"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life." 2 Corinthians 2:14-16a
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Christians smell. There's just no getting around it. The image that Paul adopts in this passage is one of a triumphant Roman general. After a successful campaign a Roman general would return in triumph, riding a magnificent, golden chariot, and leading trains of soldiers and captured slaves behind him. Priests would burn incense and waft the smoke as they marched, causing the stench to rise over the whole procession.
The smell was a sign of victory for some and a cause for rejoicing! For others, it was the smell of defeat, of being utterly vanquished by the general and his army. This is the way that Christians are in the world. To those who are elect of God, we smell like life and victory. To the reprobate, we smell like death and they recoil in our presence. Here's the thing, though, both people are smelling the same thing. We should not produce one smoke around Christians and another around those outside the Church. Both people should smell the same scent coming from us. It's the way that they perceive the scent that should be different.
Here's another point: it doesn't do any good to try and cover up your stench. How often have we tried to mask our Christian musk with the perfumes of worldliness! We do not wish to smell so foul to those outside of Christ's Church, so we tone down our witness, we try and fashion ourselves after the ungodly, hoping that they won't notice us. Maybe we do this for understandable motives, imagining ourselves like a stealth unit in camouflage. They will never smell us coming and then...SURPRISE! GOSPEL!
It doesn't work. Trying to cover up your stench will be like spraying some perfume into a tomb to the reprobate. They can still smell you, trust me. All you will do is diminish your beautiful smell of life for the elect. Do not deprive the Church of your sweet fragrance.
Refusal: I refuse to mask the scent of Christ in my life for the sake of not offending the walking dead. I refuse to deprive the Church of God of the fragrance of my life.
Resolution: I resolve that I will let the odor of my life in Christ waft everywhere I go. I will adorn the incense of Christ in my life with good works, praying that God will use my fragrance to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere. My life's odor will announce the victorious procession of Jesus Christ, proclaiming his triumph over death.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
R&R #3: Muddy Miracles
"Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him." -John 2:6-11
"One of his disciples,Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” -John 6:8-14
"Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing." -John 9:6-7
Have you noticed how natural the supernatural miracles of Christ look? Think about it: Changing water into wine? Feeding more than five thousand people with some bread and fish? Rubbing a guy's eyes with mud and telling him to take a bath? Why does Jesus sound like some backwoods, spiritual huckster? How about some fancy stuff, Jesus? Some spiritual stuff?
Because materialistic philosophy dominates our culture, we have a tendency to separate the material/immaterial, spiritual/physical, natural/supernatural in a way that the Scriptures never do. So I read about Jesus covering a blind man's eyes in mud and telling the man to go wash in some water. I read that the blind man comes back seeing and my mind immediately jumps to the conclusion that something happened in between, something more spiritual than mud and water. The Bible never says anything like that happened. The Holy Spirit works on this man to heal his blindness, of eyes and heart (the man worships Jesus at the end of the chapter). The Holy Spirit does all of this by working through some mud and water.
Refusal: I refuse to see my world through blind, materialistic eyes. I will not see anything as being "just matter", as if there was no God. I refuse to believe the lie that God only works in the gooey core of my heart or in extravagant, external displays of power.
Resolution: I resolve that I will view all things; the dirt that I tread upon, the water I wash in, the food that I eat, and the people I meet, as being intimately connected to the supernatural. The God who is spirit took on flesh and gave sight to the blind using mud and water.
"One of his disciples,Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” -John 6:8-14
"Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing." -John 9:6-7
Have you noticed how natural the supernatural miracles of Christ look? Think about it: Changing water into wine? Feeding more than five thousand people with some bread and fish? Rubbing a guy's eyes with mud and telling him to take a bath? Why does Jesus sound like some backwoods, spiritual huckster? How about some fancy stuff, Jesus? Some spiritual stuff?
