God loves me and He loves you. He loves us an incredible amount. As easy as these statements are, I think it is something I often forget. I love God because He gave me Jesus and saved me. That’s easy to remember. We love people who do things for us. But I can’t do a thing for God and He loves me. He loves me more than I can fathom!
This has really struck me since being married. When Rachel and I were on our honeymoon, one day I was just overwhelmed with how much I loved her. I kept saying, “This is too good! I have never loved anyone this much! I didn’t know it was possible to love anyone this much!” Then the connection really came for me. I have never felt something this strong before, but God loves me more than this! He loves me an unimaginable amount!
I can’t comprehend perfect love. The love Rachel and I share is imperfect. We won’t always “feel” this love and we will make mistakes and hurt one another. Yet, it is still so good! God loves me with a perfect a love. He loves me with a love that if I could really feel, I imagine might would cause me to explode. His love is too good! I can’t even wrap my mind around it.
The beautiful thing about God’s love is that I did nothing to deserve it. Rachel loves me because I treat her well, do my best to care for her, try to point her to the Lord, and probably for more reasons than I know. The point is that she loves me because there are things I do or there are certain things about my character. God loves me despite my character. He loves me not because of anything I do, but simply for love’s sake. I can’t imagine this! God is perfect and doesn’t need anything from me or you. In fact we do multiple things each day that go against His character. We do things that if not for grace, would send us straight to hell. God hates sin and we are sinners.
In His perfect love though, God sent Jesus to die for us. He gave us His only Son. That is a love we can’t fathom or explain. As sinners, we are God’s enemies. No one would give their son for their enemies. You could be the most noble person on the planet, but if you are a loving father and I’m your enemy, you’re not giving your son for me. I would argue that the majority of people, if not all people, would not even give their son for their best friends. Yet God gave Jesus to die and take our place.
In Christ’s death, two great things happened. Christ bore the punishment for our sin. He took the wrath from His Father that we deserved. If you’ve read the Old Testament then you know that you don’t want to be on the wrong side of God’s wrath. Secondly, Jesus, who is perfect, imputed his righteousness to us. This means that as Christians, when God sees us, He no longer sees wretched sinners, but the He sees the righteousness of His Son!
This is amazing and seems impossible, but it is the good news of the Gospel! Jesus made it very simple to obtain this. He said to simply repent and believe. Believe that you are a sinner separated from God and in need of saving. Without Christ you deserve hell and God’s wrath. Repent of your sins and follow Christ and His ways. Live life with Him. Become a disciple.
Even though we can’t fathom this perfect love, it is extended for us. Christ died for sinners and that is you and I. There is nothing we can do to earn it. This is the big difference between Christianity and other religions. Every other religion is about being good enough and earning your way to heaven. They want you to pacify a god and live up to a set of standards that put a burden on you that is heavy and tiresome. Christianity says that you’re not good enough and you can’t pacify God, so God, in His unfathomable love made a way for us to come to Him. He did it all and we can do nothing but rest in His gift of grace that we don’t deserve!
I will never be able to love Rachel perfectly and she will never be able to love me perfectly. That is why we’re grateful for a Savior who does love us perfectly that we can cast our burdens on. Jesus said His burden is light. We can love each other better because we know that He enables us to love each other and that our first love is Jesus. Rachel has better helped me to understand God’s love and I am grateful that He would give me such a good gift in her, but I don’t praise Rachel. She is simply the gift; I praise God who is the giver. He had the whole idea for marriage in the first place and out of His perfect love, we receive things better than we could ever fathom.
As I was reading this morning, I came across a story where King David shows great kindness to his friend Jonathan’s son who he did not know. Read this Scripture if you will: 2 Samuel 9.
1 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”3 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.”7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”
9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.10 And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’st table, like one of the king’s sons.12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
There are a few things that quickly jump out after we read this text. First, the king was obviously very honored, which of course makes sense. He is the king after all. Second, while David knew Mephibosheth’s father, he did not know Mephibosheth himself in order to bestow this honor upon him for any good reason. Third, Mephibosheth reacts in calling himself a dead dog; he realizes his place in comparison to the king. Fourth, David gave Mephibosheth gifts and a place of honor. Fifth, the text says he ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons.
