To Be Like Jesus

In an early post this year, I discussed the significance of Philippians 3:12-16. It's the passage my life is centered on in 2013. Instead of resolutions, I chose God's grand goal for my life; through Philippians 3, we understand what it is and how we get there. We see that Jesus is better than anything else, and these words ring true:

Knowing You, Jesus,
Knowing You -
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You, Lord.

~Graham Kendrick, "Knowing You"

We also see that God's goal for us is that we become like Christ. Today I'm reminded of this old hymn:

Oh to be like Thee,
Oh to be like Thee,
Precious Redeemer, pure as Thou art!
Come in Thy sweetness!
Come in Thy fullness!
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

~Thomas O. Chisholm, "Oh! to Be Like Thee"

This is the goal. And there are many steps in getting there. But rather than re-fleshing them all out, you can listen to the audio of the sermon I preached at my church last Sunday night. Or you can look at Philippians and find out for yourself.

Remembering the Story of My Life

The Story of My Life
Originally composed and posted April 6, 2012


Winter’s sounds and summer sights
Spring’s smell and autumn nights
Past fear, last year
Right here, right there
Sacred dreams and childhood lies
Holy screams and lonely cries
Foolish fear and wants unwise -
Tonight they’re all before my eyes
I cannot escape that lonely home
That locked me up with nowhere to roam
But in broken masquerades
Circus acts, acrobats, plays
We were lions in a cage
I was the puppet on the stage
Professing God but every day
Choosing first my own way
And in the meantime I took trips
To practitioners; all tricks, sticks, flips -
I tried it all just to please them
Hoping I could deceive them
Maybe even leave them
But never believe them
Or accept their medications
Over meditations
Of a broken heart
A bleeding sore
From the start
Wanting more
More than all the problems I had
More than one more sin screaming I was bad
More than just a pop-up mom or dad
I guess I just wanted to be glad
Away from my mistakes
Away from all my fakes
Away from chores and tasks
Away from lying masks
I just needed someone to step in
Someone who understood the fear and pain I felt within
Someone who could somehow remove my sin
I needed out of my cell
I didn’t know much about it, but I was headed right to hell
I needed an escapist
From the robbing rapist
I loved
I was
I wondered if there was ever help to stop the cheating
Ever healing to stop the bleeding
Ever a man to do the leading
Ever a satisfaction to give the love I was needing
I remember times I just wish I’d died
And thought of finding a gun for myself (suicide)
I hated life, I hated self, I hated everything
I hated love, I hated hurt, I hated all my dreams
And sleepless nights I just tossed in my bed
The secrets I kept locked inside my head
The feeling of living as already dead
With no one to take my stead

I was out of hope, out of dreams, out of life

Until that day I felt something I had not before:
The peace and the love I was yearning for
Soon it removed the dark lines that were on my face
As I finally felt rest in this thing called “grace”
All the guilt and all the hurt had finally gone away
And all I wanted to do was read the word and pray
And finally I knew I didn’t have to bear my blame
For there was One who was perfect and who came
To save me
To help me
Someone who held me
And heard me
And finally there was someone I knew who loved me

Since then have formed the scars
Every now and then I have my fears
I’ve almost been killed by a couple cars
I’ve sighed and cried a couple thousand tears
I’ve assured on end that all is alright
Hoping they will see past my disguise
And in an almost perfect sight
Determine otherwise
But for once I know I’m not alone
I have a Savior who will every day depone
Before God that He did atone
For all the wrongs I’ve ever done
This is the story of my life
You can look past the masks
I have nothing to hide
In present or in past
I’m nothing beautiful or great
Just a soul that God loves
Just a heart that God saved
Just a person dying every day
And fully living more
Than I ever dreamed I could before
Before that day back in ‘O’seven
That late night - past eleven -
When I already thought it was too late
But fell to my knees in tears and God saved

If nothing else ever happens
If nothing else ever matters
This does
Every day I thank God for this
And that I know forever
His love

True Religion

If there are any who still read this blog...

I have come to find the last post quite interesting, strangely prophetic. Sometimes in life it's so easy to get caught up in reading the Bible, practicing spiritual disciplines, and claiming repeatedly that God is our desire. But so often we forget to put wheels on what we read or pray. This has been the case for me for quite some time. I think I'm too fat spiritually because I'm not working out enough.

But there are people in my life who love me enough to tell me so - and sometimes in harsher language than that. Once I made the mistake of telling a friend that I needed a good kick in the pants every now and then, and it was the best mistake I have ever made. It hurt. But it helped. There is a love called brutality.

