A New, New Year's Resolution

Until now, I have never really liked the idea of a New Year's resolution. I have always had the mindset that one should work to better themselves throughout the whole year. But the more I think about it, the more I find the idea beautiful.
There is something to say about a new year. There is something to say about reflecting on who you are and who you want to be. There is something tremendously appealing about starting fresh, about knowing that your past mistakes have been forgiven and redeemed.
This year, I have taken a lot of time reflecting on  my mistakes, but with that, reflecting on the idea of redemption. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. If there was a hand basket, I would be traveling straight to hell in it. But I have been redeemed by a God who said that I was worthy of redemption. Not worthy because of something that I have done, but worthy because of him. I am worthy because he see's the righteousness of Christ, not my basket full of mistakes.
I have always loved the sunrise. To me, it is the perfect picture of redemption. Each sunrise, is a fresh start. It is a new beginning of a new day where I no longer have to dwell on past mistakes. Because of redemption, I  can press forward with confidence because my mistakes are no longer counted against me.
This is why my feelings have changed about New Year's resolutions. Because of Christ, I can press forward in who he has made me, and who he is currently making me. I can press forward, because you and I were made with intrinsic value.
My New Year's resolution is this, to press forward in who Christ has made me. Because in that, I will find purpose. In that, I will discover that I have already been made whole.

The Necessary Gospel

As Christmas approaches, I have been thinking a lot about The Gospel. More specifically, its simplicity, its beauty, and its necessity. What is The Gospel? Some would write it off as a list do's and don'ts as a means of scaring the gullible into a religious conversion. Others, like myself, think of it as the only true source of life.

When I look at the world we live in, I am constantly reminded how low life is valued (specifically human life). Life is valued so low, people kill children without a second thought. This is nothing new. This has been a common theme throughout history. From King Herod to Adolf Hitler, this has been a common theme.

We live in a broken world where families are hungry despite an abundance of food. We life in a world where mothers receive a letter informing them that their only son was killed during active duty. We live in a world where everybody is looking out for themselves before looking after their neighbors. Our world is broken. My world is broken.

I was asked the other day why I need to rely on somebody else to make me whole. At the time, I didn't really know what to say. As easy as I see the answer now, at the time my mind drew a blank. I need somebody else to make me whole because I am helplessly broken.

My natural self is selfish, impatient, quick to anger, quick to wrath, and much worse. I return to this state often. In moments of clarity, I realize that Christ came to heal my brokenness. I realize that I am completely reliant on a God who has promised wholeness.

The Gospel is not about what I have done wrong, its about what he has done right. Christ came that we should experience life. Life that is free from our self seeking, hate filled hearts. Christ came that we may experience peace. We experience peace because we realize that he has covered our iniquities.

Redemption isn't about cleaning up our acts and becoming better people, its about Christ giving us a new nature. I speak for myself, when I say that this doesn't happen over night. It is often a grueling process where we will continue to return to this nasty, impatient, selfish mentality. Then a soft voice reminds us that that is not who we are anymore. He reminds us that we have been made new because he decided that he would take the penalty for our transgressions upon himself and wipe our slates clean. Each day we can come to him with the assurance that he has washed us clean.

This is the Gospel that I believe in. This is the reason that I need the Gospel, and this is the reason that the world needs it.  

Why I wish I was a super hero.

Every little boy wishes he had a super power. Perhaps, every man wishes the same. I speak for myself when I admit that I do. I love superhero stories. At the root of my love, beyond flying or time travel, lies some very fundamental desires.

I desire simplicity -

In every superhero story, there are the good guys, and the bad guys. Real life is full of people who are somewhere in between. Real life, unfortunately, is filled with people who are capable of a lot of good and bad alike, and often times, good and evil, fit nicely on a line of gray. Decisions are complicated, and I for one, when making these decisions, spend most of my time second guessing them.

I desire to be selfless-

In most superhero stories, the hero is always selfless. He places the needs of others over any need he may have at the moment. This is beautiful. I desire this. Although most of the time, I desire self-gratification a little more. If people lived by this philosophy, most, if not all of the problems in our society would cease to exist.

I desire wisdom-

Like I mentioned above, life gets pretty confusing. Half the time, I honestly do not know what the right decision is. A superhero always knows the decision he must make. I envy this. A lot of the mistakes that I have made in my life, I have made due to a lack of wisdom.

I desire to live by integrity-

I want to be the kind of man who always does what I think to be right. I don't want to make a decision based on convenience, or self interest. I want to be the type of person who will walk by integrity even at my own peril.