Because materialistic philosophy dominates our culture, we have a tendency to separate the material/immaterial, spiritual/physical, natural/supernatural in a way that the Scriptures never do. So I read about Jesus covering a blind man's eyes in mud and telling the man to go wash in some water. I read that the blind man comes back seeing and my mind immediately jumps to the conclusion that something happened in between, something more spiritual than mud and water. The Bible never says anything like that happened. The Holy Spirit works on this man to heal his blindness, of eyes and heart (the man worships Jesus at the end of the chapter). The Holy Spirit does all of this by working through some mud and water.
Refusal: I refuse to see my world through blind, materialistic eyes. I will not see anything as being "just matter", as if there was no God. I refuse to believe the lie that God only works in the gooey core of my heart or in extravagant, external displays of power.
Resolution: I resolve that I will view all things; the dirt that I tread upon, the water I wash in, the food that I eat, and the people I meet, as being intimately connected to the supernatural. The God who is spirit took on flesh and gave sight to the blind using mud and water.
Friday, April 5, 2013
R&R #2: And of His Kingdom There Will Be No End
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!" Revelation 11:15
"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Revelation 5:9-10
Do you believe these things? Has the kingdom of the world really become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ? Maybe you can trust that Christ has made us a kingdom and priests to God in a personal, private, spiritual way, but will we reign on the earth, a seemingly public affair? That's a pretty bold statement to believe.
The devil and the world tell us that Christianity is on the way out. The Church is a tired old institution that has nothing positive to say to the modern world. Sometimes, even Christians get sucked into this mindset. We begin to view our world through the devil's lenses. We think that we are a dwindling flame, ready to go out, increasingly irrelevant in a modern world. Maybe we begin to justify this thought with quasi-Biblical ideas about Christ's imminent return: "Circle the wagons, boys! We've nothing more to do here. Just wait for the Boss to come back".
The deceptions of Satan and the kingdom of darkness know no end. Christ has promised that the Church will conquer and reign and not even the gates of hell can prevail against her. There is more work to be done, more battles to be won, more land to conquer.
Refusal: I refuse to let the world dictate the relevancy of the Church. I refuse to let the kingdom of darkness confound the conquest of the kingdom of Christ.
Resolution: I resolve that, no matter what the surrounding situation looks like, I will hold firm to God's promise that the Church will prevail; that she will "spread abroad to the right and to the left, and her offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities". For Almighty God always keeps His promises.
The deceptions of Satan and the kingdom of darkness know no end. Christ has promised that the Church will conquer and reign and not even the gates of hell can prevail against her. There is more work to be done, more battles to be won, more land to conquer.
Refusal: I refuse to let the world dictate the relevancy of the Church. I refuse to let the kingdom of darkness confound the conquest of the kingdom of Christ.
Resolution: I resolve that, no matter what the surrounding situation looks like, I will hold firm to God's promise that the Church will prevail; that she will "spread abroad to the right and to the left, and her offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities". For Almighty God always keeps His promises.
Monday, April 1, 2013
R&R #1: Guilty Nights With My Savior
(So this will be the first installation in a new series of posts I hope to do entitled "R&R: Refuse and Resolve". Basically, if you are familiar with Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions, it will look similar to that. I am not as intelligent or theologically brilliant or charismatic as Edwards, nor will I try to be. These posts will mostly consist of experiences that I have had in the Christian faith which I think it likely others have had as well. So, here goes. Let me know if this blesses you at all. I pray it does so I am not just wasting time.)
I am a man with a guilty conscience. In my 22 years on this earth I have done many things that have hurt others, myself, and offended the Almighty. I have hurt people with selfish actions and uncaring words. There are many people I can think of off the top of my head whom I have wronged in one way or another. In short: I am a sinner.
Many of my nights are spent lying awake in my bed, dwelling on all of the wrong I have done. Friends I have hurt; family I have hurt; words I have spoken and things I have done to others. Things I have said and done to people that I can never take back and never apologize for enough. People that I have wronged who have left my life and who I will likely never see again, their only recollection of me being a memory of hurt feelings.
