My prayer

I read this today along with Ephesians 2, and both chapters 2 and 3 are outstanding works about how God saved us and the fact that we had nothing to do with it. He doesn't save us because we are better than anybody else. It's not because we have something to offer Him. We don't. It's simply because of His perfect love for very, very imperfect beings. I look at these passages and realize that if God can save me, then He can save anybody. Read this passage slowly; take in everything it says, and I hope that it brings as much blessing and hope to your day as it has mine:

Ephesians 3:14-20

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love,18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Reading list

It's been a little while since I last blogged, but I figured that it's probably better that I think long and hard about what I put on here so that I don't get caught with my foot in my mouth. I promise that this entry shouldn't do that. Who knows...maybe it might?

Since graduating from college in December, I've had a lot of things demanding my time and it caused me to question my priorities. What really is important to me in my life? One of the things that I never thought would be is reading. Since graduating, reading has become somewhat of a savior to my mind in that because I'm not in classes everyday I no longer feel challenged intellectually. I feel as if over the last four and a half years my mind has become a sponge, and now that the "water" is gone...well...we all know what happens to sponges when they just sit for a while...

I've been trying to put together a reading list for myself so that I can put it down somewhere and track my progress. I thought to myself, "Why not put it on the blog?". I also thought it would be cool if readers would comment at the bottom some suggestions on books that maybe I should add to it. That's all up to you. Below is my reading list since the turn of the new year, and it will increased as soon as I hear back from you on what I should read. What I have read or am reading will be in bold:

The New Testament Epistles and Acts (God)

Blue Like Jazz (Donald Miller)

The Seven Checkpoints (Andy Stanley)

The Forgotten Ways (Alan Hirsch)

A Series of Unfortunate Events books 1-5 (Lemony Snicket)

How to Read a Book (Mortimor Adler)

Searching for God Knows What (Donald Miller)

Through Painted Deserts (Donald Miller)

To Own a Dragon (Donald Miller)

ReJesus (Alan Hirsch)

Untamed (Alan Hirsch)

Jesus for President (Shane Claiborne)

The Connecting Church (Randy Frazee)

Lectures to My Students (C.H. Spurgeon)

Vintage Jesus (Mark Driscoll)

The Signature Classics (C.S. Lewis)

A Series of Unfortunate Events books 6-13

Ready. Set. Go.

Real men love Jesus...and are humble

Well everybody, it's February, according to some rodent we have six more weeks of this coldness before we can go outside and actually enjoy it. Regina Spektor is blaring from my Pandora, and if you don't like that then too bad. I like me some soft "anti-folk" music.

The other day I was walking next to some parked cars and one of them had a sticker on the back, and in all capital letters was this phrase:

REAL MEN LOVE JESUS

Now don't get me wrong, I have seen these bumper stickers before, and for the most part I've never really thought about any of the implications that were being made to those who, by this sticker-displayer's definition, weren't "real men". I'm going to question here how a non-Christian would take the words that were shown on the back of this person's vehicle if they happened to be driving behind them. What is the person who has put this sticker on the back of their car trying to say to the non-Christian? Here are a couple of theories:

1) "REAL MEN LOVE JESUS, and you obviously aren't a real man like me."

2) "REAL MEN LOVE JESUS, and I'm comfortable enough with my masculinity to admit it."

3) "REAL MEN LOVE JESUS, and you're not, so that makes me more man than you"

4)"REAL MEN LOVE JESUS, and when you become a Christian you can be a real man just like me."

5)"REAL MEN LOVE JESUS, and you should love Jesus so that you can be a real man like me."

I could go on and on, but the point here is that most people would say that they display this (or any other foolish Christian propaganda) on their stuff because they don't want to be ashamed of being a Christian. Some would even say that this is a "proselytizing" or "witnessing" tool..."We just want to get them saved"...

Oh please.

The common idea in any of our hypothetical thought patterns above is not Jesus, the one whom we should be pointing people to. Instead, when we display stuff like this, we are pointing people to ourselves. We are pointing people to our own pride and the fact that we think we've figured out something all on our own and that we are better than other people because of it. Even worse, we act like we had something to do with it. We act like we have made ourselves perfect before God and that somehow God looked down on "us" and saw how well we did things and poured out his approval while the rest of the world continues to live on in failure.

I honestly pray that if you think this way that you would do Jesus a favor and stop.

In Philippians 2 Paul puts together a very beautiful description of how Jesus emptied himself of himself to serve the world. I feel that if our real goal is to win the world we also must do this. We must not be so obsessed with feeding our own egos. We need to stop being so self-righteous by putting up ridiculous window clings and bumper stickers on cars that tell people how good we are. (Heavy, heavy sarcasm; take note)

May I remind you that Christ chose us and that it wasn't the other way around. We have nothing to offer God. Our righteousness is like a used tampon (aka, a filthy rag).

