Puppy

So it's official. I got a German Shepherd puppy. Having that stray around gave me a taste for owning a dog. My dad decided that he would be on the look-out for German Shepherds in the Scottsbluff newspaper and he found a free puppy there in Scottsbluff on Saturday. I'm pretty excited. I think that I'm going to name him Sarge. I've spent a lot of my free time with him so that's why there has been much on the blog lately. I hope to start posting some more soon.

Paul's View of the Torah

Lately I've been really struggling over this. I have all sorts of info running through my head. I can see that Tom Wright makes some points, but also I know that Doug Moo also makes some good points. Check this out.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:14-15, "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace."

And then in Romans 3:31, Paul writes, "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law."

Jesus further complicates the issue in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Anyone else confused? Here's a good article that has helped me. What do you think?

Ephesians 2:11-22

A couple of weeks ago my buddy Dave Hughes asked me to share at Campus Ventures in Scottsbluff. So I decided to sketch out my thoughts here before I presented this stuff to CV. (Levi and Stacy, remember the House 122 Bible Study? That was awesome stuff). Well, over the last semester Ephesians 2:11-22 has been resounding in my head. I had never really noticed this theme in Scripture before and so it's just now starting to make an impact in my life.

What does it mean to be to a part of God's people? How do we know who's a member of His covenant family and who's not? Well, this was an important question to the New Testament church. In the past God had always primarily worked with the children of Israel. They were His covenant people, His family. They had a great godly heritage that was filled with a rich tradition of hearing from God Himself. They were God's people.

And so when Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah, the Jews naturally thought that He was their Messiah. If Gentiles wanted to enjoy the blessings of this Jewish Messiah, they had become a part of the Jewish people. This, of course, meant getting circumcision and following the Torah. To the Jews, these were the marks of covenant membership. If you're circumcised, you have your official "I'm a part of God's people" badge. However, if you're not circumcised, then that's a sign that you're on the outside. You're not a part of the club.

Paul addresses this issue in his letter to the Ephesians. Look at 2:11-12.

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)--— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world (NIV).

Paul asks the Ephesian Gentiles to remember their former plight. There was a time when they were cut off from God's people. Before Jesus came along, there was a deep divide between the circumcised and the uncircumcised. The Jews would look at the Gentiles and say, "I'm sorry, but you're not circumcised. So you're going to have stay on the outside. You can't be a part of God's people." A physical mark on someone's body became the determining factor of whether you're a part of God's family.

Not that not along I watched the movie Glory Road with a bunch of high-school guys. I'm a sucker for sports movies. Well, it tells the story of the 1965 Texas Western basketball team led by Don Haskins to the National Championship against the Kentucky Wildcats. The movie is set in the midst of the segration between blacks and whites. Don Haskins ends up fielding an all-black team against an all-white Kentucky team. Although Texas Western was a big underdog they upset the heavy-favored Wildcats. That game completely changed basketball. It opened up the door for bigger schools to start recruiting black players.

That's the same sort of deal that was happening here. We have two completely different ethnic groups that wouldn't have anything to do with each other. That's when Jesus steps into the picture. Paul writes,

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

You see contrary to some's expections, Jesus isn't just a Jewish Messiah. He's also the Savior of the World. Therefore, those who in the past were far away from God's family (i.e the Gentiles) have been brought near to God. In other words, Jesus' death and resurrection didn't just set us right with God (2:1-10). It also set us right with each other (2:11-22). Not only did the Father send Jesus to fix the relationship between God and man, but He also sent Jesus to fix the relationship between disconnected and isolated human beings. After all, God wanted to create a diverse community of believers, a family filled with every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Well, how did He do this? By removing the barrier between Jews and Gentiles. The Jews were using God's Law, the Torah, as a boundary line between Jews and Gentiles. A "us versus them" mentality. Thus, when Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled God's Law. He obeyed it completely and his death was the sacrifice that put an end to all further sacrifice. His death completely satisfied the demands of the Torah. So observing the Torah could no longer be used as an ethnic barrier between Jews and Gentiles. Thus, Jesus' death and resurrection initiated the New Covenant between God and man. As Paul says in Romans 10:4, "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."

