Daddy Issues

A Notification?  This early?

“I’m praying for you.” 

Huh?  Certainly, I appreciate as much prayer as I can get, but generally I can pinpoint a purpose for it.  I wasn’t sick.  I wasn’t having any major crisis. 

I reply “Thanks.  I appreciate it.”

“I know this day is hard for you.” 

This day?  It’s Sunday?  What could be the….

Oh.  It’s Father’s Day.

Father’s Day has always carried with it a variety of feelings.  Typically, it is not until someone else points out the elephant in the room that the weight comes crashing down.  I have no one to celebrate today.

But I have stop letting it be a day of mourning.  Father's Day is a day of remembrance.

Whether your father was completely absent or was less than a model example, I would encourage you to not make today a day of mourning, but a day to remember.

Father's Day is a reminder to three realities: identity, forgiveness, and the strength to forge ahead.

Reminder 1: Fatherlessness is not my identity.

Friend, the accuser will look at you on this day and declare many lies.  "You are not loved."  "You will never not hurt."  "If he could leave, so could God."

Satan's method is always to make us identify by something other than the Word of God.  When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, he went after Jesus identity by saying, "If you are the Son of God..."  Satan would tempt us by having us question all we are in Christ.

Don't believe his accusations.

Satan's song is loud.  But our Savior's song is louder.

The people of God overcome the accuser by embracing their blood-bought identity.

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." - Revelation 12:11

Our value, our worth, our identity, is not grounded in the love of an earthly father, but in the love of our Heavenly Father.  God loves you!  The Son of God displayed it in his blood and by our testimony we declare it.  In the gospel, we find new life no longer defined by fatherlessness, but new life founded upon faithfulness.

God loves you, whether your father did or not.  God is healing your broken heart, no matter how real the pain is.  God will never leave you or forsake you, regardless of how far they fled.

God loved you before the foundation of the world, He sought you out by entering into this world in flesh.  He lived the perfect life none of us could not.  He willingly faced separation from the Father through his death on the cross that we might be adopted by God the Father.  He cried out, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" But, He did not stay dead- God raised Him from the dead!  By trusting in His death on the cross and Resurrection from the dead we have the promise that we will never be forsaken.  Over believers God sings,

"The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing." - Zeph. 3:16

This new identity transform how we relate to our past.

Reminder 2: Forgiveness is today's theme song.

As fully forgiven people, we can forgive.  In fact, as fully forgive people, we have no option but to forgive.

"How could I forgive a monster like him!"

But that is where the gospel becomes so much sweeter.  No one has offended you more than we have offended the Father by our sin.  Sin is not simply a mistake, sin is divine treason against our God and King.  Sin is less the son's misunderstanding and rather the son who stole his Father's wealth and wasted it on wild women.  Sin is dishonor to ourselves and to God who created us to reflect Him.  When we sin we are saying, whether we recognize it full or not, "This is what God is like."

But, God is willing and able to fully forgive.  But, not without pain.  He bore divine wrath and separation in order to bring divine forgiveness and reconciliation.

As the parable goes, the Father pursued the prodigal, even when far off and ran to him.  He did not wait to get the money back, he did not wait to even get an apology or explanation.  He responded in forgiveness at the return of the son.

If God can forgive you, you can forgive your father today.

I know he hurt you.  It may take time.  It may take your whole life.  But we must let go of our bitterness and place it on the cross of Christ, where it already is.  We need to recognize that our pasts no longer have a hold on us.  Bitterness is caused by the strain of a disappointed hopes continuing to be hoped in.

Yes, he let you down.  He broke your heart.  But, holding onto it is simply destroying you.

Forgiveness means freedom.  Forgive today.

Reminder 3: Forge ahead knowing all the wrong things to do.

With a new identity and the fruit of forgiveness, we can now forge ahead.

We may not know what being a father, or living with a father, is in experience.  But, we do know what it is not.  We have the opportunity to offer something better.   From darkness can come light.

But where the ideal is lacking, grace abounds.  God will help you to forge ahead.  This does not mean all your questions will be answered.  They won't.  It doesn't mean you don't have a long journey ahead of you.  You do.  It doesn't mean you are alone though- because you are not.

