationships because we live in a sinful world, but the more we stand as men the more we can point to the One who provides security in midst of this messed up world and emotions.

For part 1: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 1
For part 2: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 2
For part 3: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 3
For part 4: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 4
For part 5: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 5

"a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 3

I believe that women need the men to be strong godly brothers, who are a part of their lives. But let me be clear, this does not mean that we chase girls or use this as an excuse to pursue a girl that we like under the disguise of being “a brother”. A man who pursues a relationship with a women to just take her is not a brother. To those guys who would do this, let me say this straight out – you are a jerk, and God is not at all amused by this kind of behavior. And I hope the men around you won’t be either. Also I want to say to the men around me. I don’t think I am perfect and I hope that if you see me do this you will come around me and tell me that I am a jerk and help me to get back on track.

Even when, as men, our intentions are noble, we still have to keep in mind that there are boundary lines that we do not need to cross. Showing a woman that she is cherished means protecting her. You cannot make her feel beautiful and non-protected at the same time. And so in the way that we relate to her, we must include protecting her heart and not crossing those boundaries. As we become men of integrity, not just in our relationship with them, but also in life, women feel beautiful. Let me say this again, when men are the kind of men who stand on God’s word, women feel beautiful and secure. So men, if you want women to know that they are beautiful, become men who are noble, grounded in God’s word, and live a life of integrity. Become men who are safe, who able to protect the women around them. Become men, with whom they know will not follow the passions of their heart, but are seeking to stand on the heart of God and are therefore worthy protectors.

For part 1: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 1
For part 2: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 2
For part 3: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 3
For part 4: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 4
For part 5: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 5

"a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 2

I remember talking with one of my sisters while she was going through a hard time. She wanted to know that she was beautiful. She wanted to know that she was lovely and that she was loved. Talking with her and hearing the stuff she was going through tore my heart, because I knew she was beautiful and loved. If you get a chance to listen to her talk about her fond memories about her brothers, they are stories about how her brothers protected her and watched over her. Unfortunately, because of a broken home, those times were not as often as they should have been. But those times with her brothers were the deep desires of her heart.

God has been teaching me that women need good men in the church to step up and be fathers and brothers to them to be able to fill some of those heart needs. They need men who are safe and who will honor and cherish them as daughters and sisters in the Lord. They need real fathers and brothers who will become involved with their lives and walk along side them and show them that they are beautiful and lovely and loved.

Look at: Biblical womanhood video

Also look at: On being found beautiful

And: Biblical womanhood video

For part 1: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 1
For part 2: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 2
For part 3: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 3
For part 4: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 4
For part 5: "a man who will bring out who she is not just take her", part 5

Sleeping around and having had an abortion

God has been really challenging me lately. Over the past year or so He has been teaching me what it means to love someone. One of the things I've been wrestling with is how I would respond if the woman God would have me marry had a history of sleeping around and had had an abortion. Two very difficult things to come to grips with. It would be hard.

But I know this, I'd want her to feel safe and loved. I'd want her to feel pure and cherished. I'd want her to feel secure in my love and that she could trust me with her heart.

I'd want a woman to know this not just in a marriage but also as a brother. I know with my real sisters I want this. And I want my sisters in the Lord to know that they are deeply loved.

I am glad that God has put this on my heart. And has had me work through this, cause it has taught me more about the Gospel. God did not pursue a virgin, but a harlot, which is what I am without his grace. I murdered His Son. And yet God loves me and has covered my sin. This is the Gospel. This is the Love Story. I want to know this love and I want to love others with this kind of love.

The purpose of romance is to make a woman feel safe and secure.

If you use romance to impress a woman, you have missed the point. You do not know what romance is. The purpose of romance is to make her feel safe and secure. In order to be romantic, you have to be that kind of man.

Wrapped in Your Arms - Fireflight

Your are my strong tower - Kutless

Clouds and trembling

Sometimes our paths are cloudy and we cant see what is ahead of us. And sometimes the ground trembles. It is in these times that the words of the scripture are so sweet. "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." "You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped." We are not shaken or surrounded by clouds without purpose. We are shaken so that only Christ may remain. And there are clouds so that we don't lean on our own understanding. I must understand that I do not uphold my self. Christ upholds me. And so as the storms come, we know that He is Lord.

Is my heart honest and genuine?