My resolution? I feel that the best move is to not put up window clings or bumper stickers and continue to fuel the Christian propaganda machine. If you have one that points people to look into YOUR EGO, then take it down. Please. We could be spending our money on so many better things. Consider helping out in the homeless ministry, or sponsoring a child, or giving money to missions work. I really don't want this blog to come across as rude or anything like that, but something needs to be said because most non-Christians have this view of Christians being self-righteous bigots; and you know what? They're right. We are.

We need to start practicing what we preach, and instead of telling people how they should be more like us, maybe we could set an example and do good deeds so that non-believers will see and glorify our Father in heaven. Maybe we could put a bumper sticker on the back of our car that says "I'm a dirty sinner and I nailed Jesus to the cross". At least that says "don't be like me!" We need to point people to Jesus, not ourselves.

Real men do love Jesus, but they also have an understanding that their salvation was not their own doing. They display it by loving others, not alienating the world from Jesus with Christian propaganda. We will never win the world without following Jesus' example, and that starts with humility. Everybody is given the invitation to join in on the feast that is to come.

Would you buy this?

Thanks to Kyle Burke's latest tweet, I thought I'd post this...

Sex Panther Cologne

"60% of the time it works EVERY TIME!"

http://bit.ly/cqyrhJ

Yes, it really exists...

Gotta love Anchorman...

Loving Jesus

I finished Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller this evening, and again as I have blogged about in the past, I highly recommend picking it up, especially if you consider yourself a highly staunch political conservative. Yes, I really believe politics can get in the way of loving Jesus. Look for it on Half.com and Amazon, I'm sure you'll get a good deal. I got my copy at a half-priced bookstore in Pittsburgh for like $4. Anyway, there was an interesting set of quotes at the end of the last chapter that I wanted to pass along for you to chew on:

"I think the most important thing that happens within Christian spirituality is when a person falls in love with Jesus."

...with that being said...

"I know our culture will sometimes understand a love for Jesus as weakness. There is this lie floating around that says I am supposed to be able to do life alone, without any help, without stopping to worship something bigger than myself. But I actually believe there is something bigger than me, and I need for there to be something bigger than me. I need someone to put awe inside of me; I need to come second to someone who has everything figured out" (p.237).

I can't really follow this up with anything other than how true it all is. It's really hitting home with me right now.

Doxology

A doxology is defined as "A liturgical formula of praise to God". At the end of Romans 16, Paul sums up his letter of justification through faith by giving a beautiful doxology that I think is a great connection between God's greatness and our need for Him:

"Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith - to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen."

Haiti Earthquake Relief

Just wanted to pass along two different organizations that you could donate towards to help minister to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti last week. They include:

Compassion International

-donate here: http://bit.ly/8aps1E

Convoy of Hope

-donate here: http://bit.ly/8EiNAH

Large amounts are wonderful, but I understand that sometimes funds are limited. Even as little as a dollar helps. I would encourage you to chose one (or both) of these and get involved and help turn this catastrophe into an opportunity for the Gospel to go forward in a place that needs it a lot. I've donated to both of these organizations so don't worry if the web addresses seem a little shady. I know there are a lot of hoaxes out there but I promise you that both of these are legit. If you still don't trust the links just go to there websites and go from there.

Until we speak again...

Escape

Romans 5:12-21

In this there is a very interesting comparison made by Paul between Adam and Jesus. Both are covenantal heads of the human race. What this means is that Adam was supposed to be the forerunner for a complete and wholesome life, but due to his disobedience in the Garden of Eden, he became the forerunner of sin and death for the entire human race. Now everybody who would be born after Adam would experience sin and all of its consequences which all comes to a head in death. Jesus, on the other hand, comes onto the scene as a "second Adam", in that instead of an act of disobedience, he obeys God and his act of obedience brings about righteousness before God.

The issue here is that, you, me, and Dupree are all under the curse of Adam by default. We are born into the human race under the law of sin and death, and to them both we are destined to pay debt. What Jesus offers us in being a second Adam is an opportunity of second birth. We are given an opportunity to ultimately cancel out the curse, and not by our own merit, but by the act of obedience of Jesus on the cross. He died so that the law of sin could be destroyed and he rose again that we also might follow him as the forerunner in beating death ourselves one day. We still will die on this earth, but if we have experienced second birth, we also will experience eternal life.

We can be one or the other: We are either "in Adam", or we are "in Christ", one of which causes us to die forever, and another that gives us life abundantly that starts now and continues on for eternity.

"All are in Adam by physical birth, while only those with the new birth are in Christ." -- ESV Study Bible

Acts 2 and the last days

I began a Bible reading plan courtesy of YouVersion (http://www.youversion.com). YouVersion is a website/smart phone application that has a numerous amount of Bible translations and also contributions by users on selected texts. It is a great tool, and I really recommend taking a look at it and signing up. It is completely free. I just began an 83 day reading plan that takes me through the New Testament Epistles and Acts. I am really enjoying it so far.

