Sproul, Driscoll, Chandler, Tchividjian Discussion Panel

Thought this was to good not to share. Good stuff!!

Gaining The Big Picture

It's been a month now since my wife and I left the states and traveled to the La Limonada slum in Guatemala City. I still reflect on our week there, it's hard not to. There are some experiences in life, that no matter how far you are removed from them, those experiences will forever be etched into your mind and not only into your mind but into your nose and ears as well. I didn't think that going into a slum would be that big of a deal. I've seen some rather poor parts of the world and I assumed this place would be no different, I was wrong.

The first thing I noticed when traveling into La Limonada was that it seemed to be cut off from the rest of the city. It was like we were entering a different country. I was told that this was almost the case. Most in Guatemala totally disregard the people of La Limonada as citizens of Guatemala City. The "roads" in the slum are really large sidewalks and sometimes very small sidewalks. There is trash everywhere. I'm not talking some litter here and there but a lot of trash. Dogs and cats roam the slum, all are underfed and full of only God knows what kind of parasites. So far it pretty much looked like other poor locations of the world that I've seen, then I got to higher ground.

During the week, we visited and prayed with several families. We had a chance to hear their stories, see first had what they were struggling with and see the joy God had placed into their hearts. It was on one of these visits that I was blown away. Myself along with a friend and some staff from Lemonade International went to a home of an elderly gentlemen. We talked with he and his caretaker. We were able to provide him with some medicines that he desperately needed and prayed over him. It was truly an honor.

His house was located near the top of the ravine (where the slum is located in). We walked up and when we got out his front door I turned to look out over the slum. My heart sank as I took in how big this place really was, and I really couldn't see the full scope of it even then. This place was huge which means the problems that it's facing are huge as well.

Though the problems in La Limonada are great, the hope that many that live there have is even greater! God, through the sweat and tears of many very special people, is doing some great things in the hearts and lives of many.

Thankfully, ours and Gods perspectives are not the same. Where we see chaos, God sees clam and does the calming. Where we see despair, Gods sees hope and is the hope. When we see true joy and a peace that passes all understanding, we see God.

Nothing To Say...

I'm not quite sure why I haven't written on my blog in a while. It's certainly not because I haven't wanted to. Maybe because I really don't think anyone is really reading it. There have been plenty of things that I'd like to weigh in on. Sometimes my opinions are far more than they should be. Go ahead, ask me anything, I'll let you know how I feel about it.

Grace. Maybe that's it. Over the last several months, God has really been pressing. He's been pressing me to extend grace to people, that in the past, I never would have given it a second thought.

Lots of people blog nowadays. Many use their small pedestal in this cyber world to verbally beat up on people. Or to throw their opinions around trying to shock their small group of readers hoping their opinions get echoed throughout the internet world.

I've thought about just not blogging anymore and shutting this thing down, but I won't. Why? Because one day I think I'd like to go back and read what I've written. Who knows, maybe I'll be the first one to read some of the things I've written.:o)

Gospel Gold From John Calvin

This comes from a stunning preface to Pierre Robert Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament (1534). Justin Taylor, added line breaks to make it easier to read.

Calvin wrote:

Without the gospel

everything is useless and vain;

without the gospel

we are not Christians;

without the gospel

all riches is poverty,
all wisdom folly before God;
strength is weakness,
and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made

children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom

the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.

It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.

For, he was

sold, to buy us back;
captive, to deliver us;
condemned, to absolve us;

he was

made a curse for our blessing,
[a] sin offering for our righteousness;
marred that we may be made fair;

he died for our life; so that by him

fury is made gentle,
wrath appeased,
darkness turned into light,
fear reassured,
despisal despised,
debt canceled,
labor lightened,
sadness made merry,
misfortune made fortunate,
difficulty easy,
disorder ordered,
division united,
ignominy ennobled,
rebellion subjected,
intimidation intimidated,
ambush uncovered,
assaults assailed,
force forced back,
combat combated,
war warred against,
vengeance avenged,
torment tormented,
damnation damned,
the abyss sunk into the abyss,
hell transfixed,
death dead,
mortality made immortal.

In short,

mercy has swallowed up all misery,
and goodness all misfortune.

For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit.

If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things.