In this state of mind, I often turn to Isaiah 53, a common Scripture reading during Holy Week.
"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6
All the sin I have ever committed; all of the hurt that I have caused, has been laid on Christ. He has borne it all so that I could be forgiven. If you are a sinner with a guilty conscience like mine, I implore you to repent and believe in Christ. He has died for sinners like you and I.
Refusal: I refuse to be kept awake at night by the whispers of my guilty conscience and the knowledge of my own sin.
Resolve: I resolve that if I am kept awake by anything at night, it will be dwelling upon the love of my Savior, his crucifixion, and on his resurrection from the dead. It is through him that I have received new life.
"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2
I am a man with a guilty conscience. In my 22 years on this earth I have done many things that have hurt others, myself, and offended the Almighty. I have hurt people with selfish actions and uncaring words. There are many people I can think of off the top of my head whom I have wronged in one way or another. In short: I am a sinner.
Many of my nights are spent lying awake in my bed, dwelling on all of the wrong I have done. Friends I have hurt; family I have hurt; words I have spoken and things I have done to others. Things I have said and done to people that I can never take back and never apologize for enough. People that I have wronged who have left my life and who I will likely never see again, their only recollection of me being a memory of hurt feelings.
In this state of mind, I often turn to Isaiah 53, a common Scripture reading during Holy Week.
"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6
All the sin I have ever committed; all of the hurt that I have caused, has been laid on Christ. He has borne it all so that I could be forgiven. If you are a sinner with a guilty conscience like mine, I implore you to repent and believe in Christ. He has died for sinners like you and I.
Refusal: I refuse to be kept awake at night by the whispers of my guilty conscience and the knowledge of my own sin.
Resolve: I resolve that if I am kept awake by anything at night, it will be dwelling upon the love of my Savior, his crucifixion, and on his resurrection from the dead. It is through him that I have received new life.
"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2
Thursday, March 14, 2013
March Update
Wow! It's been a while! I had forgotten that I had this blog.
Life updates: Wedding planning is fun. It's even more fun when you've a future wife who likes planning. Olivia came down to visit last week and we had the chance to go do some wedding registry stuff. I got to use the registry gun so it was pretty sweet (although I wasn't allowed to get my Spongebob soap dispenser).
I'm becoming a member of Christ Central Church. It's a local PCA church which is pretty sweet. It will be a good place to grow and serve in the years that Olivia and I will be down here.
I'm taking some sweet classes this semester, most notably a History of Philosophy in Christianity and Christian Encounter with Islam. Learning about philosophy is always fun (I'm a nerd, don't make fun) and learning more about Islam is very beneficial. As Islam spreads more and more into Western civilization we will need to have an accurate view of what Islam teaches if we are to faithfully stand against it for Christ's glory and honour.
Life is good. God is good. My latest theological pursuit is toward a greater understanding of the Trinity, the triune nature of the One True God. We don't think about it enough in American evangelicalism, but the Trinity shapes basically everything about our Christian faith. Our communal relation, our oneness in Christ, our love in marriages and families, all revolve around the revealed Trinitarian nature of God. Do some research; know what you believe and why.
Life updates: Wedding planning is fun. It's even more fun when you've a future wife who likes planning. Olivia came down to visit last week and we had the chance to go do some wedding registry stuff. I got to use the registry gun so it was pretty sweet (although I wasn't allowed to get my Spongebob soap dispenser).
I'm becoming a member of Christ Central Church. It's a local PCA church which is pretty sweet. It will be a good place to grow and serve in the years that Olivia and I will be down here.
I'm taking some sweet classes this semester, most notably a History of Philosophy in Christianity and Christian Encounter with Islam. Learning about philosophy is always fun (I'm a nerd, don't make fun) and learning more about Islam is very beneficial. As Islam spreads more and more into Western civilization we will need to have an accurate view of what Islam teaches if we are to faithfully stand against it for Christ's glory and honour.