So by His death and resurrection, Jesus creates a new community of God. This community has no ethnic boundaries. No longer can somebody look at you say, "You don't have the right marks on your body, so you can't come in." The mark of being in the family of God is the indwelling Spirit of God. This is the badge of New Covenant membership. Look at v. 19-22.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Risk

So my buddy Kevin and I like to play Risk occasionally and it gets pretty competitive. Kevin has developed several strategies for worldwide domination. Levi, we both know that Risk is about strategy. Here check them out. If we've forgotten one of your favorites, tell us.

Switzerland Strategy – When placing troops at the beginning of the game, avoid all populated high tension areas. Attack one country per turn to get a card and avoid ticking anyone off.

Nomad Strategy – Similar to the Switzerland Strategy your goal is not to gain control of a continent, but rather to keep all of your troops grouped together in one undefeatable army. You can use this army to stay natural until card cashes are more important than continent bonus or to attack others to keep them from controlling continents. Using this strategy you can wonder freely around the board until you are ready to make your move for world conquest.

Suicide Bomber Strategy – This is not a winning strategy, however it will annoy the crap out of any serious Risk players in the game, you also may or may not be rewarded with 72 virgins after defeat. Your goal is to foil the plans of other players at the board with no regard to your own wellbeing.

Land Down Under Strategy – In this strategy you will place all of your troops in Australia in the beginning of the game and on your first turn take complete control of this continent. Then leaving a protective army at the one boarder into your continent you are free to branch out into the world and still receive 2 bonus armies every turn.

South America Strategy – This is a simple yet difficult variation on the Land Down Under Strategy. I you choose to start in South America be ready for serious conflict with North America and Africa through out the game. This is not a good starting point because it is difficult to control with a small continent bonus.

Benedict Arnold Strategy – Strike an alliance with another player then once they are engaged in a serious conflict with a third party, stab him in the back to gain control of his continent or eliminate him completely for his cards.

Don't Screw With Me Strategy – If anyone ever breaks an alliance with you, do what ever necessary to make their life hell. Use the Suicide Bomber Strategy and if possible make them feel guilty even after the game is over.

Two Friends and a Stranger Strategy – Invite someone new to your Risk game that is easily influenced and unfamiliar to the game. Use your skills of diplomacy to influence them in ways that will benefit you. (Make sure you pick a loyal friend that will not give in to outside peer pressure to attack you.)

The Intimidation Strategy - This really only works if you are bigger than the other players. This also only works if they don't really know if you'll follow through or not. The way to work this strategy is basically to make wild physical threats at those whom attack you. Feel free to throw the dice like you mean it.

The French Strategy - This strategy is where you try to stop an opponent from attacking you by whining incessantly. One must try to see the entire game as everyone is against them, and they never get the breaks. Downplay your successes, and take joy out of your opponent's successes with this lip service strategy. Be forewarned, at times this can backfire and make people get you out of the game early.

Last time Kevin, some other friends, and I played, I went with the suicide bomber. I didn't win, but Kevin didn't either.

A Test of Orthodoxy?

Christianity. There's a word that instantly creates a reaction. What exactly is Christianity? What makes Christianity any different from Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or atheism?

No doubt there are certainly some similiarities between these different perspectives. We all have some sort of common ground just in the fact that we all are trying to get answers to life's most important questions.

However, we also have some important differences when it comes to giving answers to different questions. And these differences cannot be avoided. Nor should they be swept under the carpet in order that we pretend there isn't a problem. Each religion has beliefs that make it unique and distinct from other religions.

What makes Christianity unique?

Well, one of the major differences between Christianity and some of those religions is that we are monotheists. Of course, we aren't the only monotheists, but this is an important part of our faith. This means that we believe that there is one God. And that necessarily implies that other gods are false gods. In other words, Christianity teaches that the Christian God is the only real God.

Here's another. We believe in a triune God. Our God is three persons, one in essence. Now this, of course, separates us from other monotheist beliefs. So when a Christian talks about worshiping God, this is the God we are worshiping.

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is another identity marker. As the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."

These are just some of our beliefs that make us unique.

I can't believe it

March 1 will mark my first-year blogging. Levi, see what you've done. You've created a monster (Evil laugh).