And we are

comforted in tribulation,
joyful in sorrow,
glorying under vituperation,
abounding in poverty,
warmed in our nakedness,
patient amongst evils,
living in death.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

Do yourself a favor and read this over and over and over. It’s nutritious!

A big thank you to Tullian Tchividjian for posting the original post of this. It was to good not to share!

The Cost of Discipleship

I thought this was a great sermon from Pastor Mark Driscoll. For me was was very challenging. Go ahead, push play, it's good stuff!

More Than Just A Rant

Do you love your Bible? If I asked that to a group of Christians I know many would say, "of course I do", as they blow the layer of dust off the cover. Sadly, to much of my own life has been spent not in and not meditating on the words of God. I can be honest here, right? Most would probably agree to that statement to one degree or another, but I've been noticing something else.

Actions certainly speak louder than words. Saying you love your Bible is great but that greatness seems to diminish quite a bit if you have to clear a layer of dust off it. Or if you have to search around for it because you love it so much you've forgotten where you left it. May I suggest looking for it in your churches lost & found? Assuming of course that you brought it to church in the first place.

Every time I walk into church and this is happening at my church as well, I notice more and more people that don't have a Bible with them. Is there a Bible shortage? Did Crossway Publishers run out of ink? It just seems crazy to me that people will say they love Gods word and then leave it at home when they're going to the one place that it's being taught. I'm sure when you were in college you brought your textbook to class, you needed it to learn. Just like your professors have power point and throw many things up onto a screen, churches do this all the time as well.

I think it's great that this is done. Anytime technology can be use to convey the gospel I consider it a win. However I do think it has made many Christians lazy in their efforts to really know Gods word. We would rather have a pastor tell us what to know and what to believe. Rather than take the time and put forth the effort on our own. Not every pastor is going to get it right all the time, he's human. Gods words are true and timeless. On Sundays you should have your Bible with you so you can see truth for yourself or be able to spot error if it's spoken from the pulpit.

The christian life is a relationship with God. Like any relationship it takes work. It can be hard and at times very messy. God speaks to us through prayer and the reading of his word. Your Bible contains the very words of our creator, let that sink in! When someone of importance gives a speech, says something profound or writes a book, we listen. How much more greater things does the creator of the universe have to say?

Your thoughts?

It's Been Too Long

Wow, has it really been since August! When I started this blog I never wanted to become some forgotten about corner on the web. I felt like this was my little corner of the cyber world. A place to share my thoughts, ideas, reflect on things I've learned and maybe even rant at times. I also felt that if I wasn't contributing to it at least a few times a month then nothing really must be going on in my life. Actually, just the opposite has been true!

I've really had so much going on, I really didn't take time to stop, slow down and share what God has been doing. So what has been going on and what exactly has God been teaching me? Glad you asked! I'll try to sum it up in one word and then explain it briefly.

In a word: Running or Run. Yes, it's something I've been doing a lot of the last 6-7 months. It may not be a lot to some people, but I've put in almost 400 miles during that time. The time running has given me a lot of opportunities to talk to God and for him to talk to me as well. One thing I've learned, never disqualify an occasion as one that God might speak to you. Sometimes he waits to speak until mile 12 and then I reminded to stay strong, focus, finish the race. Knowing that he's not talking only about my current physical condition but also my spiritual one.

The apostle Paul had it right so many times when he equated the Christian life to a race! I've come to understand this analogy more and more. Especially when I find myself saying "he waits to speak until mile 12". Another thing I've learned, and yes it's been through running, is that I am my worst opponent.

When running, it's easy to fall into the trap of talking yourself into stopping. After all I deserve it, I've ran strong up to this point, I could use a break. It's all down hill from there. You actually remain stronger in the end if you don't stop!

I was recently reminded of this verse: Galatians 5:7 (ESV) You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? Sadly much of the time we hinder ourselves.

I'll end this with one final thought. This statement or words of wisdom came from the most unexpected person and has stuck with me for more than 18 years. It came from my high school cross country coach, Clarence Vandenbosch, we called him "Bosch".
He said: "Listen to me Charles, that first decision to stop running is easy and it only gets easier after that."