In recognizing these significant points, we can see a beautiful picture of a king giving someone honor they don’t deserve. I want to propose to you that in this text, David is a picture of God and Mephibosheth is you and I. God is the king and in comparison to Him we are but dead dogs, dead in our sin. This is our place in comparison to the king. Mephibosheth did nothing to deserve all David gave him. Yes, he was Jonathan’s son, but he did not choose that for himself. He literally had done nothing. Likewise, we have done nothing to deserve God’s grace. God sent Christ to die for us and impute His righteousness to us and become our sin. Let that sink in for a minute… we did nothing to deserve this. We are but dead dogs without Christ. Mephibosheth was given a place of honor though. He from then on sat at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. Do you see that? When God saves us, we are adopted and invited to enjoy Him at His table and He calls us His sons and daughters! What a gift! What a beautiful picture of the Gospel we find here in 2 Samuel.
If you happen to be reading this and you don’t know Christ, but sitting at a king’s table sounds pretty good, then I’d invite you to know Him today. All He asks is that you recognize that you are a sinner and that without Him you are dead in your sin. He asks for you to repent, which simply means to turn from your sins and follow Him, and to believe, which means accepting that Jesus is the Savior of the world and died and rose again so that you might have life eternally.
May we live in the joy of being adopted as sons and daughters of the living God!
One of my favorite shows on television currently is on AMC and it’s called “The Walking Dead”. Many of you may know what I’m referring to and some of you may not. At first look, it’s a show about Zombies, hence the title. But more so, it’s a show about how humans interact with each other in a post apocalyptic world. That’s actually the writer’s intention for the show. The title is actually a clever play on words referring not to the zombies, but the humans themselves. In a world where they are struggling to survive, they are becoming harder in emotion and nature and are doing things they would have never done in civilized society; they are the actual walking dead.
You’re probably asking yourself at this point why I am writing this. “Why is he telling us about a zombie show?” The answer is pretty simple. The walking dead are around us every day. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior then you’re a part of them. Without Jesus we are dead in our sin. This life is just our decay as we wait for earthly death then eternal torment in hell. Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-”
This happened almost as soon as man was established in the Garden of Eden. He and his wife disobeyed the only command God gave them after being tempted by satan. Christians often refer to this as the fall. Upon falling, man and the earth became cursed and everything began to decay. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…” From this point on the walking dead have existed.
If you’ve watched the show or any Zombie movie for that matter you can see clearly that zombies can’t save themselves. They are only concerned with eating. They don’t try and dodge cars or bullets or anything harmful for that matter. They have no hope in and of themselves.
This is also true for those who don’t know Christ. There is nothing they can do to save themselves. There is good news however! Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were DEAD in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved-” This is the incredible news of Jesus Christ! I was among the walking dead, but Christ came, lived a perfect life, died the death I deserved and took the wrath of God for my sin, and defeated death by rising again after three days. Now, not because of me, but because of Him, I can be reconciled to God and be born again. I don’t have to walk as the dead do any longer!
If you don’t have new life, you can. All God asks is that you repent and believe. Repenting is recognizing that you are a sinner and dead in your sin. You must realize your only hope is Christ and you have to ask Him to help you turn from your sin and follow Him. Believing is trusting that Jesus is who He says He is and that His death was sufficient to save you from your sin and bring you to everlasting life and joy in God.
We don’t have to walk like zombies waiting to die. Believe in Jesus today and receive new life. If you already believe, I pray this has encouraged you and given you reason to rejoice. May we always preach the Gospel to ourselves and each other.
I’ve officially had two days worth of classes at Southern. The picture above is what’s called the J Bowl and it’s a grassy area surrounded by various buildings (click on it to make it bigger). After my two days I can say that I’m really enjoying it. Honestly, I’m not sure of the difference between Southern and New Orleans yet. However, I can say that I’ve been much more interested in class. Don’t get me wrong, I had classes I enjoyed at New Orleans and I loved the city of New Orleans. Something about classes have just interested me more this semester. Maybe I picked really captivating ones? I’m not sure.
For anyone who cares, I may write some initial differences I’ve noticed between the two seminaries so far. Southern has more people from many more diverse parts of the world. Southern’s facilities are nicer (but I believe it’s the largest SBC seminary to be fair). Southern is not gated as New Orleans is (NOLA is a more dangerous city). Southern provides lots of opportunities to hear big names in the pastoral world speak (I’m taking a conference as a class featuring John Piper, CJ Mahaney, David Platt, Matt Chandler, etc.). I still can’t believe I get credit for that!