God has given you His presence but also His people.  God has given us His church to help us along our journey.  The church will help "bear our burdens" and "weep" and "rejoice" along with us (Galatians 6:1, Romans 12:15)

You've got a Father to guide you.  You've got a Father to mold you.  This Father's Day, you've got hope that will sustain you.  You are no longer defined by what happened to you.  You are not a victim.

Through Christ, all suffering that inflicts us is a means for our good (Romans 8:28-39).  The Fatherless are not victims, in Christ, they are victors!

If you have not come home to your Heavenly Father, you can turn and trust Him today.  You can find out more about having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ by watching this video.

If you have a relationship with God today, you must choose today how we must live.  Don't put off another day in anger and bitterness.  Will you forgive and forge ahead into all the good works which "God has prepared for you?" (Eph. 2:8-9)

Personal Reflection & Repentance: Bitterness

The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. - Proverbs 14:10

In the Scripture bitterness is almost always connected with suffering. It is a sign of not suffering well. Great suffering lead Naomi to declare rename herself Mara (Bitter).

Bitterness is called a "poisonous root." Another reality the Scripture shows us is that bitterness leads to self-reliance. The author of the Hebrews pairs together the root of bitterness with the rebellion of Esau.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. - Hebrews 12:15-17

But, it doesn't stop there. Bitterness has effects on this around us as well. Proverbs 14:10 talks about others not sharing in the heart's joys due to bitterness. Hebrews warns of it defiling "many." Moses warned the congregation of Israel to avoid it (Deut. 29:18-19).

God's answer to those caught in the tangle of the poisonous root? Christ is the Gardener!

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. - John 15:1-2

First, bitterness may be rooted suffering, but suffering may also be it's cure. Pruning is not a pleasant process, but Jesus promises to prune us so that we might produce fruit. All of our suffering is working to conform us into the image of Jesus. In fact, according to Romans 8:28-30, all things are.

Second, bitterness is a worship problem. Over and over the Bible points the bitter, through Christ, to worship the Lord.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel... Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
 - Hebrews 12:23-25, 28-29

Third, bitterness is a forgiveness problem. We are called to forgive as God has forgiven us. This requires a proper recognition of our condition and Christ's kindness.

The cross and Resurrection is the greatest example of kindness mankind has ever experienced.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:31-32

Kindness softens the bitter heart. Paul writes that the "kindness of God leads us to repentance" (Romans 2:4-5).

Fourth, bitterness has bitter results. We are warned that those who persist in bitterness are met with separation from God! Recall Moses warning to the Israelites,

Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit...The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. - Deut. 29:18, 20

Bitterness has been a besetting sin in my life for the past 2 years or so.

But, in God's kindness, He is breaking the hold of bitterness on me.  One day at a time.

This breaking involves repentance. I repent to all who are reading this of my bitterness. First and foremost, my repentance is toward God (Psalm 51), but I also recognize that healing comes from confessing out sins to one another (James 5:13-18). I come to say I'm sorry. I come to find healing.

Pray for me in these things. That God would continue to break me and that I would keep my eyes on his kindness toward me. Psalm 130:7 describes the kindness of the Lord this way,

"For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption."

That kind of kindness shatters the hold of bitterness. Praise God.

Truth in Love: A Study in 2 John (Week 1)

Not sure how I feel about this,
but it will work for this short series. =)

Size matters.  When we are buying clothes, we want clothes of a certain size.  When we are buying food, we want a certain size.  In fact, in the case of the latter, bigger is often better.  I fear we as Christians take this ideal to our Bibles.  The bigger books are not more important.  The bigger books do not contain “deeper truth.”  We often put the shorter books of the Bible on the back shelf for the days we oversleep and need to get our “quiet time” in.  But, if we slow down in these books, and allow the Spirit speak, we will discover God can say much with very little. 

I discovered this recently as I was studying the book of 2 John.  Over the next few posts we will be diving into this wonderful letter from the apostle John.  Today we will introduce it by looking at the author, the audience, and the affection of the letter.

John begins by referring to himself as “the elder.”  A term which obviously would denote age, along with it authority, respect, and wisdom.  John is known to not use his name in his writings (the only time he does is once in the book of Revelation), which I denote as a sign of humility.  In 1 John he remains unnamed, 3 John he is “the Elder” and in the gospel he is “the one whom Jesus loved.”  John seems to desire to exercise his authority, while getting his identity out of the way.

