Glory to God

For a child one of the hardest realizations is that not everything is about them. The same is for believers when we find that we are not the cener of everything. God isn’t for our glory. Its not about us at all. in fact in Romans 1 Paul even says in his greeting “1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,”.

We are made for something greater that our minds could ever conger up or dream on its own. Its not like when we were kids realizing that the world doesn’t revolve around us. This message it amazing becaus its the realization that the world has a far better reason for exsisting than if it was all about us.
Here are some sobering beautiful passages.



made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. (Jeremiah 13:11)
The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. (John 7:l8)
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16; cf. 1 Peter 2:12)
Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (l Corinthians 10:31
From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)
acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. (Ezekiel 20:l4)

Ramblings on a New Decade

It's 2010 and- despite all technicalities- every major media outlet has made their best attempt at putting a nice bow on the first decade of the new millennium. I am a sports fan who watches a lot of ESPN so of course I have heard my share of how this was the decade of the Red Sox, Patriots, and (especially recently) Tiger Woods. However, we all know that as far as sports goes it was the decade of Albert Pujols.

All of that aside, it isn't the greatness of Albert Pujols that I want write about because I doubt knowing who the best athlete of the decade was will give you much help in your walk with Christ (though it should be noted that Albert loves Jesus). Personally, I don't think there is much question as to what we will remember most about this decade. I can think of four things and one still trumps the rest. The hated two-term Presidency of George W. Bush, the first minority President (Barack Obama), Napoleon Dynamite, and the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

I can understand why many people will remember Obama's election more. My reason for not giving it more attention is that I am opposed to his political views in almost every area, I am not myself a minority and don't fully understand the magnitude of finally having a President who looks somewhat like me (they always did), and I was born after the major civil rights wars ended. When President Obama was elected I was watching the movie Get Smart, the event didn't take me by surprise at all. However, 9/11 was beyond my comprehension.

It is 9/11 that I want to talk about because it is the most important landmark event of my lifetime (the Berlin Wall fell when I was 2). I grew up being told that I should appreciate the freedom of living in the United States. I can remember as a child pondering the fact that I had no idea what that meant. Did other kids have to wear chains or something? Do kids in China only get one Christmas present and nothing on their birthday? I simply had no idea. It wasn't until 2001 that I began to grasp the value of freedom in this world.

We are always caught by surprise when these things happen. Nobody expected JFK to be assasinated (ok, almost nobody), the Oklahoma City bombing, or the tsunami of 2004. These things always shake our worldview, turn our thoughts to divine purpose, and sometimes they even change the way a nation operates. But sometimes you have to wonder just how long we can keep this up. I mean, we can prepare for shoe bombers on airplanes but there is no way we can prepare for the recent underwear bomber and maintain freedom.

The decade of 9/11 should tell us that there is no guarantee that the United States project will continue until 2020, especially not as it always has. We should remember that God is sovereign over nations, holding the heart of the king in his hand (Proverbs 21:1) and when he decides America's time is over it will be over.

9/11 should also remind us of God's sovereignty over evil and suffering. Events like this should challenge your view of God. It is right for people to ask the question, "if God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and truly loves people, why would He allow this to happen?" For this reason many wrongfully reject God. Others try to rescue Him from this question by attributing to Him a respect for free-will. Instead we should remember the words of Jesus when asked about suffering from both natural and sinful events:

"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:2-3)

There is no need to rescue God from this problem. What God permits to happen in this world is (at the very least) a passive decree for it to happen with a purpose. You might say that purpose is to maintain free will but verses such as Genesis 50:20 (which summarizes God's purpose in the story of Joseph), Acts 4:27-28 (which summarizes God's purpose in the death of Christ), and Romans 8:28 (which summarizes God's purpose in everything) tell us that His hand is actively moving in history.