I had this written about me the other day, "I honestly believe that you have a heart that truly seeks to honor God! ...and I couldn't think of a greater compliment to give anyone than that." I don't know if this is true. When I look at my heart and my motives, I don't like what I see. There is a bunch of false pretenses and unhealthy desires. All my best motives are tainted by great sin. But what I have learned is that instead of looking to myself and trying to get my motives in right, I have to look to Christ. My sin, my false motives, my ugliness were born on the cross. And so I walk out not with any confidence that my motives are right, but in the confidence that Christ covers my sin, because my motives are not right.

When Isaiah saw the Lord, he got an honest and genuine look into who he was. And this man of God cried out, " Woe is me! For I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips . . ." God justifies and imparts grace to Isaiah, cleansing him of his sin. It is through grace that God sends Isaiah to minister and enables Isaiah to say,"Here I am! Send me." His grace is sufficient.

John Piper - the wrath of God

Marc Driscoll - Spiritual Gifts

These sermons give a good beginning background in understanding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, however these sermons are only a basic understanding of these things. Read what the word of God says about these things, for the word of God is the standard for understanding about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

From: First Corinthians: Christians Gone Wild by Mark Driscoll

Spiritual Gifts part 1: Definition, Wisdom, Knowledge
(As the case with all these gifts, defining them can be difficult, but the key is that these gifts edify and build up the church. It is ok that some might have different definitions of the gifts, because whatever you call it these gifts, gifts are to be displayed in the church.)

Spiritual Gifts part 2: Faith, Healing, Miracles, Discernment

Spiritual Gifts part 3: Apostles, Teaching, Help/Service, Administration
(We disagree on some of the fine points of roles of women and how they use these gifts (for example I do not believe that women should publicly teach or lead men) , although we both agree that women should be using these gifts and these gifts are vital to the church.)

Spiritual Gifts part 4: Encouragement, Giving, Leadership, Mercy, Hospitality
( I have seen great leaders that did not fit the worldly idea of leadership, but ended up being great leaders when encouraged. Don't dismiss someone just because they don't fit our expectations. Sometimes understanding the giftings that people have is through discernment and learning to hear God on how you can encourage others.)

Spiritual Gifts part 5: Tongues and Prophesy



I can't support the next sermon, its position on women doesn't fully address the position of women in the church and makes an assumption that is not supported within scripture or by the evidence. The evidence actually indicates that these scriptures are not a response to unruly women, but a standard set based on the word of God. Although I disagree with Driscoll on this, I do love what Driscoll says about your family as a man and that a wife who is pursuing theology and coming to her husband is sexy not sexist. I also agree with him that children's/women's ministries are often the result of trying to fill the gap of men who do not lead in their own homes. Men should lead their homes and be the ones their wives and children can come to for theological questions. For more on this issue see - Cherished or 1 Corinthians 14 or Letter to the Women

Lost Catholic to Saved by Grace - Jacquelyn's Testimony

Al Mohler Live Dangerously

Christianity is not exclusive, part 2

Resurection body

Have you ever thought about the fact that if you had never seen a tree or a plant and saw a seed for the first time, in all your imagination you would never have been able to dream what it would become.

So Much More - a book recommendation

I have been reading So Much More by the Botkin sisters. It has been challenging me on what it means to be a father, a brother, and what it means to expand the Kingdom of God.

Personal thoughts on my neighborhood

I am not writing this to convict other people. I am writing this to convict myself, and ask God to teach me how to love and to preach the Gospel. I desire your prayers that God will do this in me, because in myself, there is nothing.

I have been talking with a few people how the economy is affecting this area, how crime is on the rise. I have been thinking not so much on how to fix this, but on how do I faithfully respond to this. Is it right for me me to turn my face the other way? I was talking to my neighbor about a part of town I went to several years ago. He told me not to go back, because I would get jumped. And I am thinking we are willing to send men off to war. Even in the church we send missionaries off to dangerous places, but am I willing to go to these hard places here next to me to love my neighbor.

So where does this begin. I don't know. But I don't want turn my head away.