I desire to be calm in the midst of chaos-

I get overwhelmed pretty easily. When I get stressed, my mind instantly fogs up and I become easily irritated. I want to be able to think clearly and make quick decisions in the eye of the storm. Superheros are always able to think clearly. What? The world is about to be destroyed? Nothing a little clear decision making can't handle.


Unfortunately, until I get bit by a spider, crash my car in a lake of radioactive waste, or evolve into a X-Men, I will have to trust in a God who offers grace through my mistakes, and I will have to endure some of my more human qualities. Life is a process, and even though I wish I had more wisdom, selflessness, and integrity, I will have to take life one decision at a time. Hopefully, I will make decisions and love people in a way that reflects the God who has shown me so much love.

Redemption

In a day of political correctness, there are many negative stigmas attached to Jesus. In some sense, this is understandable. Jesus may be the most politically incorrect person who has ever lived. Jesus, came along, and told the world that he is the only way to salvation. Not one of the ways, but the only way. If there was a picture attached to the phrase 'politically incorrect', it would probably be Jesus giving two thumbs up.
Jokes aside, truth is a one way street. Either Jesus was telling the truth, or he wasn't. There really isn't a middle ground for a guy who claimed to be God and tells the world that he is the only way to redemption.
I am one of those odd characters who believes that Jesus was telling the truth. For me, its not a matter of political correctness, or being sensitive to others opinions, its about sharing the most beautiful story that was ever told.
The gospel is incredibly simple. It is a story wrapped in hope, beauty, love, and redemption. Jesus, sacrificed himself, so that we could be washed clean in the eyes of God. He took the cross quietly, humbly, and willingly. It is the greatest story ever told.
I have always loved watching the sun rise. Its the perfect metaphor for salvation. With each sunrise, we get a fresh start because Jesus decided that we were worth the cost. The cost that he alone paid, so that we could experience redemption.
Redemption starts now, its not something that we look forward to. It transcends into every aspect of our lives. We have the freedom to live our lives, make mistakes, fail, succeed, and continue to press forward, because Christ paid a price. This to me, is simply amazing.

A Tragic Division

In a Church filled with so much disagreement, there seems to be one thing we can all agree on. That is, nobody agrees on any number of doctrines. Some emphasize grace. Others emphasize works. Some rely heavily on the gifts of the spirit found in the book of Acts, while others believe those gifts were done away with after the apostles died.


This division has troubled me for some time now. I have lost many friends in the name of these disagreements. Yet, were we all not unified in Christ? Where is the line between agreeing to disagree, and issues that cannot be reconciled?

There are people who I love, who I have not spoken to in years, because of some disagreement that we both felt was irreconcilable. How foolish. We both believed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We both believed in grace, yet we could not look passed our secondary issues. This, I believe, is tragic. 
We get caught up in these doctrinal differences, and we loose sight of the Jesus who loves unity. I have been bitter, angry, and filled with hate in the past. I have lost sight of grace, and have been blinded by my own pride.  

This is an issue as ancient as the church itself. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10-12 says  "¹⁰ Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. ¹² Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ. ¹³ Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized ^[in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void."

I believe Paul, when instructing the Corinthians to be of the same mind, felt that this was a feasible task. The Gospel that we believe, and preach to the world, is incredibly simple. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2 - "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." That's the Gospel message, Christ and him crucified.

We can disagree on any number of doctrinal differences if we hold fast to this one truth. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the intrinsic nature of Christianity. In this, and this alone, shall we be unified.

John 16:13 promises that the spirit will lead us to all truth. It does not say however, that this will be done instantly. In the midst of all our differences, we must remember this; we are all on a journey. We, as people who are in Christ, are all being lead to the ultimate truth. This truth is Jesus.


May God close these gaps between us, because we all suffer due to this division. May our eye's be opened, our hearts filled with love for one another, and our mouths slow to speak. I will say this once more, our faith  is Christ and him crucified.

Free Will, the Multi-Layered Problem

When I first considered the question of whether or not we have free will, it seemed quit simple. Though the more I thought about it, the more layers I had to consider. By the time I was finished, I was ready to pull out my hair.

This whole topic, I admit, is beyond my ability to comprehend it. I write it, not because I feel that I am worthy to discuss, or teach such a topic, but I write it only on the grounds that it has been on my mind. I write this more as an open dialogue, rather than such a way which would appear that I have a sound understanding of it, because I do not.

First off, we have to determine what we mean by free will. If we mean the ability to make decisions without outside influence, the obvious answer is no. Some things are out of our control. Things that make a significant difference. These things include, what part of the world we are born in, who our parents are, etc.If I was born in the middle east, I may not have the same world view as I do now. If my parents were the leaders of a white supremest group, I may have grown up a racist.

