Hate Is Not the Opposite of Love

One of the key ways of killing fear of man in us (besides getting to Know God more intimately) is to need people less and love people more. (If you've never thought about what fear of man is or how to deal with it, check out When People Are Big and God Is Small to get a giant does of pushback against self-esteem and codependency. To 'need people less and love people more' is one of Ed Welch's key application points in that book.) I love Welch (and all the other CCEF guys) because they get at the heart. Where they sometimes fall a bit short in their book-type resources is in the practical help--what does that look like. What does it mean to really love people more?

I was reading in a book tonight in thinking about some intense marriage counseling situations I'm involved with, and came across something profound that starts moving in the practical direction of how to love others (specifically for men--how to love our wives). 

I have often thought that love is the opposite of hate.  What Lou Priolo says in his book, The Complete Husband, is very probing: "To the extent that love is a noun, 'hate' is a good antithetical construct for it. But to the extent that love is a verb, it's probably more accurate to identify its antonym as selfishness. ... taking is the opposite of giving. Giving ... is at the heart of love. Love is giving. Selfishness is taking. 'Am I a giver or a taker?' That is the question you must ask yourself..."

Why Should I Love My Wife?

There's a blog post going viral on the internet about what real love is. Real love is about “putting someone

else’s needs above your own.” It sounds amazingly good. Christians, Muslims, and Jewish people are going bananas over it.

However, there is a massive flaw in the article: It’s completely void of the gospel and why we are to love in this way. Love truly is “putting someone else’s needs above your own,” but it is doing that for the glory of God and because of the gospel. If we get the motive wrong, we’ll set the whole train in motion in the wrong direction.

A friend of mine recently wisely observed that the man in the article was showing this serving-kind-of-love (an apparently altruistic ethic) to his wife in order to get the emotional feeling he used to get when they first were dating. Her husband then astutely asked, “What is this man going to do when the feelings subside after a while of serving his wife?”

If we look at Ephesians 2:11-18, we see that Christ made reconciliation between God-and-man and man-and-man possible through the blood of His cross. Apart from this good news, we are still “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Our feelings/emotions are only the indicators of what is going on in our hearts. We need to love God and others for the glory of God and so that others may see that glory. As John Piper has always noted, our resulting happiness will be greatest when we are doing that.