Another important thing to note in his opening is his audience.  “…to the elect lady and her children.”  Commentators are divided on who exactly this lady is.  John MacArthur and Matthew Henry both comment that John is writing to a godly matron (perhaps one who hosts a church in her home) desiring to encourage her in the face of false teachers.  Others argue that John is using the language of a “lady” and “her children” to denote a local church.  Four reasons I take the latter view:

1) John uses the image of the church in feminine terms in his writings (Revelation 21:2).  Also, throughout his first letter John refers to believers as “children.”
2)  It is very odd for John to command a woman and children to “love one another.”  This seems to fit better with the idea of a church.
3) Commentators note that John is using the second person plural throughout his letter.  Thus he is writing to many people who were able to understand his words (and thus “children” could not have been primarily in view).
4) The last verses of 2 John seem to denote children of an “Elect sister” language which fits a church better.  Notice, the children greet the lady, not the sister. 

All this seems to point to the fact that John has the local church in view.

Looking at the author, then the audience, we can jump into the rest of his greeting which is focused on his affection.  He writes of his “love” for the church “in truth” and this love is not simply his, but “also all who know the truth.”  Truth and love are at the heart of John’s message in this letter.  In fact, John is communicating that Christian love is always defined by truth.  One does not exist without the other.  Even when John states the reason for his love, it is “because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever.”  Christian love is not based on social class, or race, or economic level.  Christian love is based on eternal unchanging truth.   We’ll close by looking further at why this is.

First, our relationship to God is based on love and truth.  Look in verse 3.  “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.”  

The little words are important here.  First we must notice that grace, mercy, and peace come from God (both the Father and the Son).  These promises only come by the Father and through Christ.  Without them none of these blessings are yours.  Second, we notice that they “will be with us.”  Future tense.  God’s unmerited favor, his unconditional forgiveness, and his incomparable peace are not simply realities for this moment, but reach forward into every step we take.  Not a moment for the Christian is without access to grace, mercy, and peace.  Thirdly, we must notice the means by which we access these gifts.  “In truth and love.”  The means of truth and love are how we access God’s infinite well of grace, mercy, and peace.  Truth and love are continuous means of accessing the gospel treasures of grace, mercy, and peace.  Truth and love bind us to God, but they also bind us together.

Notice, in closing, verse 1 again.  If the “lady” is the church, and the “children” are the congregation, than certainly all Christians share the same identity together. We are all children together.  Each of us have received grace, mercy, and peace through the Christ, so that we as fellow children can extend grace, mercy, and peace to each other.  We love each other in truth- yes perfectly- but we do so grounded in our identity as children.  This means Christian community should expect imperfection.  It should be the hallmark of Christian community- we haven’t got it all together yet.  Also, notice the sort of commitment this should give us to the local church.  We are children together of God and of “the elect lady” the church.  Sure, mistakes will be made, people may mistake “care” for many other things, but truth stands and unites and love emboldens us to go forward both in our relationship with God, and our relationship together.

Continue with me the next three Mondays as we continue through this amazing letter from John.

God's Gracious Restraint, Removal, and Renewal (Reflection on Hosea 2)

Source of cool graphic

The book of Hosea is a movie-like depiction of God's pursuit of His rebellious people. God, through Hosea, pleads for His idolatrous, unfaithful people to return to Him. Like any good movie, the characters, purpose, and plot are introduced in chapter 1. Chapter 2 opens with God, through Hosea, pleading for His rebellious bride to return to Him. Verse 5 describes God’s people as going after other lovers who will, in the end, not satisfy. God promises to respond in three ways to the idolatry of His people.

First, He says He will block her way.  God restrains.  He describes hedging “up her way with thorns,” building “a wall against her.” He does this so that we may not find the idols we seek, so we may turn back and see that He all along was the one who satisfied us along the way (2:5-8).

Second, He says He will take back what is His. God removes.  His people may begin to worship the gifts instead of the Giver- so for their good He may withdraw His gifts. God is one who gave these blessings, and they to be enjoyed rightly- giving honor to their Giver. But, when we let the gift become a substitute the Giver or give glory to a false giver, we cease to enjoy His gifts rightly. It is for our joy that He takes these gifts away (2:9-13).