Who knows what this new decade will bring. At the start of the last one chances are you knew all the words to at least one Britney Spears song and now you're probably a little surprised she is still alive. At the start of the last one Bill Clinton was considered the "first black President" but now we know what it is like to have a real one. But one thing hasn't changed, Jesus Christ is still the savior of the world.

Perhaps this will be the decade in which the U.S. crumbles (I cringe to think of that), or the MP3/Ipod is replaced by something we haven't even thought of yet. It will most certainly be a huge decade for scientific advacement as we continue to reap the benefits of the Human Genome Project, but what specifically? A cure for cancer? A new theory that replaces evolution to explain human origins (it won't be biblical creationism)?

For some it will be the decade in which God saves them. Perhaps it will be the decade in which Christ returns. Let us pray to that end and expect the unexpected.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

The Show

The scene is set with all people in place. The Author has been waiting for this moment since the beginning of the play. This moment, the time when the plot thickens. The moment where all the pieces start to make sense. Where things that have happened already are showing up again in a way that the audience never saw coming.

A nervous unlikely girl was cast and given a chance for this huge supporting role. Her first scene is coming and her palms are shaking. She was told everything that was going to happen. She knows the next act is the one that changes the whole show. “People will remember this next scene”. She is fearful, of course, but knows that the great director taught her well and knows is standing in view.

The scene ends with a new character on set. A baby, and now a very confused audience. The whole show leads up to a grand charactor that will do great things. What happened?

It is hard to stun a crowd these days, they know all the tricks. Every one there just “knows” that this young boy will grow up and make some choices that place him as a great warrior king. “He’s gonna get the girl in the end right?”

As the story comes to a close nobody knew how the story was going to finish, how the play will end. “I think they are going to kill Him” “He rose from the dead!” “He will come back again? “What a show!”

I can’t wait to hear the applause of stunned, appreciative people in the audience, just before they go out to tell everyone what they saw. I know I’m going to.

Heaven is Filling with Earth's Broken Lives

Here are some helpful and encouraging thoughts from J.R. Miller on these amazing verses and God's amazing love.


"This man welcomes sinners--and eats with them!" -Luke 15:2


"I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you!" - Matthew 21:31


"Christ is building His kingdom with earth's broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken--in building their kingdoms. But God is the God of the broken, the unsuccessful, of those who have failed.


Heaven is filling with earth's broken lives, and there is no 'bruised reed' which Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty.


He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow--and make it into a harp whose music shall be all praise. He can lift earth's saddest failure--up to heaven's glory!"

Everything is perfect in His plan.

Today my assignment at work was to read some scholarly articles about marriage and cohabitation and how children fare between the two. I had to read 10 and i got through about 4. What i loved most as i turned page after page was that each article came to the same conclusion...that children in married couples had fewer problems (emotionally and behavioral), were closer to their parents, were more likely to excel financially, and less likely to have their marriages end in divorce once adults. It was also great to read that married couples fare better as well when it comes to caring for one another, sympathizing with one another, taking responsibility, sharing, and intimacy. The funny thing about the authors of these articles is that they would all most likely argue that cohabitation is ok. Pretty strange when hard evidence points to the contrary.

I didn't want to write about marriage versus cohabitation, but more so on God's created order of things. In Genesis 2:24 we see that "A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh." In our society today there is a widely popular idea that before you get married you should "test the waters" and move in with your boyfriend/girlfriend. The problem with that is that God has ordained this becoming one flesh and living under one roof thing for marriage because that's how it works best and is the most glorify to Him. (I don't feel the need to give examples of why it works best, because of the above mentioned reasons, and there are more beyond those.)

What naturally follows getting married and living under one roof in a new established "one flesh" household?...babies! And once again we see that its perfect this way, just as God designed. Children need to grow up in the security ( and i don't mean financial) of having a mother and father who love each other and who love them, not with mom and mom's new boyfriend who may be around for just a few years at maximum. Where's the stability in that?

God's plan is absolutely perfect and needs no reinvention, even in this post modern age.
Grace and Peace