Today, I was using a local hangout as a makeshift office, when something caught my attention. It seemed that all of Hillsborough County Sheriff deputies converged on the joint for, none other than, an afternoon break (and no I wasn't at Dunkin Donuts).
I momentarily stopped what I was doing, watching to see if they would converse with one another. To my surprise, they didn't and other than a few curious glances, there was no interaction. I'm not sure why it struck me as odd, after all, just because they wear the same uniform doesn't necessarily make them friends.
I eventually went back to my studies and after a few minutes I heard a loud commotion coming from behind me. There was a man shouting, waiving a gun and demanding money. However, before he could get anywhere, the sheriff deputies seamlessly worked together and brought the guy down before anyone realized what was happening. It was amazing to watch a group of guys, who didn't know one another, work as if they did.
It's my conviction and understanding that Jesus when he prayed, "Make them one... (John 17:21)" was perhaps eluding to this type of scenario. I don't believe his prayer of oneness was a desire that we all be close friends, or be centered around the same ideologies (with the foundations of our faith being the exception), or even like one another. Rather, his prayer shows a desire for us to be unified in mission so that when the opportunity arises we are ready to join together to build his kingdom.
By the way, the event I described above, aside from the cops eating lunch, didn't actually happen, but I've watched enough cop shows to know that if a gunman did come in, it would have gone down in a similar way.
May we be as vigilant as the Church as the cops were in my imagination:)
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
What's God's Chief End
The first confession of the Westminster Catechism reads, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." This was God's plan for man in his reason for creation, redemption and our future glorification.
What then is God's chief end? Some may say that if man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, then God's chief end is to glorify us by enjoying us forever. After all, aren't relationships supposed to be an equally mutual endeavor?
Scripture reveals to us that God's chief end is the same as our chief end...to glorify himself [God] and enjoy himself forever (Is. 46:1, Is 42:1, Ps 115:3, Ps 135:5-7, Jn 17:24-26). He exists for himself. There's a lot of sifting one must go through to understand this and it's importance, however, let me use an illustration that may help to at least take the lid off this mystery.
If you've ever flown on a commercial plane, you've heard the flight attendant before take off go over the safety rules for the aircraft. One of the instructions are, if the oxygen masks come down at any time during the flight and you are flying with small children, make sure you put your own mask on first, before securing the mask on your child.
The reason they give this instruction is really for the ultimate well being of the helpless child you are with. If the parent chief end isn't to take care of herself first, the safety and well being of the child will ultimately be in danger.
As helpless human beings that need the gracious mercy of a loving savior, we should take refuge in the fact that we serve a God who's chief end is himself. It's our only hope to receiving the grace he provides, for he get's glory when we live to find our joy in him, and without that, we are truly lost.
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What then is God's chief end? Some may say that if man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, then God's chief end is to glorify us by enjoying us forever. After all, aren't relationships supposed to be an equally mutual endeavor?
Scripture reveals to us that God's chief end is the same as our chief end...to glorify himself [God] and enjoy himself forever (Is. 46:1, Is 42:1, Ps 115:3, Ps 135:5-7, Jn 17:24-26). He exists for himself. There's a lot of sifting one must go through to understand this and it's importance, however, let me use an illustration that may help to at least take the lid off this mystery.
If you've ever flown on a commercial plane, you've heard the flight attendant before take off go over the safety rules for the aircraft. One of the instructions are, if the oxygen masks come down at any time during the flight and you are flying with small children, make sure you put your own mask on first, before securing the mask on your child.
The reason they give this instruction is really for the ultimate well being of the helpless child you are with. If the parent chief end isn't to take care of herself first, the safety and well being of the child will ultimately be in danger.
As helpless human beings that need the gracious mercy of a loving savior, we should take refuge in the fact that we serve a God who's chief end is himself. It's our only hope to receiving the grace he provides, for he get's glory when we live to find our joy in him, and without that, we are truly lost.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Why Fast?
Choosing to fast, is a purposeful choice you make to embrace suffering and suffering always has a way of stripping you bare and exposing the "true you" that lies within. When I fast, I get cranky and angry, I'm not pleasant to be around and I lose my joy pretty quickly.
Why do I get this way? Isn't fasting, after all, a discipline that is supposed to make me more joyful and more like Jesus? If I've lost my joy, what's the purpose?
Fasting is not what steals my joy. Rather, it's the idolatry that lives deep in my heart. It's this monster, when it is being starved, that steals my joy, snatches up my happiness, and leaves me cranky, angry and unpleasant.
This is why fasting is so important to the believer. Jesus uses our suffering of going without, to expose the very things that he demands lordship over. When that ugliness surfaces, take it to Jesus through confession and repentance, thanking him for showing you the areas that need to be submitted to him.
Whether it's through fasting or some other form of suffering that God allows in your life, remember it's there to build you up in him, so embrace it with the grace that Jesus provides.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Why do I get this way? Isn't fasting, after all, a discipline that is supposed to make me more joyful and more like Jesus? If I've lost my joy, what's the purpose?
Fasting is not what steals my joy. Rather, it's the idolatry that lives deep in my heart. It's this monster, when it is being starved, that steals my joy, snatches up my happiness, and leaves me cranky, angry and unpleasant.
This is why fasting is so important to the believer. Jesus uses our suffering of going without, to expose the very things that he demands lordship over. When that ugliness surfaces, take it to Jesus through confession and repentance, thanking him for showing you the areas that need to be submitted to him.
Whether it's through fasting or some other form of suffering that God allows in your life, remember it's there to build you up in him, so embrace it with the grace that Jesus provides.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Gospel Centered Life
There's a growing movement in the Church that says Jesus came to awaken something that fell asleep inside all of us. All of our dreams, recognized or not, reside in this sleeping giant, and if we just follow the teachings and principles of Jesus Christ he'll set us on a journey of actualization and awakening to get the life we've always wanted.
The true gospel, however, doesn't resonate or champion this cause at all, because there is nothing inside of us that is sleeping and waiting to be awakened. The problem that we all face, and the only reason Jesus Christ came, died and rose again is that we are dead, fully dead, and without him we have no hope of coming alive (Eph. 2:1-10). Any other interpretation of life simply falls short, leaving us groping for meaningless principles and useless mind games that can never get us out of our graves.
Jesus didn't come to awaken a sleeping giant, discover the hidden diamond in our lives, or to show us a better way to live. He came to give us himself. Through his finished work on the cross, he's become our destiny, our vision, our pearl of great price and without him we are completely and totally dead. Our only hope is in him and what he did on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21).
With this in mind, let's put our full trust and allegiance in him (Hebrews 12:1-2).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The true gospel, however, doesn't resonate or champion this cause at all, because there is nothing inside of us that is sleeping and waiting to be awakened. The problem that we all face, and the only reason Jesus Christ came, died and rose again is that we are dead, fully dead, and without him we have no hope of coming alive (Eph. 2:1-10). Any other interpretation of life simply falls short, leaving us groping for meaningless principles and useless mind games that can never get us out of our graves.
Jesus didn't come to awaken a sleeping giant, discover the hidden diamond in our lives, or to show us a better way to live. He came to give us himself. Through his finished work on the cross, he's become our destiny, our vision, our pearl of great price and without him we are completely and totally dead. Our only hope is in him and what he did on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21).
With this in mind, let's put our full trust and allegiance in him (Hebrews 12:1-2).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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