Cold

So since it has really snowed here this last week, we went sledding yesterday. It was quite a bit of fun, but by the end of things I was freezing cold. I had snow everywhere, but it was so much fun. I felt like a ten-year-old out there.

Rob Bell rejoinder

Well, it seems to me like that quote prompted a lot of comments. I leave my blog alone for a few days and look what happens. I know that some of folks really identify with Bell and his feelings about postmodernism. I've listened to several of his sermons on the web and found myself enjoying his style. I'm not to sure that I know what to say about the book other than that I have mixed feelings. It didn't sit well with me that right off the bat he so closely associated himself with Marcus Borg, the Jesus Seminar scholar who denies the physical resurrection of Christ. That just left a really bad taste in my mouth as I continued through the book. I know that Bell really likes Tom Wright (who's famous for his defense of the resurrection) as well, but that just hit me wrong. By the way, he also encourages his readers to read John Piper.

Bell makes some really good points on several things. Bell notices that in the past Christians have often discouraged questioning and he feels that this process of questioning is good for the church if we're going to get a better understanding of our faith. Often in some Christian circles we set up a certain definition of orthodoxy that makes questioning off limits. In the church that I grew up in, I often felt like a heretic for just asking questions about other viewpoints on issues such as young-earth creationism, pre-trib dispensationalism, eternal security, speaking in tongues, etc. That's not helpful if we really want to understand Scripture.

However, we need to admit that not all doctrines are as important in the overall picture. I happen to think that the physical resurrection of Christ is crucial. The virgin birth is crucial. These are items that all three branches of "orthodox" Christianity has held as being vital to our faith. The difficulty is in deciding which issues are the most important for us to agree on, which issues should we use as a test of orthodoxy. I'm not completely sure what I think, but I know that some doctrines are definitely more important than others. I'll post some more on the book in the near future.

What a Week!

Well, I've been pretty busy over the last week so I haven't posted much. First and foremost, I found out that my wife Shelley and I are expecting a baby coming up in October. We are really excited and want to praise God for this marvelous grace to us. Pray for us as we are concerned like most new parents for Shelley's health and for the health of the baby. That is such a blessing. I really don't know what to say except that I'm thrilled and humbled at the same time....

Are you sure about that?

Recently a friend encouraged me to read Velvet Elvis by the emergent church guru Rob Bell. Here's an interesting quote. What do you think?

"Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people."

Eisegesis Alert

Check this out. Notice anything wrong with the Scripture passage quoted in the banner on this website? I saw this over at Justin Taylor's blog.

Skeptical?

Rudolf Bultmann, the highly-acclaimed NT Bible scholar, once said,

"It is impossible to use electrical light and the wireless and to avail ourselves of modern medical and surgical discoveries, and at the same time to believe in the New Testament world of spirits and miracles."

Jesus once said,

"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31 NIV).

Acts 2

Here's another article by Robert Zerhusen. It's written more for a popular audience. Check it out.

1 Corinthians 14

Recently I found this fascinating article by Robert Zerhusen on 1 Corinthians 14, the much debated passage on speaking in tongues. Check it out.

Prayer and God's Will

I did some more thinking about this difficult subject of prayer. One of the hardest things for me to get is why God does not answer our prayers. Or maybe I should put it this way--Why does it seem that God doesn't answer our prayers? This is a heart-wrenching issue that we've all experienced. I have several long-term prayer requests that God has yet to do anything about or so it seems.

Although I'm not completely sure that I know the answer to this question, I think that it lies in the direction of the subject of God's will. Sometimes God does not answer a request because it is contrary to His will. Throughout Scripture, we continue to hear that God wants us to pray according to His will. Look at Romans 1:9-10.

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

In this passage, Paul mentions to the Romans that it was his life-long prayer request to visit them. Notice that he prayed that it would be God's will or desire for him to do this. By this statement, Paul acknowledges that God has the ability to say "Yes" or "No" to his request. What does the answer to his request rest on? God's will.

Of course, God's will is a extremely difficult subject in itself, but let me make an observation about our usage of this phrase. When folks talk about God's will, they normally use the term in one of two different ways: His will of preference and His will of action. We talk like this everyday.