Hope for Us Hypocrites

    I’m a hypocrite—a perfect example of why people don’t want to have anything to do with the church. Of course many people who know me on the outside don’t know that. Only those who know me best know I’m a great actor.
    From the time I was very young, I spent every day of the week (literally) at the church. There I learned much about who God is, who I am, and what life is all about. When I was 5 years old, I made a decision where I talked to God in prayer and asked Him to take me to heaven when I died. That decision became my ticket to heaven. Not much changed from that point on. I lived life like every other kid, enjoying all the things kids do but in a sheltered church culture.
    I tried to live that good-on-the-surface life. Why? I’m not really sure, but I think it’s mostly because I liked to please people. I wanted them to like me and living in my little bubble world surrounded by church people, I had to say the things they wanted to hear, do the things they wanted me to do, and not do what they said I should not do. And for the most part, I did that and was convinced that I was headed in the right direction. Yet, much of what that church taught me and I said I believed, I did not embrace with a full understanding.
    Junior high and high school came and went and I was thought of as a pretty good kid. Throughout those years, I had learned about the world outside of the church through seasonal farm work and the Boy Scouts. There I learned that some of it was very different! During my senior year, I joined the National Guard and was exposed to more of a different world. Some of it bothered me—in a prideful way—I was too good to be like them. But some of it was enticing. For instance, in Louisiana the drinking age was only 18! And of course, when I got back to Illinois I continued to act like I was still in Louisiana—except only with certain friends.
    Through my college years, I played an interesting game: live that church life but with my own definition. That is—try the things I was told are wrong and rationalize from the Bible how everyone had misinterpreted those particulars. And oh, I messed up. I messed up big time. How so? Well, I couldn’t even stick to my own definition of what was right and what was wrong! Somewhere along the way in college, a friend of mine named Kirby pointed me to a Book I had read many times but hadn’t really understood. Oh, I could talk about the Bible and quote much of it from memory. And of course, I had that ticket. But Kirby helped me see anew who God is, who I am, and what life is really all about. So I started reading the Bible again.
    One of the first lessons I learned was that even with all of the evil in this world around me, there was just as much of it right inside of me. I read in the Bible that “the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.” This wasn’t news to me in one sense: after all, I had been taught all along that all people are “sinners”—people who disobey God—and deserve to be punished in a place called Hell forever; but somehow, along the way, I had begun to think that, “Yes, I’m a sinner, but I’m a better sinner than those sinners.”
    That’s when I began to understand my hypocrisy. That verse said that my inner being is more wicked than I ever imagined possible. I had defined my own laws about what was right and wrong according to the Bible, and I couldn’t even obey those! And then there was that one story in the Bible where a man asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was—in the hope that if he could keep that one, he’d be in right standing before God. Jesus’ reply was that you have to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and your entire mind. That kicked me in the pants pretty hard! I realized that I don’t love God entirely because if I truly did, I wouldn’t be living two different lives. I would be living a life sold out completely to him.
    Then I began to look at one of those verses that I had memorized long ago and saw that there were many things in it I had never understood before. It was true that God had made me. It was true that I had sinned against that God who made me. That verse also affirmed that Jesus died for my sins, for the wicked things I had done. More than that, it said that He did it in order that He could bring me to God. Jesus’ whole purpose in dying on a cross 2000 years ago was so that HE could bring me to God. I was coming a lot closer to understanding that this life and beyond it was meant to be lived with God and that He had done what was necessary for me to be with Him—not something I myself had done. Since I couldn’t even keep my own rules (let alone His!), I saw there was no way I’d be able to prove myself as not-guilty before a Perfect Judge. Yet, I wondered, “So what should I do about the hypocrisy in my life in light of this?”
    Then I found what my response should be and what God’s response to that would be and it blew me away: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.” I realized that my response to what God did for me in giving His only Son—Jesus—to die in my place was that I should turn away from my way of trying to make myself right with God and turn to Him alone. The Bible calls this repentance. This is what I was to do in response to believing what had already been done for me: turn away from my ways and turn to His ways. He had compassion on me and continues to abundantly forgive me of my sin!
    I (and others) still continue to find elements of hypocrisy in my life today, but now I know that is why I need Jesus. I know that in response to His love, I must turn away from those areas of my life that displease God and turn to Him and thank Him for the fact that He still abundantly pardons. Do you know personally that He is willing to do the same for you? Have you looked at what the Bible says about who He is, who you are, and what He has done to bring you to Him? If you have not, please, please do, because one of those many things that I was taught as a child that I know is true according to the Bible is that sin must be punished and will be punished forever in hell if you do not repent and trust in Jesus as your only hope.

I'm Still Here...

If you still follow blogs, and are subscribed to mine, let me know. I'm hoping to start writing again in about 3 to 4 weeks when I graduate. Post a comment here to indicate you're interested in following our lives and thoughts...

I'll Never Forget It. Ever. (METS Part 1)

From May 15th through June 7th, I was blessed with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go on a very unique seminar to the Middle East including the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt (Sinai), Israel, and finishing in Greece (METS). The nature of this trip was quite unique in that it involved an almost entirely academic group of participants from a very wide spectrum of theological positions: 6 seminaries sent 24 students on this trip-Duke, Candler, McAfee, Immanuel, Columbia, and Southern. In addition to the students, 6 lay people came on the trip as well as 2 Old Testament scholars (Dr. Max Miller and Dr. Steve McKenzie) who led us.

Any trip to anywhere with that much diversity of opinion on the Bible and all things related is bound to challenge your thinking as well as test your patience and humility. Then imagine taking that bunch to the most historically controversial areas in history and you can quickly see why one would say, "I'll never forget it. Ever."

There are so many aspects of this trip that I would love to write about such as how I ended up on this trip, what my family went through to make this happen, what I learned about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (and what I didn't learn), why hermeneutics affects everything, what it means to be a feminist, why the atonement is so offensive, etc., etc., etc... But for most people I've been talking to--they just want to know where I went and want to see the pictures. So let's start with that...