Obedience Through Suffering

Obedience through suffering. Most of us at some point in out lives have experienced this. While the majority of of us don't remember a lot of it, for some it's a very vivid memory. What I'm talking about, at least in our case is that swat on the rear end when we didn't do what we were supposed to be dong the first time. It was inevitable, every time we disobeyed or did something very stupid, out came dads belt. Of course it wasn't always dads belt, it might have been a paddle of sorts or even a switch off a tree (thank you Grandma for that one). Now days it's a time out peering into a corner, having a favorite toy or privilege taken away or being held captive in ones room for days on end. Personally I preferred the spanking, yeah it hurt, but it was quick, to the point and I was typically back to playing in 5 minutes depending on who administered it. My point is is that we all suffered on some level in order to learn obedience.

This past week a friend and I were studying through Hebrews chapter 5. Most of our time of discussion after our reading was on verses 7-10:

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (ESV)

Jesus did go humbly to the cross in total obedience to his heavenly father but he learned that obedience, through his suffering, before he went to the cross. Verse 7 says: "Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears". His suffering started long before he was nailed to the cross. His full obedience through suffering was designed in the cross and because of this obedience he was made perfect and became the source of our salvation.

Thankfully Jesus' full obedience to his heavenly father and his atoning work on the cross makes it possible for us to one day stand before God as obedient children.

Focusing On The Negative

"The single biggest mistake that most beginners make is putting 100% of their effort into the positive (concentric) part of the rep, while paying no attention to the negative (eccentric) segment."-Dorian Yates 6-Time Mr. Olympia

What a great quote and after lifting for a number of years I can say it's 100% true! I also think that this principal applies to our spiritual lives as well as it pertains to our joy. Notice I said joy and not happiness.God is more concerned with our joy in Christ than he is with our happiness. Nehemiah 8:9-11 talks about how the joy of the Lord is our strength. Christ is the source of our joy. It is this joy that gives us the strength to get through troubled times in our lives. So lets get back to the quote.

When it comes to our spiritual lives I'm not saying that we need to have such a focus on a negative time of life that all we are doing is wallowing in our self pity, continually grumbling about our current circumstance that we find ourselves in. What I am saying is, is that we have been brought into our current circumstance for a reason. Our focus should be to learn what God would have for us in that circumstance therefore growing us into the men & women of faith that he would have us to be. It's in that learning and growth where we find our joy.

I tell people, "don't be to quick to try and remove yourself from a situation that might be making you uncomfortable. God is molding, stretching, and shaping you for something. You don't want to go into what he has next for you unprepared."

So then, what is God bringing you through? Or better yet, what is God teaching and preparing you for?

Jesus Had to be Made Perfect.

Now that I've got your attention, I'll explain. Every other Thursday evening I meet with one or two friends of mine and we study through books of the Bible. It's really great to read Gods word with others and then get their feedback as to how they read the text and what God has reveled to them through it.

We're all at different places in our lives, no doubt, but we are also in very different spiritual places in our walk with Christ as well. Many times God will use a portion of text that effects one of us in one way and while the rest of us appreciate the text it has no big impact on us at the time. A couple weeks ago, this was not the case.

I've read through Hebrews on several different occasions and for whatever reason a portion of text really stood out like it never had before. Not just to me but also to my study partner as well.

Hebrews 2:9-11 reads as follows (our focus is on verse 10):
9But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers
Wow, did you catch that! Here it is again, this time in slow motion: 10... make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Wait, I thought Jesus was already perfect, but he also needed to be made perfect? The answer to both of those questions is YES! Yes, Jesus is God! Yes, Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life. Yes, Jesus was always obedient to his father even to his death on a cross. This verse is not implying that Jesus was sinful by any means. In fact it has more to do with our justification and or sanctification than anything else.

In order to have a perfect sacrifice for our sin, Christ himself had to be prefect. He had to perfectly obey his father all the way up to and including his death on the cross. In his divinity he is perfect in every way and in his humanity he was made perfect by going through the same temptations, trills, life experiences and even death that we go trough. In his sinless perfection he is fully God, in his death he was fully human. In his resurrection he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who can humbly identify with those he calls his.

Never to Busy

Wow, it has been way to long since I've written anything of my own on this blog. I guess it's because I've finally had time! Work has been crazy for the last month and a half and at 62 hours a week that doesn't leave me much time to write. Even though I've been busy I still find time to get into Gods word.