Those are just some initial differences I’ve noticed. I do miss New Orleans however. I miss living missionally in that city and I made a lot of good friends there through school and church. I also miss all the celebrations for no reason. I am thankful to be at Southern though and blessed that God has given me the opportunity to experience two seminaries in two very different places while getting my Masters.
I hope your week is finding you well and I’ve included a couple more photos from the J Bowl and a video that my friend Spencer and I shot about Cumberland, my undergrad. Don’t expect one for Southern haha.
Tomorrow I begin on a new journey. I have orientation at Southern Seminary. Over the past few years I’ve faced a lot of new beginnings. I graduated college in the spring of ’09 then started an actual desk job in the fall of ’09. Afterward, I made the decision within a week to head to New Orleans and start seminary there even while knowing no one there. Over two years there I worked multiple jobs and internships, made some great friends, and really fell in love with that city.
God told me to move back to Kentucky this past summer. I’ve probably said it a hundred times, but I loved New Orleans and would’ve never left if it weren’t for the Lord. In following Him, I moved back home and find myself about to start at a new school where I know maybe two or three people.
New beginnings and fresh starts can be hard. I knew teachers in New Orleans and now I have to learn new names and locations and people. God has a plan though and I know I can trust that.
As I’ve been reading through the Bible this year God provides continually for his people. Joseph was loved dearly by his father, but despised by his brothers. His brothers sold him into slavery and he ended up in a prominent position in an Egyptian officer’s house. God provided, but the officer’s wife tried to seduce him. In taking the moral high ground, Joseph was falsely accused by the wife and thrown into prison. God found favor there though and soon he was pretty much running the prison.
Joseph then interpreted dreams for a couple of Pharoah’s workers and they were both released from prison. One returned to his position and the other was hanged. The one who was still alive forgot Joseph until Pharoah had two dreams that no one could interpret. God gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharoah’s dream and Joseph was put second in command to Pharoah.
Through his position, he was then able to take care of his family when there was famine in the land. Joseph wasn’t released from prison until he was 30. He probably wondered if God was really with him, but Joseph was faithful.
We can be faithful in following God and trust that He has our best interest in mind. Whether you’ve been doing the same routine for years or maybe you’re like me and you constantly find yourself facing new beginnings, God has a plan. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss New Orleans, but I know if God wanted me here then He has a something important for my life.
May we praise God today that He is ever trustworthy and has an infinitely better plan for us than we could have for ourselves. May your new year find you walking closer than ever with the Creator of the Universe.
When we think of the Old Testament, we usually think of a time where people had to obey lots of rules and sacrificing and obeying the law was the only way to God. However, if we look for it, we can see that the God of the New Testament is still the same gracious and merciful God in the Old Testament. Yes, He shows more of His wrath in the Old Testament, but we haven’t reached the point in the New Testament where His wrath is once again kindled against those who don’t love Him (Revelation).
As I’ve been reading through the Old Testament at the beginning of this year I’ve encountered some major people that most of us have heard about growing up in Sunday School and what not. I’ve read about Adam, Eve and their sons Cain and Able. I’ve read about Job and his friends. I have and am currently reading about Abraham, Sarah, and Lot. We see God’s grace and mercy in all of these people’s lives.
Adam and Eve are the original sinners. They broke God’s one command in the garden. God told them if they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil they would surely die. God could have killed them right there when they did it. They deserved it. However, his word was kept in that instead of living forever, they eventually died. God showed them mercy by allowing them to carry on after their disobedience.
Cain killed Able. The first murder that was recorded in the Bible. Cain deserved to die for what he did. God didn’t kill him and God didn’t allow other people to kill him. God showed grace and mercy. God said anyone who killed Cain would receive seven times his punishment.
Job was a man that God saw as worthy enough for Satan to test. Satan pretty much took everything from Job besides his wife. To add insult to injury, his friends just kept calling him a sinner. Job simply asserted that he hadn’t done anything to deserve this and he simply wanted to argue his case before God. God eventually speaks with Job and chastises his friends telling them that they need to repent and Job needs to offer prayer up for them. After Job does this and re-establishes community with them, God doubles everything Job once had. God showed Job’s friends mercy and He showed Job grace.
Then there is Abraham and Lot. God chooses to establish his covenant with Abraham saying He will make him the father of many nations. Abraham, however, still doesn’t fully trust God! Everywhere they travel he tells people that his wife is his sister, which is a half truth (she is his half sister). This causes two different kings some great trouble when they take her. When God directly tells he and his wife that they will have a son in their old age they both laugh (possibly in disbelief). Yet God still blesses Abraham despite not having his full trust in the beginning. I believe this is God showing grace, especially when it comes to him telling these kings that Sarah is his sister.