First--the pictures: We have a website set up for all of the participants to share their pictures together. Some of us have uploaded our pictures, others are getting around to it. You can view my favorite pictures here, all of my pictures here, and everyone else's pictures here.

Second--where I went. Here's the whole sha-bang:

May 15-16	Orientation in Decatur, Georgia
May 17	Departure—from Atlanta to Washington DC to Vienna
May 18	Arrived in Vienna around 10:30 AM and departed for Damascus, Syria Arrived in Damascus in the late afternoon. Checked in at the Cham Hotel and went for a scenic view of the city. Finished the evening in a revolving restaurant overlooking Damascus.
May 19	Full day in Damascus Al-Hamidiyah Souq (the market/bazaar) Azem’s Palace Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque Al-Zahiriyah Library (brief—did not get to go into the library) Tomb of Saladin Umayyad Mosque Traditional site of St. Ananias House Damascus Museum—ancient artifacts including Ugarit artifacts Evening visit from Mona Muhanna (Syrian Melkite Christian)
May 20	Lebanon day excursion Baalbek, Lebanon—Ruins from Roman temples and Byzantine churches On to Hama, Syria for overnight, checked in at Orient House Hotel
May 21	Brief tour of Hama Al Nouri Zanki mosque (only visited outside) Norias (Roman water wheels) Apamea—Ruins of Roman city Krak des Chesvaliers—toured 12th century Crusader castle Checked in at the Al Wadi Hotel in Meshtayeh, Syria
May 22	Travelled from western Syria to the center—Palmyra, city of the palms Tombs (above and underground) at Palmyra Temple of Bel Ruins of Palmyra Mamluk Castle at Palmyra—watched sunset from castle walls Worship service on top of castle at dusk
May 23	Travelled to Jerash, Jordan Jerash ruins (this was Gerasa of biblical times, one of the Decapolis cities) Spent the night at the Landmark Hotel in Amman, Jordan
May 24	Madaba, Jordan Church of St. George—Mosaic map of biblical events Mt. Nebo—Went to the top where God took Moses to see Promised Land Al Karak, Jordan—toured Kerak Castle (12th century Crusader castle) Wadi Mujib—vast river (Arnon) canyon dividing biblical Moab from Ammon Shoubak, Jordan—very brief visit outside of Montreal (Crusader) castle Arrived at Maan, Jordan—Grand View Hotel overlooking Petra-area
May 25	Petra. Amazing.
May 26	Travelled from Petra to Aqaba, Jordan at top of Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea Rode ferry across Red Sea gulf to Nuweiba, Egypt Drove across Sinai wilderness to St. Catherine, Egypt—Morgenland Hotel
May 27	Got up at 1am to ride camels up Mt. Jebel Musa (Sinai) Climbed last third of trail up Mt. Sinai to watch sunrise St. Catherine’s Monastery—ancients icons and manuscripts Nuweiba-Taba, Egypt—Stayed at Intercontinental Taba Heights Hotel
May 28	Crossed border into Israel at southernmost tip Travelled the whole day, Arrived in Jericho, West Bank/Israel, Intercontinental Hotel
May 29	Masada Fortress on eastern edge of Judqean Desert overlooking Dead Sea Caves of Qumran where Dead Sea Scrolls were discoveredBobbed in the Dead Sea
May 30	Back in Jericho, Tell es-Sultan—excavation of earliest settlement in Jericho Mt. of Temptation, visited Monastery of the Temptation at top Drove to Galilee region Beit Shean, Israel (ruins of Beth Shean/Scythopolis/Beisan) Mt. Arbel, Galilee—overlooking region of Galilee and city of Tiberias Worship service at Mt. of Beatitudes Guest House, where we lodged as well
May 31	Walked down Mt. of Beatitudes to Church of the Primacy of Peter in Tabgha Church of the Multiplication on the shores of Galilee Capernaum—Peter’s home and synagogue Golan Heights Banias, Israel (biblical Caesarea Philippi—Matt.16), Temple of Pan, waterfall Tell el-Qedah—(biblical Hazor—Joshua 11), largest “tell” in all of Palestine Boat ride across the Sea of Galilee
June 1	Nazareth—morning after IDF commandos attacked aid flotilla Church of the Annunciation (Greek Orthodox) Basilica of the Annunciation (Roman Catholic) Jezreel Valley (very fertile) Megiddo—Solomonic gate, Ahab’s fortress, Early Bronze altar, water tunnel Caesarea Maritima—ruins on Mediterranean coast, events in Acts Drove to Jerusalem to spend the night at the Notre Dame Guest House
June 2	Mt. of Olives panoramic view of Jerusalem Garden of Gethsemane Church of All Nations Walked from there to Old City of Jerusalem entering at the Lion’s Gate St. Anne’s Church (amazing acoustics, Ragan sang “Comfort Ye My People”) Pool of Bethsaida Via Dolorosa —Church of the Flagellation, Church of the Condemnation, Church of Our Lady of the Spasm (Armenian),Church of St. Helen (Coptic), —Church of the Holy Sepulchre—many events in history of this building Lunch at the Arab Orthodox Society—Jerusalem Cultural Center & Museum Free afternoon and evening to roam
June 3	Visit to office of American Jewish Committee—Rabbi David Rosen spoke Israel Museum—scale model of 2nd Temple-era Jerusalem Shrine of the Book—Codex Aleppo, Dead Sea Scrolls Holocaust Museum Free afternoon & evening to roam (I visited the Western Wall—aka Wailing) Evening visit—Hagit Ofran, heads Settlement Watch Committee., Peace Now
June 4	Garden Tomb Travelled to Bethlehem (not on donkeys) Visited International Center of Bethlehem Presentation by Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church Church of the Nativity
June 5	Departed Jerusalem at 3am for airport at Tel Aviv for flight to Athens Hydrofoil cruise to the island of Hydra Free afternoon and evening on Hydra
June 6	Morning worship service on Hydra Free morning Cruise back to Athens Toured Acropolis and Mars Hill Free late afternoon in Athens Last dinner together, outdoors at restaurant in Athens
June 7	3am departure for Atlanta via Frankfurt, Germany