I make sure I read the Bible not because I have to or because I want to look impressive to other Christians, but because I want to. I love God and I want to know him as much as I can. He has blessed me and my family more than we deserve and I can't thank him or even love him enough compared to what he has done for me.

I just want to take this opportunity to encourage you to never think you're to busy to read Gods word. We should never be to busy that we feel we can't take time out to pray to and learn more about the creator of the universe! Please, get into your Bible! Love it rest on it's promises and thank God every day for all he has done!

What makes Jesus superior to other saviors?

Below is part eight in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

What Will Jesus Do Upon His Return?

Below is part six in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

I Would Have Never Guessed

I have been fight it for a long time, but a week ago I caved and finally got on facebook. Not sure why I was fighting it, I guess I just didn't want to get to involved in other peoples lives. Let me just say, I have been blown away.
I know what you're thinking,"Scott, it's facebook, it's been around for years welcome to 2009" I'm not talking about facebook as a social networking tool, I'm talking about the people I've been able to reconnect with.
I graduated from Byron Center High School back in 1996, go Bulldogs! During most of my high school experience I was a Christian, although not a very good one. Some of my classmates knew this and the ones that did know this didn't know that being a Christian meant that I was different. My testimony was not something that I was all to concerned about. Sure if some moral topic came up in conversation I took the position that my faith would require of me, and every once in a while I would pray over my lunch, but not to often. Sadly I can't even remember a time when I would share Christ with my friends. It saddens me to even write that.
Since graduation my life concerning Christ as changed dramatically. My relationship with Christ has become more and more real and deep. I've been more bold about my faith and would even come to consider myself a student of scripture. One day if the Lord calls me into full time ministry, I'm ready and willing to jump in.
So how has facebook blown me away? Well, it has not really been facebook, but the sovereignty and grace of God that has been extended to so many of my classmates of the last 13 years! It's so amazing to read their stories and profiles and see the work that God has done in so many of their lives. This last week has been one of encouragement to me and one of sadness. Encouragement because many of my classmates are now living lives fully for God and sadness because I've had time to reflect on my past high school testimony and realized I was a moron.
Thankfully God has shown me much grace over the last 13 years as well and now I have something greater in common with classmates that have turned into eternal friends!

Temptation Is From Within

The other day I tweeted about temptation but the more I thought about it the more I felt the need to write these thoughts down. Even if only I could refer back to them. So if you're reading and this at all helps to get the gears in your head working, awesome!
What brought to mind this topic was a weekly Bible study I do with a few friends. We just started the book of James, and it's been great. This is not the first time I've read the book of James or have even studied it for that matter, but this time was different. Two verses that I have read numerous times hit me right between the eyes like never before. The two verses 'm talking about are James 1:13-14, they read as follows: 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
I've read that many time and always I would come away with the fact that God cannot be temped or tempt. That was always it! The part that stuck out like never before was the part that reads "he is lured and enticed by his own desires".
Often times we here this from people when talking about their sin "the devil made me do it" or "Satan keeps attacking me with this or that" The point is, is that the root problem of our temptation is not Satan, it's our own sinful hearts.
Our temptation is a result of the true desires that dwell within our hearts. As sinful people we don't desire the things of God. We want to please ourselves by giving ourselves whatever it is that makes us happy in that moment. I think God knew what he was doing when he put the rest of this chapter together. Later in the chapter it talks about using the scriptures as a mirror to your life.
Does your life reflect the things that are taught in the Bible? Is it the things of God that flow from your heart. Do you desire what God desires?
When we desire to do what God desires for us, just like light in darkness, Gods desires will overcome or sinful desires. Then our temptations will be to do what God calls us to.

Jonah Chapter 2

This past week in our Bible study, we continued on into chapter 2 of the book of Jonah. When we last left our "hero" he had just been tossed into a raging sea. Now we find Jonah praying to God as he in the hell that is the digestive system of a great fish.