From a spiritual aspect, it is clear in scripture, that there are outside influences that play a large roll in our decision making.

Paul, in Romans 7, says this, " For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold  into bondage to sin. ¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. ¹⁷ So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. ¹⁹ For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I am doing the very 
 thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me."


Paul recognized that he had a will, and a will to do good, but he lacked the ability to follow through. In fact, he did the exact opposite! He did the things that he hated. Now if a regenerated man, (one who is in Christ) does not have the ability to follow through with his will to do good, then what hope is there for one who does not yet know Christ? Ephesians 6:12 says " For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." So according to Scripture, we are influenced not only by the sin that dwells in our fallen flesh, but also against spiritual forces. 


If by free will, we mean whether or not our decisions are predetermined, our questions are a bit more complex. (The next two paragraphs have been borrowed and paraphrased from Dinesh D'Souza's book 'God Forsaken')

In the 18th Century, physicist Pierre-Simone Laplace, first made the case for a theory called Determinism. ("Determinism is often taken to mean simply causal determinism: an idea known in physics as cause-and-effect. It is the concept that events within a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state [of an object or event] is completely determined by prior states" -Wikipedia)

This theory basically said that free-will is an illusion. Laplace said that free will contradicted the scientific view of causation, (The relation of cause and effect.). He stated that our will, is simply neurons in the brain, and since we do not control the neurons in our brain, then free-will does not actually exist.

Later, with the discovery of quantum physics,this theory was greatly challenged. Quantum physics, at the subatomic level, showed that the motion of particles is not only unpredictable, but also undetermined. Although, as physicist Stephen Barr pointed out, quantum physics did not prove free-will, but it opened the door for it. So even in physics, there still seems to be some questions regarding this.

When we look at the scriptures, there seems to be this duality. We know that God is sovereign over all of his creation, yet we also know that he is not the author of sin. (James 1:13) We know that God is the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2) We know that he is the one who works in you, to both will, and to work for his purpose, (Philippians 2:13) yet it seems there are multiple passages that suggest that we have some kind of responsibility in our moral decisions, and spiritual journey.

I come away with more questions then answers, and I am OK with that. A God who I can understand, would not really be a God who I could be in awe of. If God is sovereign, then surely he will reveal the things that need to be revealed. If that is Christ alone, then I am rich in knowledge indeed.

I believe these topics are important, but they are tiresome. I can easily become engulfed in these types of questions. May our inquisitive minds never take precedence over the simplicity of Christ. We are seated in him, sealed until the day of Christ. I will rest take rest in that.

Christ or culture?

We live in a society of extremes. Extreme rights, extreme lefts, extreme sports? Well maybe extreme sports doesn't fit but you get the picture. Christianity is no exception. We as Christians seem to get engulfed in a sub-culture that is filled with extremes. We will go to church 5 days a week, only listen to Christian music, only hang out with our Christian friends.We forget that Christ hung out with the lowly. He hung out with prostitutes, and tax collectors. He hung out with the outcasts.

I was taking back a years worth of bottles to the store the other day. I came across a guy who was asking for bottles that the machines didn't except. He wasn't begging for money, or asking anything other than the cans that people would end up throwing away anyway. My first thought was, "get a job lowlife." Seriously, I actually thought that. I just wanted to take my cans back without being bothered. I realized in the next moment what a prideful ass I am. I realized how high I hold myself. But then the reality hit me that I was no better than anybody else there. At any moment, life could hit us and we could be the ones asking for rejected cans.

Not only do we hold ourselves in high esteem, but we fail to see our own depravity. You see, we roll in the mud, yet fail to see that we are doing so. We ride these moral trains that we can't even uphold ourselves. We look at others and think, "I would never do that." Or, "look what a mess so and so's life is. Thank God I am not like them." We are the biggest pharisees of them all, and whats worse is that we don't even see it. We are too engulfed in religious things to really see who we are in the flesh. Take a look, its ugly.

Any one of us is capable of any amount of evil. We watch our television and rejoice when we see men like Osama Bin Ladan executed. Yet if we were born in the middle east, we may have been by his side.

In Christ we have been made new. I will say it again, IN CHRIST. Why do we continue to walk through life in this bullshit sub-culture, acting as if we have obtained something by our own efforts? I do this daily. I think I am better than you. I think that I am something really special, but I am not. We are all flawed human beings that constantly make a mess of things. Its time that we start giving credit to who deserves the credit, Christ. Because in and of myself, I am just another fool. A fool who has taken the best seat in the house, only to be asked to sit in the back row.