Why I Went On Mission To Jamaica

"...if we would not be infinitely parochial, and thus fail in true virtue, then our private life, our public life, and our global life must be driven not by a narrow, constricted, merely natural self-love, but by passion for the supremacy of God in all things--a passion created through supernatural new birth by the Holy Spirit, giving us a new spiritual taste for the glory of God--a passion sustained by the ongoing, sanctifying influences of the Word of God--and a passion bent on spreading itself through all of culture and all the nations until Christ comes."

John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards, p.113, 1998

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men

John 1:4 is saying that creative life-giving power comes from Jesus.  That life itself resides in Jesus.  A little later on in John's Gospel we will hear Jesus say, "I am the resurrection and the life."  It is hard for us to see the one on one correlation between life itself and Jesus himself.  What does it mean that Jesus gives life?  I think that God has necessarily brought about the existence of Jesus because of the very nature of life itself, but what does it mean?  John adds the application at the end of verse 4, "and that life was the light of men."  Jesus' life is the thing that provides spiritual illumination, understanding, comprehension, or in our modern language: good information about God. This is profound, it means that the life of Jesus is the source of spiritual information for everyone.  This isn't such a far fetched exclusivist idea as you would think, because people from many religions have a place for Jesus somewhere, as a great prophet, a holy man, or other things.  Even so, to have true spiritual understanding one cannot ignore, but rather must accept, Jesus' own self-disclosure that was so clearly preserved in the Gospels. Spiritual darkness doesn't necessarily mean that a person has no knowledge about God, or has not heard some really good information about God.  Spiritual darkness can be like a dark cloud of circumstance that envelops our life, that hangs over our head like a blanket, so that we neither see, nor even breathe!  An understanding and acceptance of Jesus will dispel this.  A realization and communion with the Lord will pull the blanket from our head.  Coming to Christ is like coming out of the spiritual fog, out of the darkness.  But, with John's Gospel, we sometimes see that "the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."

Come Make a Place in Me

What will we pray this Christmas?

Sam Harris, my favorite neo-atheist says confidently, "minds cease to exist when bodies cease to function." He says this as if it were an irrefutable fact of science.  However, the scientific community really has no language to describe consciousness, or mind.  Harris' assertion, while giving comfort to college age rebels who are "losing their religion," must remain an assertion.

I believe, by faith, that our hearts are God's home. I believe that our souls are immortal, and that we are in danger of leaving ourselves under God's eternal judgment on sin if we "live and let live" in our relationship with God. There's a nice Christmas present.

Of course there are many responses to the notion that sin leads to judgment. In much of theistic Judaism, finding a way to keep Torah, a way to be faithful to God's law, is a key to overcoming the gulf between God's holiness and our weaknesses. In Islam, God is focused on our striving for obedience to the commandments revealed to the Prophet.  If one is obedient enough, then God may be merciful to a person on judgment day.  Doesn't that sound hopeful?  In other religions, heartfelt sacrifice and worship, along with proper offerings, will appease whatever deities there are in one's sphere of life.  One other answer is that sin isn't our immediate concern, but we ought to focus on the alleviation of suffering in the here and now.  

It is abundantly clear that scripture says we are much more than our material selves. While avoiding simple dualism, the Bible tells us that we our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit (I Cor. 6:19). We are told that we have early tents, in which we groan (2 Cor. 5).  We long to have a house in the heavens, made not with hands, but by God. God teaches us that there are two aspects of humankind, body and soul.  In fact, we are lights that have been lit by God Himself (Prov. 20:27)!  So we should realize that all of us, the whole person, belong to God (I Cor. 6:20).

Somehow or another, Augustine and Pascal (those often quoted) said that there was a place within ourselves made for God.  The ideal state of a person is that God dwells within, for the redemption of the person and for the glorification of God who gives us life.  One favorite phrase is, "Our souls are restless until they find rest in thee." 

I firmly believe the Christian answers to life better fit the evidence that human history provides for us.

So at Christmas time, may we all say to God, "come make a place in me."  One of our Christmas songs at church this year says, "as you did in the manger, come do it all again.  Show us your grace, come make a place in me."  Finally, the song declares, "there is room in my heart for you."

My hope is that you'll join with me in praying through Christmas with those words of faith in your soul.

True Torture and Hypocricy on Display

Ahem,

THIS is Torture:

Now, try hard not to make fun of it.

NPR's News Quiz makes fun of Church Outreach

People involved give an opinion of Torture Report

NPR's news quiz often has guests who appear to be stuck in puberty.  So does the Senate.  And is it not ironic how a secular materialist outlook on life enables both false outrage (Torture Report) and nervous mocking of important religious figures and activities (NPR's News Quiz)? 

And how both help the cause of evil?

And then there's this:

Jesus said, "Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt:for the tree is known by its fruit. Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. The good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things:and the evil man out of his evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."  Matthew 12:31 ff.

For those with questions, let me 'splain it to you.  Jesus died for you, to save you from your sins.

Consider supporting me through prayer and financial gifts as I minister in Jamaica in January 2015.  Small donations are welcome, and we still need called people to join us on the trip!



Thank you for your prayers and support!

Muslim Prayer at National Cathedral?

A few days ago a special Muslim prayer event (invitation only) was held at the so-called National Cathedral in Washington D.C.  This service was condemned by Franklin Graham and a host of other leading Christian personalities.  During the service, there was even a dramatic protest by a lady who has a humble ministry to Muslims, and who is concerned deeply about the "Islamisation" of America.  Read the details of her story here:

The Woman who Spoke up at Muslim National Cathedral

Organizers of the event say the special Muslim prayer event was to promote ecumenical dialogue between Muslims and Christians.  I'm sure soon there will be a special Christian worship service at a grand mosque down the street from the so-called National Cathedral.

I'd be irresponsible if I didn't point out two things:

First, there is no National Cathedral in the sense you probably think.  I fear people are assuming that the National Cathedral is somehow the "official church representing all Christians in this officially Christian (and no other religion) nation." Wrong. The building in question is actually not a church.  It is, in fact, a hyper-eccumenical "spiritual center" that is open to all faiths, perspectives, and etc. ad infinitum.  It only LOOKS LIKE a church (of the most oppressive kind).  

Second, there is a Christian congregation that meets there called "Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington."  They also run the place and offer Christian-like spiritual services. This congregation is of the Anglican (Church of England) kind.  For you church history buffs, the Anglicans are the ones that many of our spiritual forefathers were attempting to escape.  The church of England crowd now goes by the name of Episcopalian. It is well-known that Episcopalian tradition has long ago embraced certain theological ambiguities that could easily accept the truth claims of Islam (ignoring the lack of ambiguity therein).

From these two points I hope you see that no one should be surprised or outraged that a Muslim prayer event was held at the so-called National Cathedral.  Remember also that we do not have any national or state religion that is established by any government.  Further, I hope we all believe in equal protection under the law for all people, regardless of their religious affiliation.

Finally, outrage is no substitute for repentance.