Lot ends up living in the evil cities of Sodom and Gommorah. God decides to wipe this city off the map because of all that is taking place there. He sends two men (His angels most likely) to retrieve Lot and his family. First, instead of letting these angels be raped by the men in Sodom, Lot offers up his daughters to them (thanks dad). Second, when the angels tell Lot they need to go, verse 16 says, “but he lingered”. It’s like he didn’t even get it. Once they finally do high tail it out of there and his wife gets vaporized then Lot asks the Lord to let him live in a different place than God suggests and He grants him his request. How gracious. Then Lots two daughters get him drunk and sleep with him so they can each continue the family line. These are the people God is saving? Grace and mercy are all over this story.
Our God is truly a great God. His ways are not ours and I’m so thankful for that. I’m not sure how much I would have helped any of these people if I was God. I’m glad I’m not Him. When we read the Old Testament, it can be easy to see the bad things because they are so prevalent, but if we read with a different mindset then we can see a host of good things about who God is. May we see God as loving and true even when we can’t see how He is blessing us.
I’m bound and determined to write a blog post today. I’ve told myself I’d write one for the past week. I’m sorry I’m terrible at this, but I am trying to write more… no, seriously… I know I’ve said it before but… well… this time I’m serious! Yeah, I’m sure you believe me…
Anyway, what’s been up? Let me try and catch y’all up for those that don’t know. I finished last semester at New Orleans and I should only have two years to go if I really kick it! I know, I know… it sounds like I’ve been in school a long time and if you thought that, you’re absolutely correct! A Masters in seminary is a little different from a Masters pretty much anywhere else. I think a Masters in most fields requires about 30-60 hours. My Masters degree requires 88 hours! I once heard someone say that we put in the same amount of time as a medical doctor. If only we got paid like one, right? Anyway, if you didn’t know, I have moved back to London and this semester I’ll be commuting to Southern and I will finish my degree there. Most people know that I love New Orleans and are surprised I would leave. I was surprised too. In short, God told me to do it, you don’t argue with God, and we’ll leave it at that. I miss New Orleans though. Especially with how much they’ve been showing it on ESPN as of late. Moving on.
The other thing I want to talk about that has me pretty excited is that this year I’m making a consistent and conscious effort to read through the entire Bible. I’ve never done it before. I’ve skipped around a lot and I tried to read through the whole thing last year, but got so behind that I ended up giving up.
Here is the kicker… I’d encourage you to do the same. If you’re like me (and I think a lot of people are) you won’t be in the Word of God consistently unless you have a plan. The Bible is the primary way that God communicates to us because it is His written Word that He left for us. Francis Chan said at Passion this year that if we’re not reading the Word for ourselves and studying it then we won’t know if people teaching it (even your pastor) are lying to us or teaching it correctly. There is something special about time with you, God, and His written Word.
It’s only January 11th right now and this year is leap year so you even have an extra day! You don’t have to necessarily do a year plan, but I’d encourage you to be intentional and get a plan. I’m placing a link in this post to the one I’m using if you want to use it and I’m also placing a link to my friend Dustin’s blog who I lived in New Orleans with. He was our theology and training pastor at my church and he’s a really smart dude. He wrote a great post on being in the Word this year and gave links to a lot of plans.
I hope 2012 is treating you well and I hope to update you again soon. Please be intentional and let’s pursue Jesus together this year since He spared not even His life in pursuing us.
The plan I’m using: http://www.blueletterbible.org/reader/daily/pdf/plan4.pdf
Dustin’s blog: http://dustinturner.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/plan-your-reading-read-your-plan/
It has once again been awhile since I’ve updated this thing. I suppose there hasn’t been much new to say. When people ask me how I’ve been or what I’ve been up to, I simply reply, all I really do is study and run. That’s pretty much the truth. Every now and then I squeeze in something fun like watching a football game. I got to go to Baton Rouge this past weekend to watch LSU kill Kentucky. We are pitiful this year in football, but the good news is that we are going to dominate everyone in basketball!
Aside from that I am coming up on midterms next week so I will be studying a lot this weekend. I also run my first half marathon this weekend, which I am quite excited about! I run early Sunday morning so if you happen to be up getting ready for church or something, shoot a prayer up for me. You can pray for the midterms as well, that’d be great! I’m trying to become a Greek scholar. After midterms, I head to the great state of Kentucky to be in my friend, Brad’s wedding. He was one of my best friends in college and I’m excited to get to be a part of his big day. Afterward is fall break, which will be nice to get a little break, but I have a lot of school work to do during it as well. They are relentless here!