For instance, the other night I was hanging out with my friend Kupo. Now Kupo asked me a favor. Ideally I didn't want to do it. Doing this wasn't exactly something that I considered fun. This is what I mean by the term will of preference. I preferred not to act in this way.

However, I did do the favor for Kupo. Why? Because my will of action led me in this direction. I had a deeper motivation that required me to do the favor for Kupo. My friendship with Kupo caused me to act in that manner as opposed to my preferred course of action.

This is true with God as well. Ideally God desires a world without sin. He desires that everyone will be saved. He desires that folks tell the truth. He desires a world without sickness and pain. This is God's will of preference. (Luis Molina called this God's absolute intentions).

However, our world doesn't necessarily correspond to God's ideal or preferred will. That means that on a deeper level God must desire something else. This is what I mean by His will of action. (Luis Molina called this God's conditional intentions). God's will of action is His reason for determining the circumstances that actually occur in this world. This is why not everyone goes to heaven. This is why folks suffer. And this is why sin has entered the picture. Of course, this is not what God ideally desires, but for other reasons He has determined to take this course of action. In the long run, God must have sufficient reasons for allowing sin into this world although He doesn't prefer a world with sin. He must have a reason for allowing all kinds of sickness and suffering, etc.

God's will is a complicated issue. And I'm sure that I haven't even scratched the surface, but this is the direction that I'm headed with the subject.

How does affect prayer? Well, as I read the Bible, I can learn about God's ideal will and pray accordingly, but I must remember that it won't always work out because God may have something bigger at stake.

Prayer

The other night I went to a meeting for one of the local campus ministries. The speaker spoke on prayer. Although I didn't completely agree with her, her talk led me to do some thinking on this difficult subject and the nature of God. She left us with interesting quote that said, "History is in the hands of intercessor." Now I understand what's that quote is trying to say and I agree that prayer is that important and necessary, but I think that it needs a crucial modification. I would like to reword the quote to say, "History is in the hands of the intercessor's God." Certainly this adjustment gives us a better description of the truth.

Let me put it this way. Why pray? Why do we ask God for certain things? Why do we petition the Father? Well, when it comes down to it, we pray because we assume that God has the power and authority to do something about our requests. In other words, the very concept of prayer assumes that God is sovereign and omnipotent. If God doesn't have the power and authority to change things, then why ask Him to do anything about it? When we pray, we are admitting to God that we are in desperate need for His intervention. The pray-er must realize that he is helpless and God is his only solution to the problem.

For instance, I ask God to heal somebody, I'm assuming that He has the ability to do so. If I pray for someone's salvation, I assume that God has the power to do something about it. If I pray for more leaders for youth group, I must believe that God can do something about it. This is what I mean when I say that history is in the hands of the intercessor's God.

But that's not the whole story. We also pray because we assume that God listens to our prayers. In other words, we assume that God somehow responds to us. Our requests are important to Him and in some incomprehensible way our prayers shape God's plan. That is the other side of the coin. For instance, when I pray for someone to be saved, I assume that person's salvation is somewhat contingent on my prayers. If I pray for someone to be healed, I assume that I must pray in order for God to respond to the need.

At first glance, this seems to leave us with a hopeless contradiction, but as I read Scripture I'm convinced that both are true. God is sovereign and man is responsible to pray. God is unchanging and at the same time, our prayers in some way change Him. I don't get it. I don't pretend to. I just know that there is plenty of Scripture to back up both sides of the coin. I just don't want to fall into one extreme or the other. Once again, I'm learning to be happy with the tension.

Bad News, Good News

Our cat Lucy has been running scared for the last couple of days. She's not used to having to share her place with a big whole stupid dog. She's been hissing and hiding. Shelley was worried that she'll never be the same.

Then last night after youth group, Lucy was nowhere to found. I looked and looked. Nobody let her outside so it was a real mystery. Shelley was pretty upset about it. We couldn't find her anywhere.

Well, this morning some guy called me about his missing dog. He gave me a very accurate description of the dog and so I invited him to come by and check him out. Sure enough. It was his dog. So no more Riley. I guess that his name was actually Casey. Not far off. Two syllables.