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11a

Life's a little hectic lately, plus I haven't had much interest in writing lately. I guess my interests have been directed elsewhere. Such as this... Click Here

Skilled Artisans, We Are

My “wicked heart will weave an excuse for impenitence out of anything.”

 –Ichabod Spencer, A Pastor’s Sketches: Conversations with Anxious Souls Concerning the Way of Salvation (Vestavia Hills, Al.: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2001), 68.

Who Will We Trust?

This is a must read article: "God Will Provide - Unless the Government Gets There First" by W. Bradford Wilcox

HT: Dr. Mohler

2 Myths from American History

I'm in the middle of a Church History class this semester, and in my reading lately I was reminded of 2 myths that I used to believe from American History:

Myth #1: Most people came to America for religious liberty. In reality, they were very much fed up with the lack of reform within, specifically, the Anglican Church (at least from a Puritan perspective) and wanted, as Mark Noll puts it, "tighter govermental control of religion than existed in the Old World." [Mark Noll, The Old Religion in the New World: The History of North American Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 74] They were seeking for purity in the Church and the State and assumed that the solution for that would come by starting over somewhere else and then tightening up that link at the new place. (Now, if you're from an Anabaptist background [i.e. Quaker, Mennonite, Amish, et al], your heritage was concerned with a government that did not dictate religious life. But if you're in a Baptist church today, you may be surprised to know that your lineage doesn't draw directly from the Anabaptists!)

Myth #2: The founders of the US Constitution expected the First Amendment to enforce separation of church and state across the country. In reality, their intention was that this was a state matter and each state should determine what their religious life would look like. They simply did not want the national government to dictate that. In other words, it was assumed that each state would adopt specific religious elements into their makeup. As Noll pointed out (72), 12 of the states then continued to have a religious test required to be taken in order to hold public office.

How does this change or underscore what you've thought about our history and how does it impact your view of the current conditions of our country?