In closing, we lost one of the most brilliant minds of our time yesterday in Steve Jobs. I am praying for his family during this time and that the Lord would send someone filled with the Holy Spirit to be a comfort to them and point them to the One who holds eternity in His hands and who, not unlike Steve, is a brilliant Master Designer.
I’m actually typing this blog so it will get me in the mood to start on a paper. I’ve been in school a week and I’m already starting to write papers. Great, right? Welcome to getting your Masters. This is actually going to be the most hours with the hardest class load I’ve ever taken. It’s a good thing it’s hot outside and I don’t want to be out there.
So I suppose I’ve been back in New Orleans a little over a week now since I visited Kentucky. Kentucky was nice and cool. It was good to spend time with family and the girlfriend. Especially enjoyed getting to go cliff jumping with my brother. I did a flip off the cliff, but realized I didn’t know how to quit rotating. I face planted in the water. Praise the Lord I wasn’t hurt. I think my brother got a great kick out of it, though. Also married off the best friend. Yes, Brett Martin is now married and I have to share him with the newly named Lindsey Martin. I was going to post a video here of Boy Meets World where Shawn asks Cory if he really likes Topanga in the middle of their wedding, but it wouldn’t load. (Sorry you had to miss that Lindsey).
In all truthfulness though, it was a beautiful ceremony that honored the Lord and I am honored to have been a part of it. We also all had a really good time. Here’s a picture from the day.
Now I’m back in New Orleans and school is back in session. It’s going to be a busy next few months, but I have a lot of good classes and I’m looking forward to it. I’m also training to run a half marathon here at the end of October and have been struggling to readjust to the humidity. I’m hoping my body gets used to it again here in this next week as breathing in this air has not come as easy as it did before I left.
On a final note I’ve been learning more about prayer recently. I’ve been praying to be reminded of realize just how much God loves me and I’ve been seeing that answered in the past few days as I’ve felt this overwhelming sense of God as my Father. A good father (which God is) loves his child, is interested in his child, and cares for his child. I have just been feeling God loving me and caring about the things I care about and wanting to spend time with me. It has been sweet as I know I can go to Him with my concerns because He does care and wants to listen. It’s a good reminder for us all, I believe. We are blessed to call Him Dad.
I hope that life is finding you well as I close this update. This last video goes out to all my friends on the east coast facing Irene.
I like funerals… Maybe that’s an odd thing to say, but it is true. Don’t get me wrong. I think funerals are horribly sad if the person didn’t know Christ, but funerals really do something for me. They cause me to stop and think and reflect. Every time I attend a funeral I begin to think about my life. What would be said if I was the one in that casket? I also think about the life I still have to live that is in front of me. If I don’t think I would like what would be said, I still have the opportunity to change that. I believe it was Andy Stanley who once said, “What you want said about you at your funeral is your personal definition of success.” I believe he is right. Do I want people to say they knew I loved Jesus boldly and with great passion? Then I need to be loving Jesus boldly and with great passion. Do I want people to say that I was generous and loved helping people? Then I need to be generous and love helping people.
Another thing I begin to think about while I’m at a funeral is how grateful I am to still be alive. It’s like you realize you have this gift that you’ve been wasting. I don’t want to waste my life, but so many times we get caught up in the motions of just surviving day in and day out. God did not put us here to survive. He put us here to live boldly and to attempt great things praying that He shows up to help. We live our lives far too timidly and by the time we’re in the casket, it won’t matter if we succeeded or failed, but people will be able to say we tried. I do not want to live a timid life. I want to live a bold life with great faith.
Lastly, funerals serve to remind me that nothing matters except for Jesus. Who you told about Jesus, what you allowed Jesus to do through you, how much time you spent with Jesus. When your body is laying in that casket and you are meeting Him face to face, He will be the only thing that matters. We forget this probably daily, but I like funerals because it gives me that perspective.
Funerals are also awesome if the person knew Jesus because it is a time of celebrating their life, their death, and their completed sanctification. I hope the next time you attend a funeral that some of these things may come to your mind. I know I get great joy from getting to reflect on these things and to realize I still have time ahead that Christ is giving me to live in light of Him. May we live bold and reckless lives for the Gospel.