Life is good. God is good. My latest theological pursuit is toward a greater understanding of the Trinity, the triune nature of the One True God. We don't think about it enough in American evangelicalism, but the Trinity shapes basically everything about our Christian faith. Our communal relation, our oneness in Christ, our love in marriages and families, all revolve around the revealed Trinitarian nature of God. Do some research; know what you believe and why.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. -Hebrews 10:19-23
The peace of Christ Jesus be with you all.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
What Are We Doing Here?
"The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Psalm 110:1
"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." Hebrews 10:12,13
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:18-20
What is the mission of the Church? What is our goal? What are we doing?
The question has plagued me lately. Are we to just convert people? Are we to go street preaching? Are we supposed to separate from the world, like the Amish? Are we to be like the Hasidic Jews, forming our own urban neighborhoods to retreat into? How do we know? Well, if we profess to follow Christ, we start with his example.
Why did Christ come into the world? There are a lot of people with a lot of different answers to that question; some of them good answers, some of them terrible answers. Let's clear some answers up first of all. Christ didn't come into the world just to show you how to be a good person. Christ didn't come into the world just to show you how much God loves you. Make no mistake, he came to do those things, but if that's all you're getting from Jesus, then you aren't getting it. The big reason Christ came is found in Romans 5:6-11.
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
Now, make no mistake, that's huge. That's something that has eternal consequences. But that isn't the whole story. If Christ came solely to die for our sins, he would have just gone straight to the cross. But he doesn't. Why not? What's he doing in the meantime? Well, the Holy Spirit descends on him at his baptism. If you've read Judges, you know that when the Holy Spirit descends on people, situations get violent really fast. People start making war. So when the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus, he goes to war. He goes into the wilderness and becomes the first human ever to resist the temptations of Satan. Repeat that again to fully understand what you just read. He starts healing cripples, the blind, lepers, casting out demons. He violently drives the money-changers out of the temple, twice. For three-or-so years of his life, Jesus goes into berserker mode against the kingdom of Satan. Colossians 2:15 says "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."
So what does that tell us about the Church and her mission? It's simple. We follow our Lord into the breach. We go forth with him to conquer. Christ has ascended and been seated at the right hand of the Father, awaiting the day when his enemies are made his footstool. That's our job. We go out with the Holy Spirit into the whole earth with the goal of conquest. Sometimes we hear that and we like the thought, but we limit it. We aren't called to just conquer our homes or our circle of friends or our families; we are called to conquer the whole world: colleges, marketplaces, laboratories, art galleries, grocery stores, banks, governments on and on until there remains no inch of ground over which the flag of Christ's Kingdom doesn't fly.
And here's the real kicker: we are called to do all of this with nothing more than love and a Book. Sound stupid? That's because it is. It's foolish to even think victory possible. But it is not only possible, it is assured. Matthew 16:18 "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". Daniel 7:13,14 "and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came on like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed".
It seems to me that right now our mission is summed up in one word: conquer. Conquer everything for the kingdom of Christ.
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." Hebrews 10:12,13
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:18-20
What is the mission of the Church? What is our goal? What are we doing?
The question has plagued me lately. Are we to just convert people? Are we to go street preaching? Are we supposed to separate from the world, like the Amish? Are we to be like the Hasidic Jews, forming our own urban neighborhoods to retreat into? How do we know? Well, if we profess to follow Christ, we start with his example.
Why did Christ come into the world? There are a lot of people with a lot of different answers to that question; some of them good answers, some of them terrible answers. Let's clear some answers up first of all. Christ didn't come into the world just to show you how to be a good person. Christ didn't come into the world just to show you how much God loves you. Make no mistake, he came to do those things, but if that's all you're getting from Jesus, then you aren't getting it. The big reason Christ came is found in Romans 5:6-11.