Questioning Technology's Value in My Life

What's funny about this is that many people assumed I wanted to stop facebook because of it taking up so much of my life. Actually, I don't spend very much time on it, but my concern, rather, is simply trying to find areas in my life that I can distance myself from technology. The nature of my present job requires that I spend 40 hours a week at the computer. I keep track of my finances using a web tool. I read (actually--scan) many blogs using a reader. I check my email frequently (and now, more than I want, my phone keeps beeping to me that I have a new email [thanks, Maranda!]). And occasionally, I write on my blog. As I was talking with Audrea the other night, we were questioning the real value in much of those activities.

I can't get away from the computer entirely because of my job. The online web tool for my finances saves me incredible amounts of time and assists me greatly in controlling spending and maximizing savings. The email seems to be a necessary evil for communication with school, work, and personal business. Aside from that, everything else could go... and I'm real close to doing that.

When I posted a status that I was considering doing this, some people assumed that it was a self-control/time consumption issue. While that is true for many, for me it's simply a distraction and entertainment source that is not adding much value to my incredibly busy life. Interesting and fun, but not extremely helpful (somewhat, but not incredibly). It seems that several of these things could be eliminated and I wouldn't suffer a bit.

Persuade me otherwise...

The Key to Fighting Bitterness

Chris Brauns has written a helpful book on forgiveness: Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds. (Crossway 2008, find it here). In it he deals with bitterness and how it can consume you when you've been hurt deeply. Hear his wise counsel on fighting bitterness:

If you feel yourself wrestling with bitterness, then focus more intently on our glorious God. Savor the providence of God. He is in control of all things. He is perfectly just and cannot be unjust. Bitterness begins when we have been treated unfairly. But if we believe that God will accomplish justice, and if we are simultaneously confident that God is working all things together for our good, if that is our center, then we will beat the stuffings out of bitterness every time.

We tend to say things like, "I truly believe that Jesus died for my sins" or "I do believe that God created the world" and with the same heart allow bitterness to overwhelm us. How are those two connected, you ask? Brauns continues:

Do you doubt that God--who is so commited to justice that he sent his only begotten Son to the cross--do you doubt that he will bring justice to its rightful fruition in the end? Do you have any question that God--who spoke all things into existence, numbers the hairs on your head, and determines the times set for you and the exact places where you live--do you have any question that this God will work all things together for your good?

Remember that God works all things out for his glory and our joy. "At your right hand are pleasures evermore."

Free Audio Copy of Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines

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Win a Free ESV Study Bible in Calfskin Leather!

Of course, by posting this contest, I reduce my own chances of winning this. But that's okay. My mom gave me a hardback copy of the ESV Study Bible for Christmas so if I don't win, I won't be heartbroken. If I do win, I'll be sharing my ESV Study Bible with a particular young man who is struggling with alcohol abuse and nearly killed himself recently but seems to be very penitent at this time.

You too, can enter this contest by following the instructions here.

UPDATE since this original posting: As I was placing my comment on David's blog, I realized, "Why shouldn't I 'consider others better than myself' and give this young man the leather Bible if I win it? Of course, I should."

Teleportation, Invisibility, and Making the Impossible Possible

I am listening to a very, very intriguing podcast by Microsoft Technologist, Scott Hanselman, where he interviews Futurist and Theoretical Physicist, Michio Kaku. Dr. Kaku talks about the actual work of teleportation (remember Star Trek?) and invisibility (think Harry Potter's cloak, but not with humans) and other things.

Here he discusses his classification of things that are considered impossible, but he believes are actually possible in some realms and theoretically possible in the future. For instance, they have successfully made a photon teleport underneath the Danube River. Essentially what is necessary for this to happen is to reduce the photon to the amount of enough information required to reconstruct the photon. Given this possibility, people theorize that if we could reduce people down to the information they consist of (i.e. DNA) and be able to reconstruct that DNA, then we should someday be able to teleport someone or clone someone. But as philosophers have observed, this makes huge assumptions that people simply consist of information. The Bible is clear, though, that man consists of a soul and body.

Anyone interested in being the first for this laboratory experiment?

Listen to the interview here.

Things That Should Inspire Awe

My friend, Devin, has made a very astute observation on her blog. First, you need to go and watch this funny/insightful interview from Conan on her blog.