The name that starts with a J, has an o in the middle, and ends in an n has been too frequently on his mind lately. The ninth letter of the alphabet has been the starting word of far too many sentences (even in this post). There is no excuse. The couch is now sinking in because the legs are not moving.

And what has God said about this? That pure and undefiled religion is to care for the orphans and widows. It does not matter how much of God's word can be crammed into the Pharisee's heart if the listener does not act upon God's words. Jesus said that listener who doesn't put his faith to practice is like an idiot who built a house on the sand. He had no foundation. He fell.

And so will be the destiny of all who build on anything other than the Cornerstone of Christ.
Beach homes are nice, but they don't weather the storm.

Thank you to all who push me to build on the Rock. Forgive my hypocrisy and laziness; I have no excuse. And may God forgive me for all the times I've failed Him and sought other things. By His grace, this life will not be on the couch forever but pressing onward and upward toward conformity to Christ, love for the church, and true religion in the world.

The Love Called Brutality

This week I was told not to be afraid to be brutally honest. In every conversation, I make it an endeavor to be as truthful as possible. However, brutality usually isn't on the agenda. Brutality is harsh. It hurts. It tears down and does not build up. And it has no place in the life of a believer. 

Or does it?

If I have been informed correctly, helping a butterfly coming out of its cocoon is the most brutal thing one could do to the creature. But our natural instinct is to desire to help it. Why? Because an even more brutal thing in our eyes is to watch the new beautiful creature suffer and struggle and squirm. So we want to help it.

But our help is the help that kills (and I'll explain why in a moment). Walk with me through one more example: the giraffe. The moment a giraffe is born, it suffers brutality. Rather than finding warmth and comfort and "love" from its mother, the newborn giraffe is repeatedly bumped over. When it stands back up on its feet, its mother knocks it over again. And again. And again. Brutality.

But let us love these creatures. Suppose we were to rescue them. Suppose we peeled back the remains of the cocoon and let the butterfly escape. Or suppose we let the little giraffe find comfort for a while apart from his mother. We will give them compassion.

We will give them death.

The reason we don't understand brutality is because we don't understand the purpose of suffering (even though the Bible tells us in many places, such as Romans 5). If a butterfly is released prematurely from its struggle, it cannot fly. Rather, it will fall to the ground and be devoured by some other hungry creature. And similarly with the giraffe, if it is not taught to run immediately after its birth, it is likely to be consumed by a lion or some other wild animal. Therefore, the most loving - albeit the most brutal - thing a mother giraffe can do for her young is kick it over, again and again, until the giraffe can run.

I think sometimes I have prayed for God to take away His heavy hand from me and withhold all of the terrible brutality I am facing in life. The ache is too much to bear. I don't want to struggle to get out of my cocoon - I want to rest. I don't want to be knocked over - I want to be left alone. Let me learn how to run by myself.

In a way, I have prayed for God to do the most unloving thing He could do. And haven't we all? Perhaps there is something greater than we can see behind the curtain of our suffering. And that something greater gives us reason not only to endure but to rejoice and exult. We will be able to fly.

All that having been said, I imagine that many our prayers for relief ascend to God to which He answers: "No, my child. I love you far too much."



Hebrews 12:6
For those whom the LORD loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Amazed Again

Today is a beautiful February day in the Indianan planes. There was frost out this morning, but the afternoon has proven to be quite glorious. Delightful. The sun is shining, and my ears have heard the long-forgotten melody of birds whistling their songs of joy through the air. How I have missed spring and summer and autumn; winter is death.

For me, spring represents spiritual life. For the past few years, I have made a habit of taking my guitar outside and singing in the cool wind. I don't play many songs I've written or sing about abstractions. It's all worship. And today I did it again, for the first time in quite a long time.

How is it that we so easily forget the sound of birds cheeping? Why does sin look so pleasurable at times? Why does our faith grow so numb and dim and cold that we want something more? What is my problem?

I have ceased to be amazed.

This is the problem.

God never becomes boring. He is the One who created butterflies and lilies and laughing children and wallabies and nebulae. He hand-made every fingerprint and fashioned every son and daughter. He is the reason we have blood vessels, fingernails, nerves, tibiae (hmm, it's tibiae, not tibias), and salivary glands. He's the God who created fun (thanks, KB).