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
Now, make no mistake, that's huge. That's something that has eternal consequences. But that isn't the whole story. If Christ came solely to die for our sins, he would have just gone straight to the cross. But he doesn't. Why not? What's he doing in the meantime? Well, the Holy Spirit descends on him at his baptism. If you've read Judges, you know that when the Holy Spirit descends on people, situations get violent really fast. People start making war. So when the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus, he goes to war. He goes into the wilderness and becomes the first human ever to resist the temptations of Satan. Repeat that again to fully understand what you just read. He starts healing cripples, the blind, lepers, casting out demons. He violently drives the money-changers out of the temple, twice. For three-or-so years of his life, Jesus goes into berserker mode against the kingdom of Satan. Colossians 2:15 says "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."
So what does that tell us about the Church and her mission? It's simple. We follow our Lord into the breach. We go forth with him to conquer. Christ has ascended and been seated at the right hand of the Father, awaiting the day when his enemies are made his footstool. That's our job. We go out with the Holy Spirit into the whole earth with the goal of conquest. Sometimes we hear that and we like the thought, but we limit it. We aren't called to just conquer our homes or our circle of friends or our families; we are called to conquer the whole world: colleges, marketplaces, laboratories, art galleries, grocery stores, banks, governments on and on until there remains no inch of ground over which the flag of Christ's Kingdom doesn't fly.
And here's the real kicker: we are called to do all of this with nothing more than love and a Book. Sound stupid? That's because it is. It's foolish to even think victory possible. But it is not only possible, it is assured. Matthew 16:18 "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". Daniel 7:13,14 "and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came on like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed".
It seems to me that right now our mission is summed up in one word: conquer. Conquer everything for the kingdom of Christ.
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
For the Lamb
"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" Ecclesiastes 11:13
I found myself in an inter-racial, gospel-music-playing, confessional Presbyterian church this past Sunday. It was boss. Who knew that you could take A Mighty Fortress and funkatize it into a gospel song! Anyway, I'll be attending this church, Christ Central, for the time being. Further down the road I will probably try to become an intern there as well.
We looked at the martyrs in my Church History course this past week. Talk about a punch to the gut! Here am I, just trying to have my own private pity party about how hard seminary is and about all the stuff I gave up to serve God, and then these martyrs come along, showing me their puncture wounds and claw marks and missing body parts! I'm like "Sheesh, guys! I'm really happy for you and your new robes and all, but quit rubbing it in my face!" And then I have to repent. Anyway, martyrs were pretty boss. If ever you need a pick-me-up, just think "At least I'm not being torn to shreds by wild animals while my former friends and neighbors watch and jeer".
Now, onward, to happier thoughts! Sweet home Chicago! I'll likely be coming back to the Land of Lincoln for a couple of days during the week of October 8. I hope to see all of you then!
In Christ's love
I found myself in an inter-racial, gospel-music-playing, confessional Presbyterian church this past Sunday. It was boss. Who knew that you could take A Mighty Fortress and funkatize it into a gospel song! Anyway, I'll be attending this church, Christ Central, for the time being. Further down the road I will probably try to become an intern there as well.
We looked at the martyrs in my Church History course this past week. Talk about a punch to the gut! Here am I, just trying to have my own private pity party about how hard seminary is and about all the stuff I gave up to serve God, and then these martyrs come along, showing me their puncture wounds and claw marks and missing body parts! I'm like "Sheesh, guys! I'm really happy for you and your new robes and all, but quit rubbing it in my face!" And then I have to repent. Anyway, martyrs were pretty boss. If ever you need a pick-me-up, just think "At least I'm not being torn to shreds by wild animals while my former friends and neighbors watch and jeer".
Now, onward, to happier thoughts! Sweet home Chicago! I'll likely be coming back to the Land of Lincoln for a couple of days during the week of October 8. I hope to see all of you then!
In Christ's love
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