Now the dog was gone, but there was still no cat. Then about two hours after Casey left, Lucy came out of hiding. She's still pretty cautious. Shelley was thrilled to see her cat back. I'm kind of disappointed about the dog.

Moral Relativism?

David and Shawn have a really great post on ethical dilemmas. They do a great job dealing with a difficult moral issue.

An Update

Here's some news on the dog. Last night I saw a notice on the local news site about a missing German Shepherd. So we thought that we found the owners. Disappointed I gave them a call and they came by this morning to check out the dog. Suprisingly it wasn't their dog. So at least for the time being he's still ours! If we do get to keep him, we're going to call him "Riley".

Weird

O.k. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved German Shepherds. They're just beautiful dogs. For the last couple of monthes, I've begin thinking about getting one. In fact, this last November we were this close to getting one. We had a puppy lined up, but something fell through.

Well, last night when Shelley came home from play practice, there on our porch was a German Shepherd/Huskie dog (I'm not sure which exactly breed he is. His face looks more like a Shepherd, but his color is more like a Huskie). He's a beautiful full-grown dog. He didn't have a collar. We think that he might have ran away from his owner. We're pretty sure that he has an owner because he seems pretty well-trained. So we left a note with the police about the dog, but from right now we're keeping him 'til his owner calls. I hope that I don't get too attached, but he's an incredible dog. Maybe his owner was moving and couldn't find him a place, and so the owner dropped him off in the country. That's unlikely, but who knows.

Martin Niemöller

Martin Niemöller was a German Lutheran pastor during World War II. He wrote this thought-provoking little poem.


First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak out.

Interesting Happenings

I ran across this fascinating article on Tim's blog Clay-Pot. It's amazing to watch what's happening in the church. Check this out. It's about a sermon by Father Raniero Cantalamessa.

The Flesh and the Spirit

Like most sincere Christians, I struggle with sin. And it's a passionate struggle. There are sinful tendencies within me that I simply despise, and yet secretly love. Here lies the problem. There are things that I do that I wish that I didn't do. My desire to become like Christ requires me to resist these sinful tendencies. I think that most of Christians can say that's true with them as well. So often throughout church history, struggling Christians have found comfort in texts such as Romans 7 and Galatians 5.

However, the more that I study Romans and Galatians the more I realize that these passages have often been misinterpreted. My opinion is that most of us have read our struggle with sin into these texts and, as a result, have failed to grasp the meaning of Paul. Let's take a real quick look at Romans 7:13-25 for now. (In the future, I hope to post on Galatians 5).

Paul writes,

13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me (ESV).

The first thing that I want to point is this--it is crucial to our understanding of the text that we correctly identify the beginning of this paragraph. Some folks want to start with v. 14 (See the NIV). However, I believe that v. 13 marks the beginning of the paragraph. Why? Because v. 14-25 provides the answer to the question asked in v. 13. If we miss this, we miss Paul's whole argument. Throughout Romans, Paul uses a Q-and-A format. This is how he operates. In v. 13 we have the question that sets the agenda for v. 14-25. And what's that question.

13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me?

What's Paul talking about? The Mosaic Law! The Law was a good thing, a spiritual thing (i.e. inspired by the Spirit). And yet, as the previous verses demonstrate, it brought death to Paul. The Law made Paul realize his own sinfulness. It revealed the inadequacy of his own human attempts to please God. The Law said not to covet and Paul coveted. The problem was clear. Paul was spiritually dead. So here's the issue. How could the Law, being a good thing, bring death to Paul? Look at the answer.

By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

It wasn't the Law's fault that Paul died. The power of sin which controlled Paul was to blame. And thus, the power of sin used a good thing, the Law, to bring death to Paul. Paul continues to illustrate this in v. 14-25. Look at how Paul describes himself in these verses.

• I am of the flesh
• Sold under sin
• I do not understand my own actions
• I do not do the thing I want
• I do the very thing I hate
• Sin dwells within me
• Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh
• For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out

This does not describe the Christian. This is a description of a Jewish unbeliever. The Jews believed that they had a right status with God simply because of their ethnic heritage and possession of the Torah. Paul argues again and again that this does not cut it. In fact, the very thing that they were so proud of--the Torah--proves that they stand condemned as covenant breakers. They did not keep the Law nor did they have the ability outside of Christ to do so. That's why Paul adds in v. 21-25.