Now, notice what she said at the end of her post: "True happiness is found nowhere outside of Christ. Period." Devin, you've made the connection that most people haven't: Things that should inspire awe are intended to bring joy. When God gives us Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, we find our greatest level of happiness.

In reality, though, at this point in eternity, we only get glimpses of God's glory--that which would imbue awe. By His providence He gives us all good things to enjoy in order to point us to Him. So when I enjoy an incredibly tasty meal made by my beautiful wife, I am called to see this as only a shadow of a reflection of God's glory.

But, as this guy (unawaringly), and more awaringly by Devin, has pointed out, we are not seeing that God is good, unimaginably good. We find pleasure in the thing itself for a very brief period and then find that it stops satisfying. And what has been observed in this video is a trend, a downward spiral that is described very clearly in Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Romans 1:18-23:

But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

What is scary--really, terrifying--is what that passage goes on to say. Read it for yourself here.

We need water to drink that will cause us to never thirst again. We need bread to eat that we can buy without money. I can tell you where we'll find that:

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

Is It Okay to Doubt Your Salvation?

Yesterday, I brought a quote from Will Metzger's Tell the Truth about false assurances of salvation. Today, I want to encourage those who are struggling in their hope of salvation. Metzger goes on to talk about these individuals who think they may have a personal relationship with God, but struggle with assurance of this knowledge. How can they know that they are secure in Christ?

"Again, the kind thing is to bring the sure Word of God, with its infallible promises, alongside the grace they find exists in their changed hearts. The Spirit will then enable believers to say with assurance, 'I am a child of God and will be forever' This great comfort and encouragement does not come through a private revelation of the Spirit (a witness of the Spirit apart from or in addition to the Bible). Assurance is effected not by imparting new revelation to a person's heart, but by applying what is already revealed in Scripture, namely, the truth that believers shall be saved." (p81)

What is Metzger saying? I have been told many times in life that after you "lead someone to the Lord", the next thing you absolutely must do is "give them assurance of their salvation." So you underscore to them that when they begin to doubt this salvation, they should remember that they asked Jesus to save them at this point in time. The eye-opening thing (at least for me) is that Metzger is saying that assurance is not our job.

Metzger goes on to point out that God wants us to be examining our lives to make sure of our calling. "He makes us restless, even to the point of questioning our salvation, so that we may not presume on his favor, but instead, relish his grace." Any confidence we have should be based on the finished work of Christ alone as revealed to us in the Word of God alone. The Bible makes it clear, though, that a result of doing that (placing confidence in the Gospel on a daily basis), will result in a changed life--specifically, patterns of sin in our life will be broken.

"Our eternal security should be focused not on remote past actions but on our present attitude toward Christ. Just as earthly parents can expect physical growth in their children, so we can expect to see a gradual change in the lives of God's children." (p81)

Is It Good to Shatter People's Hope of Salvation?

UPDATE: I added page # references to the end of these quotes.

Hear this difficult, but necessary word from Will Metzger in his book, Tell The Truth:

Is it kind to shatter a person's hope of salvation? Yes, because without scriptural grounds, it is nothing more than a false hope. A hope of acceptance by God based on such things as going forward in a meeting, praying a suggested prayer, imitating the experience of others, joining a church, attending many Christian meetings, being baptized, studying the Bible regularly, helping others, [being confirmed,] feeling good in a religious service or having a strong conviction that they are right with God is a hope not founded on biblical truths. Perhaps people may trust in the doctrine of election or in theological precision or baptism. They may have a sentimental belief in the general providence of God: "God has been good to me; God will take care of me." Yet people can be involved in any or all of these activities without ever looking to Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Lord. Without this there is no salvation. Without this there is no assurance. Let us in kindness alert these people to what Christ will say to them on the day of judgment. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (p80-81)" (Matthew 7:21-23)"

Metzger says there are two questions: How do you become a Christian? and How do we know if we are a Christian? The first is answered by, "You become a Christian through repentance toward God and faith in Christ alone as Savior and Lord." The second is answered by looking at your life for these results:

"The first pillar of assurance is a trust in the promises of God as being promises to you. You count them true and take them personally. The second is the beginning of a change in your attitudes and actions corresponding to the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and the marks of salvation (1 John). The third is the inner witness of God's Spirit to your spirit that you are his child (Romans 8)." (p79)

Elayna on Marriage

Recently we published a cute story about Elayna's very Victorian mindset toward marriage. We don't know where she came up with such strong puritanical views (honestly--we only joke about pre-arranged marriages :), but don't let her fool you. While she may have very high ideals, she's very occupied at the moment with her preparation. I'm having technical difficulties getting the video to embed correctly on the blog, so in the meantime click here to listen to her current issues with marriage.