So how can it be that I am bored? The problem is in me. Listen to God's words in Psalm 50:

For every beast of the forest is Mine,The cattle on a thousand hills.I know every bird of the mountains,And everything that moves in the field is Mine.If I were hungry I would not tell you,For the world is Mine, and all it contains.Shall I eat the flesh of bullsOr drink the blood of male goats?Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgivingAnd pay your vows to the Most High;Call upon Me in the day of trouble;I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me (vv. 10-15).

Now would be the time to say, Wow! This planet, full with 7,000,000,000 (seven billion) people, is God's. All of it. Every inch. Every beast of every field, all cattle of every farm. The thousands of blackbirds that will fly over my house this spring belong to God.

God has spoken: "You thought that I was just like you" (v. 21).

I stand corrected.

I stand amazed.

The reality of the holiness of God is that He is not like man (Num. 23:19). And therefore, the reality of our sin is that we have made Him into our own image.

Let us return. Let us see Him for who He really is. And let us be amazed again.

On Gun Control

Newspaper editor: "What's Wrong With the World."
G.K. Chesterton: "Dear sir, regarding your article 'What's Wrong With the World?' - I am."


I will be honest; I will be blunt.

Something I have held to since last November or so is this view of politicians: Democrats are people who think they can fix everything by raising taxes; Republicans are people who think they can fix everything by lowering taxes. While this is not the case for every partisan person, I think it hits close to the human heart.

And it is the human heart I would like to zoom in on in pertinence to the gun control debate. I have shot guns only a few times. I don't carry, but I know many people who do. Honestly, I don't think changing laws about gun control will do anything. Yes, background checks should be conducted. But there is one simple reason that controlling guns fails to control crime:

Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

No matter how much the government tries to regulate guns or reduce crime, it will never get to the heart of the issue until it addresses our sin issue. We are fallen creatures bent toward sin. After the Newtown shooting, I had a conversation in which a friend of mine wisely pointed out that the first person born, Cain, was a murderer. It is no surprise, then, what happened. It's God's restraint and mercy that keeps tragedies as such from happening more.

It is true that government exists for the people. Measures should be taken to protect us. But let none of us think for a moment that loosening, tightening, or doing nothing to gun control will improve our situation. Guns are not the problem. I am.

Why Protestants Cannot Side With the Gospel of the Catholic Church

Roman Paganism?

First, please allow me to say that I am not trying to completely bash on the Roman Catholic church. I greatly appreciate its view of abortion, family, and many other social - and even some doctrinal - issues. The quotes I cite below are taken from the book Are We Together? (R.C. Sproul) in which the author states that he is more than happy to side with Catholics when his beliefs and theirs intersect. However, I propose that traditional Protestant beliefs and established Roman Catholic beliefs do not intersect on the sufficiency of Christ in the gospel.

From Mystici Corporis Christi (1943):

Venerable Brethren, may the Virgin Mother of God hear the prayers of Our paternal heart - which are yours also - and obtain for all a true love of the Church - she whose sinless soul was filled with the divine Spirit of Jesus Christ above all other created souls, and who "in the name of the whole human race" gave her consent "for a spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature." Within her virginal womb Christ our Lord already bore the exalted title of Head of the Church; in a marvelous birth she brought Him forth as the source of all supernatural life, and presented Him, newly born, as Prophet, King, and Priest to those who, from among Jews and Gentiles, were the first to come to adore Him... It was she, the second Eve, who, free from all sin, original or personal, and always most intimately united with her Son, offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father for all the children of Adam, sin-stained by his unhappy fall, and her mother's rights and mother's love were included in the holocaust... She it was who through her powerful prayers obtained that the Spirit of our Divine Redeemer, already given on the Cross, should be bestowed, accompanied by miraculous gifts, on the newly founded Church at Pentecost... May she, then, the most holy Mother of all the members of Christ, to whose Immaculate Heart We have trustfully consecrated all mankind, and who now reigns in heaven with her Son, her body and soul refulgent with heavenly glory - may she never cease to beg from Him that copious streams of grace may flow from its exalted Head into all the members of the Mystical Body. May she... obtain from God that now at last the Church and all mankind enjoy more peaceful days.

It is not the title "Mother of God" that is the main threat to the true gospel. Sproul rightly points out that, in a sense, because Jesus is God and Mary is Jesus' mother - in that sense, Mary was the mother of Jesus who is God. Or, she was "the one who gives birth to the One who is God" (Jaroslav Pelikan). But let us also remember that Christ's deity was not inherited from Mary, nor was Mary sinless.

