Will Gay Marriage be Good for the Church?

I love this article. It articulates something I have been thinking about for awhile now. Essentially, as our culture moves farther and farther away from holiness and towards self-gratifying hedonism, those who claim to be Christians but aren't will be weeded out as the cost for following Christ becomes less popular. On top of that, Christians will begin to look more and more different from the surrounding culture.

As this article discusses, as marriage begins to fade away (as it's been doing for decades), a greater percentage of healthy, long-lasting marriages will be in the church. A very good witness indeed. So while I am saddened to see our culture opposing God with greater boldness every year, this more open rebellion against God is only a visible manifestation of the internal rebellion that has been present for a long, long time. Seeing it openly will hopefully wake many up to the reality of their opposition to God.

Why don't we follow the Old Testament laws?

I cannot tell you how many times I have been questioned by non-Christians about why I would wear clothes with mixed threads. Or why we don't stone women caught in adultery. Or why we think it's okay to eat pork. How is it that we Christians pick and choose what we want to follow from the Bible and still call it infallible? Isn't that hypocrisy?

The short answer is no.

In reality, anybody who accuses Christians of this are simply repeating it from someone they heard say. Who heard someone else say it etc... Because nobody who studies the Word of God can come away with that understanding.

I was sparked into thinking about this when I ran across a great article explaining in-depth the different covenants in Scripture. I highly recommend that anybody read it.

In short, the reason that we don't follow those laws which we are all confronted with from time to time by our non-Christian friends is that those laws were part of the Mosaic Covenant. There are a few major covenants that we can find reading through Scripture, and those laws, being part of the Mosaic Covenant, was a covenant between God and the nation of His people, Israel. This covenant only ever applied to the nation of Israel. I suggest checking out that article for a more in-depth look at the differences between the various covenants. 

Boldly approaching the Throne of Grace

I have had the great fortune to move to Washington, DC to go to school and was very quickly plugged into an amazing church in the heart of the city. One of the things I have come to love about this church is its love of hymns. I have always enjoyed them, but only ever really heard one here and there. Being exposed to hymns, some of them centuries old, has really been a cool experience.

In particular, there was one which stuck out to me. "Arise, My Soul, Arise" was written in the 1700's and its verses hit me in a powerful way.

"Five bleeding wounds He bears,
Received on Calvary,
They pour effectual prayers,
They strongly plead for me:
'Forgive him, O, forgive' they cry,
'Forgive him, O, forgive' they cry,
'Nor let that ransomed sinner die.'

My God is reconciled;
His pard'ning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child,
I can no longer fear,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And, 'Father, Abba, Father,' cry."

These words have hit me so hard in the past few days. I feel like it has revealed to me how incorrect my focus in prayer has been. Buried within my own understanding has been hidden a naivety about why it is that I have the privilege to approach the Throne of Grace. And approach it boldly. It is an important distinction to understand, as these verses illuminate, that we are able to cry to our Father because the blood of Jesus testifies for us. When God looks at us, He no longer sees our sins and rebellion, but Jesus' blood.

Even in our prayers we must be humble. It is only because of that day on Calvary that we have the blessing to cry out to God and have Him hear us. But now that we do have the covering of Jesus' blood, we may boldly approach the Throne of Grace with our worship and our petitions. Praise God!

Seeing the Creator in creation

Last month I was traveling around Idaho and was daily confronted with the beauty of creation. Some of the most gorgeous country you will ever see is in wilderness Idaho. One of the days I was there, some of us went on a hike which took us up above an alpine lake up to the ridge of a low mountain and let us look down into the rolling valleys beyond. Such a beautiful place.

When we were sitting on top of the ridge I pulled out my Bible and read through my favorite Psalms. One line in particular struck me.

"Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it  very well."
-Psalm 139:14b

Standing up there, seemingly on top of the world, I looked out at creation before me and the grand scope of it all screamed the Lord's name. Everywhere I looked I saw His handiwork. I could not separate what I was seeing from Him and my soul knew it very well. It is amazing how much my relationship with Christ has affected the way I see the world.

"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
-Psalm 139:17

Should Christians judge?

I have quite often been told, by non-Christians and Christians alike, that I should not judge others. They will recite Scripture to me (the non-believers too!). Have you ever heard this before?

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."

-Mathew 7:1-2

This is normally where they stop. The rest of the passage is rather important as well however...

"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye."

- Matthew 7:3-5

And how about just a few verses later?

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits."

Matthew 7:15-20

You will know them by their fruits...This sounds a lot like we are supposed to judge the fruits of people who claim Christ. This is reiterated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5.

It is very important to realize that Christians are not meant to judge the actions of non-believers. Paul very clearly points this out, also in 1 Corinthians 5. 

I think this sums it up all very nicely:

"I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one."

-1 Corinthians 5:11

The phrase 'so-called brother' is what really nails it down. Clearly, if someone comes in the name of Christ, we are supposed to look at their life and weigh it against the fruits of the spirit we see in Scripture. We are not supposed to simply take their word for it.

But in all things let us show grace and love. And, let us also not forget the first part of Matthew 7:

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."

as well as John 7:24:

"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

So in our judgments of others we must remember that we are all fallen and that nobody is perfect. But let us not be afraid to judge the actions of others and be made vulnerable to false teachers and false prophets. Before you give someone influence in your life, examine theirs and test it against Scripture as Paul and Jesus have commanded.

A kid named Nathan

I spent the last weekend at the beautiful Kelly's Whitewater Park in Idaho. It was hosting the national kayak championships and, boy, was it gorgeous. Even with temperatures right around 100 degrees, the amazingly clean and refreshing river running through the park made it not only bearable, but enjoyable too.

At any rate, I was there with my aunt who was manning a stand and selling her new book. Lots of things about the weekend will be remembered but nothing more than the boy named Nathan. He was maybe ten or eleven years old and I only talked to him once. But he had more of an impact on me than anything else that weekend.

So there we were, my aunt and I, sitting behind her book stand, when young Nathan walks up. He had a short conversation with my aunt and then moved on. As soon as he did, my aunt and I both looked at each other like, "Did you see that kid?"

Just the way the he walked and carried himself screamed of self-confidence. The kind of confidence I struggle to maintain even when I'm thinking about it. This kid already has what few grown men obtain and it was so tangible it came off of him in waves. And then there was the simple cross hanging around his neck.

It hit me like a ton of bricks that I had just seen the attribute which comes from realizing you are a son of the King. I don't know if Nathan is walking with the Lord or not, but he certainly exhibited exactly what I have been thinking about. I pray that cross around his neck means the world to him...

Update about the big move

So, I got into American University! God is good. A lot has happened since then and already God has shown that He is faithful to provide for me. Finances were a real challenge to figure out but the funding came through right when I was about to give up on it. Thank you Lord for giving me this opportunity!

At this point, my flight is booked, my classes are registered for, and it all seems to be approaching extremely quickly. DC...here I come!