The charasmatic and the doctrines of men

I would have to call my self a “charismatic”. I believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still relevant for, today, and I long to see them used in the church. However my heart is broken by those who call themselves “charismatic”, but have no biblical understanding of what that means. Some of what is called the “charismatic movement” is really part of an “experiential movement” where the doctrine of the Word is replaced by the doctrine of men. I was recently in a meeting where a person proclaimed “Seventeen, is the number of victory, and I believe that God has victory for us. Just proclaim it!” My thought was, “What? Where in the world did they get that? It is not in scripture. Yes, God does have victory for us, amazing victory, and we can talk about this, (yes, lets talk about the depths of it! We can even dance.) but your missing it, your missing the power, by relying on the doctrines of men.” Over the years, I have heard people talk about “7-12 steps of freedom and victory”, casting out “spirits of fear and anger, etc.”, “spirit filled church”, “second tier Christianity or another level of Christianity”, what different symbols mean in dreams, methods of prophesy, and so on. But none of these teachings are in the Bible. They may pull out a few scriptures to suit them at best, but when you really test them against a serious look at scripture they don’t stand up. Where do they get this from? They get this from having doctrines that come from teachings of men and from allowing experiential events dictate doctrine. The scripture is very clear on its rebuke against leaning on the doctrines of men, no matter how holy or convincing they may appear. Of course this is not just a “charismatic” thing. When I talk to many Christians and I ask them why they believe what they believe, most of the time the response is “Well, I feel God would . . .” or “I have experienced or seen this . . .” You can’t do that. You can’t base what you believe on what you feel or what you have experienced. I will tell them, “OK, go study the scripture and come back and show me where this is.” Who God is is not left for our interpretation. Sound doctrine is not based on what we feel or what we have seen or what other people have done or what we have experienced or how “blessed” a ministry appears to be. Sound doctrine is based on the word of God, and it does not change. If we base our beliefs and actions on the doctrines of men we will fall, but if we are planted firmly in God’s word with a heart of obedience, our foundation will stand firm along with what is built on it.

When Paul was writing the church at Corinth, he told them that it was not good that they boasted in men. “For when one says, ‘I follow Paul’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos’, are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? . . . For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The Corinthian church was a place where the gifts of the Holy Spirit were being made manifest, however Paul wrote, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos’, are you not merely human?” Paul wrote the Corinthians, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." In Colossians, Paul writes, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Jesus rebuked the people of His day because the held to the doctrines of men rather than to the word of God. We don’t shape the word of God, the word of God shapes us.

The “charismatic” are not the only ones who have this problem. I think the “experiential movement” is a plague that affects the church in general and in many different ways. I use them as an example, because, I am one, and I believe that even with all their faults many who I have met and know personally have so much to offer the church. And where they are solid in the word, I am amazed and challenged. I love my brothers in the Lord. I would like to see what God would do in the “charismatic movement” if the word of God became the foundation it was rooted in. Paul also loved those in the church, who didn’t have it all together. He addressed the Corinthians with love and he believed in what God was doing in them. His dear love for them is evident in his writings. And I believe iron sharpens iron. I need my brothers to press into sound doctrine and into Christ, because we do not walk this Christian walk alone. I have so much to learn from my brothers. None of us are perfect and have it right. We come together as sinners, standing in the grace of God, alone. None of us have anything to boast, but instead we are to encourage each other in the Lord. Also, I have found that the biggest stumbling block for many believing that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are relevant for today is because the “experiential movement” is so prevalent in those who call themselves “charismatic”. If the word of God became central to those who call themselves “charismatic” and solid and sound teaching and doctrine characterized the way they walked, then they could teach others about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I want to see this. So I will leave you with this: Stop believing in the doctrine of men and start truly and faithfully believing in the power of the Holy Spirit. We will find that the power of the Holy Spirit is stronger than anything man could come up with.

Unshockable

One of the things my pastor says often is that he wants us to be an unshockable people, where we come together and love each other despite all the muck and mess that each of us bring to the table. When we truly understand who we are, and we see our own sin and our own desperate need for the Gospel, now at this very moment, we are not shocked by other peoples sins and faults. There is no longer any room for boasting. We have no good thing apart from Christ. And as we see God's patience and love in our own lives and understand his grace and the power of the Gospel, it frees us to love those around us. It also frees us to celebrate, because when our boasting is gone, we are free to rejoice together in the one who truly deserves the glory and honor and majesty.

Comment on R.C. Ryle's words

What R.C. Ryle wrote in my previous post is a hard saying, but it is a hard saying with much comfort. God's demand of holiness is essential to the gospel, because it is the gospel. Christ death and resurrection secured for us a means of grace that included justification, sanctification, and glorification. Each one of these obtained solely by grace. So the grace that brought us into this salvation also sanctifies us.

It is in this that there is comfort. We could in no effort of ourselves bring about our salvation and likewise we in no work or effort can make ourselves holy. So this command to be holy must be fulfilled in Christ. And so as Paul addresses the Galatians, he tells them that what they have begun in faith, must be continued to be walked out in faith.

So if you want to be holy, you must begin with Christ, you must press into Christ, and you must rely on Christ. You must believe the Gospel. And this is not an idle promise, sanctification has been secured by the quarantee of the Holy Spirit, to those who are being saved.

Fragile Breath - Tod Agnew