Herein begins the divide. Explaining the term Savior in Luke 1:47 as anything but "Savior from sin," Rome holds that Mary was free from original sin and bestowed with a grace no one else born to man has ever had.

But this is not the total extent of the Catholic church's exaltation of Mary. From their standpoint, she is an intercessor and obtainer of Christ's Spirit. Furthermore, she is also hailed as the mother of the church (which, logically speaking, would imply that she is God's wife). She is the recipient of our prayers and the Head of our body.

"Out of hand" would be an understatement. This kind of doctrine leaves Yahweh with a wife and the Church with two heads. It creates two mediators and a premature bodily resurrection. As a result, Christ is removed from His position of sole authority and supremacy and given an equal.

I stress that word sole because this is the heart of the problem in the Roman Church. It is not that they do not accept grace, faith, Christ, Scripture, and God's glory as the basis for our faith and salvation - they merely add to those things. Mary and the apostles are idolized and enshrined. Justification is obtained through Baptism and confirmed through faith working together with works. The Pope is counted as an infallible teacher, a successor to Peter, a modern-day apostle.

Rome has become so infatuated with these things that they have forgotten their first love and have begun to preach a false gospel. They do not regard Christ as sufficient. Let us, however, remember the truths on which Christendom rest:

- Sola fide (Rom. 3:21-31).
- Sola gratia (Rom. 9:14-18; Eph. 1:6).
- Sola Scriptura (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
- Solus Christus (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5).
- Soli Deo gloria (Rom. 11:33-36; Eph. 1:3-14).

Faith, grace, Scripture, Christ, and glory. 

Sufficient.

Enough.

Alone.

Forget the Past - Reach for the Future

My Vision for 2013

Philippians 3:12-16
Not that I have obtained it yet or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which I was also laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;
however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.


Lose weight. Pray more. Read the whole Bible. Get involved. Disciple someone. Share the gospel more. Love God. More, more more. Do this and do that.

At the end of every year, we learn all over again how fickle we creatures are. We see how we've failed. Although we cannot remember what 2012's resolutions were, we make some for 2013 - just to make sure we all do better this year.

I'm not sure there is one resolution I have ever made or have ever heard that did not center on one thing: self-discipline. In fact, by definition a resolution must be dependent on discipline: "I resolve to do this. It is my goal to get it done. I will work toward it and keep myself poised to accomplish it."

So how do we achieve this self-discipline? Perhaps it is best to answer this question before we make any more resolutions because if we unlock this answer we unlock the answer to every resolution hereafter. I think Paul has given us a great statement on priority, discipline, and goals here in Philippians. Let's take advice from God:

1. Realize I am not there yet.
I haven't become perfect - not yet. It's evident I'm failing at X, Y, or Z (in this case, attaining to Jesus' resurrection from the dead). This requires action:

2. Press on.
If it's so important to you, don't give up - ever. This pursuit of obtaining the very resurrection of Christ must be pursued relentlessly. Don't let your failure get you down. Let it push you to do something about it.

3. Keep my purpose in mind.
Why am I pressing on? What is the point of this resolution? Is it truly worth it? If not, give it up. If so, keep pressing.

4. Forget my past.
I have already come to the realization that I'm not there yet. I know I've failed. Sometimes I feel overwhelmingly guilty about it. But no believer has to hold on to his guilt. If there is sin, confess it. And press on. Give up your doubts, discouragements, sins, and fears. Leave them behind. Forget them.

But how do we do this?

5. Reach for the future.
Don't just look forward. Reach. If you want to get somewhere, simply staring at a map will do you no good. You have to follow the trail. Look to the example of Christ and see how the Father and the Holy Spirit preserved Him and kept Him perfect. Think about Heaven. Look to it. And move.

6. Go back to #2.
And repeat. Keep pressing on, never forget your purpose, forget your past, and reach for the future.

This is the definition of perseverance.

My goal in 2013 is not to read a bunch of books, learn to play instruments better, read through the whole Bible, pray for an hour a day, or disciple five people. Yes, those are goals, but it all comes down to this: let go of the shame and guilt of my past, press on toward those gospel-centered goals, keep Christ at the forefront, and take the journey to Heaven step by step.

This isn't a let-go-and-let-God.
It's a let go and move on in God's power.

This is the power of God's word. The LORD graciously provides us with what we need to know to really succeed in the Christian life. By His grace, I will store these memorized verses in my heart with many more this year.

And by His grace I will press on.