Third, He draws us to Himself. Through this, God brings renewal.  Taking the language of a husband and wife, He promises to allure His people, to speak tenderly to them, to bring transformation and renewal to the relationship- the covenant which His people broke. Verse 15 describes this in two ways. The Valley of Achor was once a dark spot in the history of Israel, will instead be a place of hope. Their relationship will be like the days of Israel’s youth, when He brought them through the Red Sea.

God brings further transformation by taking the idols away and by transforming the hearts of His people. If God has taken something away from you, or kept you from something, He may have been taking an idol out of your life. Check your heart. In the end God is after the glory of His own name, which is the greatest joy of His people. Our joy in God may be dependent upon something being taken away or something being kept from us. God's restraint and removal of idols is for our good- and one day will be full and final.

He abolishes the bow, the sword, and war. He will bring His people back to Himself and in “righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy” God will dwell with His people. This is obvious New Covenant language. Through Christ God allures His wayward bride, transforms their sinful desires and recreates them for His glory. In Christ he shows Mercy to those whose name is “No Mercy” and creates a people out of those whose name is “Not My People.” Relationship with God forever restored. One day soon all things will be recreated and God will remove and recreate anything which stands to allure His people away from Him or stand in their way. All things will be set right; His people will dwell with Him forever.

What is worth holding onto in light of this reality? What is worth fighting with God for in light of this glorious destiny? The closing words of John’s first epistle show us both God’s tenderly care, and His passionate warning in Hosea, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” Let God restrain, let God remove, let God renew- cause He does it for our ultimate good, and His ultimate glory.

Matthew 25:31-46 and Justification

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The gospel is too important to get wrong. I have had many conversations about the gospel where the text Matthew 25:31-46 has come into discussion. Usually the person bringing up the text will protest, "See! We are not saved by faith alone, but faith *and* our own service of the poor." In this post we will look at Matthew 25:31-46, a glorious passage in the Scripture, and see how it does not go against the biblical and historical doctrine of justification by faith alone.

The words from Jesus in Matthew 25 provide a sobering picture of the Final Judgement. Verses 31-33 depict Jesus as standing in judgement- on the throne of His glory, with His mighty angels surrounding Him, and the nations before Him- separating the sheep (believers) from the goats (unbelievers). The sheep he puts to His right (a place of prominence in Scripture, such as Psalm 110:1-2) and the nonbelievers to His left. He begins to speak to the believers first as recorded in verse 34-36 saying,

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

Sola Fide: An Invention of the Reformation or the Historic View of the Church?

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“Faith is a living, unshakable confidence in God's grace; it is so certain that someone would die a thousand times for it.” – Martin Luther

A common objection brought against the biblical gospel of grace alone through faith alone, is that it was simply an invention of the Reformers.  "They desired to break away from Rome and start their own church," the charge is often laid.  In response to this objection I can confidently say one thing: the person speaking has never read the Reformers or Church history.  I would challenge an objector to find a single place where Martin Luther or John Calvin talked about creating their own church.  In fact, there are several places where they talked about a desire to restore the church to what it had always believed- that salvation was by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, according to the Scriptures alone.

But were the doctrines of the Reformation articulated before Martin Luther?  Absolutely!  Were the doctrines of the Reformation doctrines which were taught by the historic church?  Absolutely! With this post we will examine the doctrine of sola fide.  This doctrine teaches that we are made receive the salvation purchased by Christ, by the means of faith alone, and not through any righteous deed or work of merit. The  biblical case for this doctrine has been made elsewhere.  Today I desire to turn to history and examine quotations from the early church Fathers and draw the timeline all the way up until the time of the Reformation.  This doctrine was not foreign to the early church.

First, let me briefly define sola fide.  Luther’s quote at the introduction is very helpful alongside the image that is included..  Faith is not just an act of the head, but a submission of the will.  It is a confidence.  Hebrews 11 describes faith as “assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen.”  The way the term “faith” is used in the 21^st century is an act of the head, but faith is an act of the head, heart, and hands.  It is a submission of ourselves, with absolute confidence in the object of our faith.  It is the confidence we have to sit in a chair, knowing that it will hold our full weight.  We sit down in the promises of Christ, fully assured that they will hold up.

The Longing we Share

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A study from the National LQBT Task Force on transgender discrimination is very telling. Though published in 2011, these stats give us key insights into the transgender experience.