Observations from Jonah chapter 2:
-It's not until Jonah is in circumstances beyond his control that he finally calls out to God
-Jonah knew that Gods sovereignty was displayed through the mariners by being tossed into the sea
-Jonah compares his situation to being near death
-He seems to know that he will not die and will on day look upon or pray towards the temple once more
-Jonah knows he has done nothing to deserve being rescued but knows that God has extended much grace to him through this time
-Jonah prays against those that do not recognize God as the one true God
-Jonah finally decides to sacrifice himself to Gods purpose and recommits his life to him
-He declares that salvation does indeed belong to God and has been granted to him by God
-Jonah is vomited out by the fish

Conclusion:
Jonahs pride gets in the way of acknowledging that the saving grace that was extended to him was the same grace that was extended to the mariners. His prayer seems to be sincere for only as long as the situation that he is in lasts. Jonahs prayer my have been sincere but it seems to lack much, if any, repentance. That fact that Jonah committed to keep his vow to God but lacked repentance my be the very reason God chose the method he did to release Jonah from the fish. Confession without true repentance is vomit in the sight of God.

A God Lead Journey

I'm not exactly sure when it happened, when my family and I turned down this road that were on. I do know that we've been on it longer than we think. It's a road that only we have been down. I know this because we are the ones "blazing the trail" so to speak. Others we know have been down similar roads, but they mostly seem to run parallel with ours. On occasion there is a slight intersection where we both stop and give each other a nod. Sort of letting each other know, "hey, though you're on your own journey, you're not alone out here".

I think it all started about two to three years ago, I wrote about it here. A new love for the Bible was really the catalyst for this whole journey that my family and I are on. It's the reason why we're on this particular road at this particular time in our lives and for a particular reason for which I do not yet have all the answers to quite yet.

I'm thirty one years old and about thirty years ago my parents started attending a small Baptist church in the town I live in. Since then that church has turned into a rather large Baptist church that has seen and still does see many great things happen for the Gospel of Jesus. My parents still attend there and up until two weeks ago so did my family, and this is the journey that we are on.

Like I said, I've been going there for many years, my wife became a member there shortly before we were married back in 1998. It's the only church our two kids have ever known. It truly was our home and we are going to miss it. I'm not going to get into all the reasons as to why we left our church home, but I can share one reason as to why we had to leave.

One of the reasons ended up being ourselves. We started noticing that we were very comfortable with where we were at when it came to church. It was easy to come to church on a Sunday or Wednesday, serve where we were called and then leave. We had a routine, and because of where we served within the ministry, routine and program was the norm.

We had come to a point that, for whatever reasons, our ministry became stagnate. Sure, we did what the Lord wanted us to do and we saw many things get accomplished for him, but for the most part we found ourselves spinning our wheels and getting frustrated.

We fought it for a while and really didn't want to face the fact that leaving our church home may be the only way to remedy the problem we found ourselves in. After all we really loved our church family and the ministry, we still do.

You may think that our reason for leaving may have been easily solved and you're right, if that where the only reason for our leaving. However ,like I stated earlier, I can't give all the reasons.

So what's next for us? Well, we're just going to keep praying and seeking Gods will for our lives. We have been to a couple churches in town that we have liked very much. Now we're praying about where God would have us to serve next.


I say all this for two reasons. First, don't allow yourself to get to comfortable in your Christian walk. Being comfortable makes you a lazy Christian. Look for ways that God is challenging your faith and your service. For us it was to find a new church home. Second, follow Gods leading in your life, the sooner you do the better. The faster you see God leading you into or out of something and the faster you obey, the better off and less frustrated you'll be. I know that's easier said than done, believe me I just went through it, but you'll be better off in the end.

Gods Creativity in Prime Time

I don't like the cold, in fact I hate it. So because I live in Michigan I tend to stay indoors a lot from about mid November until mid to late march. Beside hanging with the family, working out and working on which ever home project that is taking longer than expected, I love to watch TV. Not just any type of TV show, but something where I might actually learn something while being entertained.
My go to networks are usually Fox News Channel, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Travel Channel, or Food Network. That list is in no particular order, it's just order I know them in because of where they fall in my particular cable package.
Anyway, the show that I've really gotten into has been "Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations" on The Travel Channel. In the show, the host Anthony Bourdain, goes around the world introducing his audience to many different cultures. From food to religion and climate to world view. It really is a great show.
Though Anthony may not realize it, he is also introducing his audience to the creativity of our heavenly father. When I watch the show I'm always amazed to see some of the weird and awesome things God has created. We truly worship an amazing God!
If you have not seen the show, go ahead and check it out, you'll be glad you did.