21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

If we stay in the context of ch. 7, the passage is clearly not discussing the struggle of a believer with sin. Now does this mean that Christians no longer struggle with sin? Clearly not. There are plenty of other texts that illustrate that, but Romans 7 isn't one of them. It deals with the struggle of an unbelieving Jew relying on Torah observance to please God.

Webb's Mockingbird

So I bought the new Derek Webb cd last night and I like it. The first one "She Must and Shall Go Free" was incredible. I loved it. Challenging, thought-provoking. The second one "I See Things Upside Down" wasn't so great. I didn't like much at all. Too keyboardy, too many loops, etc. It just didn't stick with me. However, I do like "Mockingbird." It's pretty good stuff. I don't necessarily agree with him on everything, but he makes you think. I think that he enjoys rattling people's cages. Look at the lyrics to this song.

Rich Young Ruler

poverty is so hard to see
when it’s only on your tv and twenty miles across town
where we’re all living so good
that we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood
where he’s hungry and not feeling so good
from going through our trash
he says, more than just your cash and coin
i want your time, i want your voice
i want the things you just can’t give me

so what must we do
here in the west we want to follow you
we speak the language and we keep all the rules
even a few we made up
come on and follow me
but sell your house, sell your suv
sell your stocks, sell your security
and give it to the poor
what is this, hey what’s the deal
i don’t sleep around and i don’t steal
i want the things you just can’t give me

because what you do to the least of these
my brother’s, you have done it to me
because i want the things you just can’t give me

Sports

As a youth pastor, I often have the privilege and responsibility to watch different sporting events of kids from our ministry. To tell you the truth, I was never really a jock. I wasn't even close to being good at sports, but I enjoy watching the games. I try to attend most of the games that I can. Of course, football is my favorite. I'm a true Cornhusker fan. (By the way, the '95 Huskers was the greatest college football team ever. Hands down!)

Well, last night I went to an out-of-town basketball for one of our freshman students. It was a fun game to watch. One Chadron player made seven 3-pointers. However, I was left with an uneasy feeling after the game. Sometimes, going to these games really bothers me. Parents can be so vicious. They harass the officials. They mock the other team. The whole show is often filled with so much pride and arrogance. Our society worships sports. It's unbelievable. This is just a freshman basketball game, and parents are at each other's throats. It's unlikely that any of these kids will play college ball, let alone the NBA. It's disgusting, and yet so sad. They're missing it. As I watched the game, this passage echoed through my mind.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Resources on Youth Ministry

Here are a couple of great articles that a friend found and sent me on youth ministry.

"Seriousness in Children and Teens"

"When Ball Becomes Baal"

The title to that second article is terrific. Idolatry to sports is a serious problem within the church. I know kids that as soon as basketball or volleyball season hits they're gone. I won't see them until the end of the semester. It saddens me to see how much parents go along with this.

Gordon Fee on Eternal Security

Gordon Fee is a prof at Regent and an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God. Listen to this perceptive quote from Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God. By the way, this book is excellent. It was life-changing for me.

"I grew up in a church where the buzz phrases 'eternal security' and 'once saved, always saved' were bad news. People who believed so, I was told, even if they did not intend it, encouraged 'easy-believism' and 'cheap grace'; that is, peopled believed in Christ for salvation but failed to exhibit it in their lives. They were eternally secure, so why get uptight about how they lived? Only later did I learn that this language was a popular distortion of Calvin's perseverance of the saints. Calvin believed (rightly so) that God enables his holy ones, his saints, to persevere to the end, and in that they were secure--eternally. Unfortunately, what was sometimes advocated as Calvinism often did offer false security to unbelievers, people who wanted a passport to heaven without becoming citizens."

Then, he adds this in a footnote.

"I should add, to fill out the debate at the popular level, that too much ranting against 'eternal security' often led to insecurity. My way of putting it is that a lot of us used to 'get saved' every Sunday night because we had sinned during the week! This equally bad theology led to more spiritual neuroses than one cares to remember."