Today I read Acts 2 and something stood out to me about Peter's retelling of Joel's prophesy. It says this:

¹⁷"'And in the last days it shall be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
¹⁸even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
²⁰the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
²¹And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (Acts 2:17-21)

What stood out to me was that at the coming of the Holy Spirit to the church a significant prophesy from the Old Testament was fulfilled. However, in vintage Jesus fashion, it didn't happen like everybody thought it would happen. The above prophesy was preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost as if it had all come to pass at that moment, meaning that verses 17 and 18, which had just immediately occurred, were soon to be followed by verses 19 through 21...the second coming of Christ and restoration of all things. As Peter preached this message at Pentecost, he believed that the end was very imminent. In fact, most of the New Testament church believed that Jesus was going to come back very imminently. For example the church at Thessalonica had quit their jobs and sold most of their things and were sitting in the pubs with paper bags over there head like in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy waiting for Jesus to come back. Paul later corrected them by telling them not to that and to keep living life. He was still a believer in Jesus' imminent return though. The interesting thing with this collection of scriptures in Acts 2 for a 21st century reader like myself is that the bridge between verses 18 and 19 still hasn't been bridged yet...

What I would say is that, even though that gap in the text still exists, Jesus' return is still imminent, and as Christians, we must live accordingly. The entire 21st century world does not live in this imminence. In fact, most Christians do not live like it either. We as Christians must realize that the end is near, and I'm not saying that we go nuts and sell everything and quit our jobs and put paper bags on our heads, but here are a few things that come to mind for living in expectation:

1) Live life: I once heard someone say, "Live like Jesus is coming back today, plan like he's coming back in 100 years". I find a lot of wisdom in this statement.

2) Live out your purpose: Realizing that the reason we are still alive is to fulfill God's purposes is important. If you are a Christian, then you are alive to bring healing to the world. If you aren't a Christian, become one because there is healing here. The reason Jesus hasn't come back yet is because he is waiting for more people to experience salvation (2 Peter 3:9)

3) Realize other people are more important than you

4) Serve God and people

5) Seek the will of God instead of your own for the future. I think this is why Jesus got so upset over people's planning. There is a lot of pride in it if it's not rooted in the will of God.

6) Find urgency in introducing people to the real Jesus: Many non-Christians have no idea why we do this thing. I think there is a reason for that: they don't know the real Jesus, they only know the severely skewed, heretical, Discovery Channel Jesus. There is a real Jesus who really cares about people and wants to heal them.

7) Practice repentance, daily: Grace is wonderful, and I don't think there is a day that goes by that we don't need it. Don't think that a day goes by that God doesn't want to give it either. Peter's sermon is climaxed by his call for repentance, so let's realize that we need it and act accordingly.

8) Take the bag off your head do something: This wraps up the last seven in that we as Christian commit terrible sins of omission by simply DOING NOTHING. We don't expect Jesus to come back, and we do nothing. It's a double wammy. Let's flip this. Let us expect Jesus and do something about it. Acts 2 recounts the giving of the Holy Spirit. We've been given power, so let's use it and make a difference for the King. Jesus is coming back, and even if it seems like he never will, that's okay, because he said it would be like that. He's coming like a thief in the night, so maybe if today is a day that seems like he could never return, it could be a great day for him to bust into the house. Let's live.

...oh yeah...one more thing...

The reason

I am currently reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and I must say, it is a phenomenal read. I highly recommend it. Not only do I think that Miller's writing style is very poetic and beautiful (and funny at times), but for some reason, I can identify with just about every situation illustrated in this book. I really think he has a lot of beneficial things to say, especially to people who think they have the world and Christianity all figured out. It is definitely a perspective-broadener. Here's an excerpt from him regarding his realization of his need for Jesus:

"I know a little of why there is blood in my body, pumping life into my limbs and thought into my brain. I am wanted by God. He is wanting to preserve me, to guide me through the darkness of the shadow of death, up into the highlands of His presence and afterlife. I understand that I am temporary, in this shell of a thing on this dirt of an earth. I am being tempted by Satan, we are all being tempted by Satan, but I am preserved to tell those who do not know about our Savior and our Redeemer. This is why Paul had no questions. This is why he could be beaten one day, imprisoned the next, and released only to be beaten again and never ask God why. He understood the earth was fallen. He understood the rules of Rome could not save mankind, that mankind could not save itself; rather, it must be rescued, and he knew that he was not in the promised land, but still in the desert, and like Joshua and Caleb he was shouting 'Follow me and trust God!'"

-Blue Like Jazz, pages 100-101