A Letter From Andrew

(This was read at his funeral yesterday)

A letter from Andrew to be read after his passing:

A brisk fall afternoon, the bright red and yellow leaves are falling from the trees at Round Lake Park, the sun is shining. I can feel the cool fresh air entering my lungs with every breath. I smell garlic and homemade Italian food in the wind. For you maybe it's a spring day and the flowers are blooming, or it's Christmas and the snow is falling and you are sitting with a warm mug of coffee by the fire. It's at those seemingly perfect moments that you know this all didn't happen by chance. It is not by chance that the leaves turn red in the fall, and it is not by chance that I'm not standing here reading this letter to you now.

After all the suffering I have seen thus far, there are only two things that I know are true. That I love my wife and kids so much, and that God loves me infinitely more than that. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all who have loved, served, and prayed for us. I am so very sorry to leave you all behind, but at the same time I am so happy to be home with my maker. Everything that I love about the fall and the leaves and the fresh air and Italian cooking in the wind, pales in comparison with what it is like in the presence of Jesus. I have not eaten in a very long time, but know that I hunger no more. There is no more pain or suffering, no more tears or sorrow. Grace, AJ, and Gracie, know that God holds you in the palm of His hand especiallly now. Jesus will lead, guide, and protect you. I am confident that your mourning will turn to dancing.

Fight for joy in this. Rejoice because cancer can kill my body but it cannot kill my soul. Rejoice because my greatest sickness was cured in 2001 at the age of 20 when I believed that Jesus could forgive such great sins as mine. Rejoice because even through sickness and death God has done great things in my life, and yours. Rejoice because this is not the end, it is just the beginning.

Rejoice! Again I say rejoice!

I will see many of you soon.

Andrew W. Mark

(Hat tip to Kim)

Good God vs. Andrew's Suffering? Making Sense of It All

My friend, Bob Glenn, preached a sermon on Sunday reflecting on Andrew's suffering and death. It was so incredibly powerful, I wish you would take some time to listen to it. Briefly, here is the main reflection points:

1. Andrew Mark's suffering and death are a sobering reminder of the brevity of life.


2. Andrew Mark's suffering and death point indirectly to the holiness of God.


3. Andrew Mark's suffering and death are not worth comparing with our glorious future.


4. Andrew Mark's suffering and death only make sense in light of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

On the very provocative point #2, Bob says this:

If in spite of the heinousness of what he went through, Andrew was treated better than he deserved, and if what he really deserved was hell, and if hell is infinitely worse than any suffering here on earth no matter how severe, and if hell is as bad as God is good, then God must be awfully good.

On point #3:

Think of it like a number line ... make your suffering a negative number ... way across the page to the left of zero and make it a huge number--say, something that corresponds to what Andrew Mark suffered--let's say it's negative one million. Now, take that number and make it a positive number and multiply it by the number of the stars and you won't touch the hem of the garment [of] how much better it will be!

And finally, on point #4:

If life is all about knowing Jesus, if knowing Jesus is supremely worthy and surpassingly valuable, the most valuable thing in the universe, that's what life is all about--then Andrew's suffering and death helped him to know Jesus in a way that only those who suffer can know Him. In fact, that's the only thing that in the end makes Andrew's suffering and death meaningful. Through it he was able to know and enjoy what is supremely enjoyable in the midst of real pain--namely Christ Himself.

I hope these quotes whet your appetite to hear the rest of the sermon. You can either download it here or you can listen to it live on Todd Friel's radio show, Wretched, where he will broadcast it sometime between 2 and 4 CST today. (Yes, that's how powerful the message was--it will be broadcast nationally.)