First, as I read the stats, I am heart broken.  The rates of homelessness, poverty, and the 41% suicide rate among transgender (and “non-gender conforming”) individuals lead me to mourn.  These statistics should not hit us cold, as statistics often do.  I hurt for those who are undergoing depression.  Those who are transgender who are living on the streets: the church should do more for you.  The system has let you down.  I am sorry and I feel deeply for you.  Caring for the homeless, the destitute, and the outcast are Christian virtues.  It was a passion of Jesus; therefore, it should be a passion of His followers.

A second reality stood out as I glanced at this survey.  One even more striking to those who affirm the Christian worldview.  On page 79 of the survey, in the middle of the section about “Health”, we discover what the transgender individuals polled think about surgery.  These are stats we have seen before.  The media is rather partial to them.  “Only 21% of Male-to-female transitions have undergone breast augmentation surgery.”  A similar stat is also given for female-to-male hysterectomies.  But, this study reveals that there is a lot more than meets the eye.

For Male-to-Female transitions: 53% “Want Someday” to have breast augmentation surgery, while over 60% “Want Someday” to have orchiectomy and vaginoplasty.  On the female-to-male side 50% “want someday” to have chest surgery, whereas 58% desire a hysterectomy.  The question of desire is an important one.  But, desire is always limited in what it is willing to do.  To be family friendly, the aforementioned operations are mainly about removing what is already there, whereas the remaining two operations have substantial “Don’t want” rating.  When it comes to creating what females do not already have, one operations has a nearly ¾ who would prefer to leave well enough alone.

What do these stats tell us?  From a Christian worldview perspective it confirms what we have been saying along: our genders cannot be separated from our biology.  While only around 20% of men asked about each surgery have had them, up to 86% of male-to-female transitions want or have had orchiectomy surgery.  Even the lowest amount, nearly ¾ of those polled want augmentation surgery.  The implications are clear: transgender individuals overwhelmingly desire for their biology to match their gender orientation.  Even Richard Friedman, professor of clinical psychiatry at Wells Cornell Medical College asked recently in his opinion piece in the New York Times, “But if gender were nothing more than a social convention, why was it necessary for Caitlyn Jenner to undergo facial surgeries, take hormones and remove her body hair?  The fact that some transgender individuals use hormone treatment and surgery to switch gender speaks to the inescapable biology at the heart of gender identity.”

On the “Female-to-Male” transition side, 93% had desired or had had chest surgery.    Almost 80% for a hysterectomy.  But, the remaining two surgeries, those which seek to “add” what is not already there are only met with 29% and 57% desiring/have had rate.  Why so low?  If we can be frank, humans do not create as well as we think.  Give flight for an example.  We can try to build wings, but even in this scientific age, the best we seen to do is strap card board on our arms and flap until we reach Europe.  We have to use exterior means to fly.  As good as planes are, they are a screaming admission that we limited in what science and technology have been able to change, at least about the human anatomy.

We must recognize the Creator/creation distinction.  God has created man and woman, gender and all, in His image.  All of our attempts to forsake that image have proven unsuccessful and expensive.  We can destroy and take away, but we are left empty handed when it comes to creating.  As Hebrews 11:3 tells us, only God can make something come nothing.  We are left longing for something that we can never be.  In fact, that is not a transgender only experience.  That is the story of all of us.  We have all forsaken God’s image and purpose.  We have all sought out ways of creating a new reality where we set the terms.  From the Garden of Eden until today the question remains the same, “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1).  Sometimes this questions takes several forms, but each equally rebellious.  Fundamentally we have all sought to set ourselves up as the creator and definer.  We have sought to take God from His throne.  We have committed treason against an absolutely Holy King.  We need divine pardon.  But not just a pardon, we need power to help leave behind our rebellion and find satisfaction under the Kingship of God.  We need power to pursue the image we have shattered, and we need transformation to complete process.  We have a problem.

But, we have the solution.  The King descended from the palace, took upon Himself the penalty for our treason.  The Creator descended to creation and He offers power today to overcome our broken image, and the promise of future restoration.  This King is Jesus Christ- the God Man, and by the cross we are forgiven, set free, and being transformed- one day He will conform us to the image we have broken and are longing to restore.  His Kingship is kind.  When we turn from the life we are living and submit to His Lordship, and regardless of our past, we find redemption, forgiveness and newness of life.  He not only cancels the penaltly of sin, but also empties sin of its power over us, so we can freely fight sin and pursue holiness.

The study LQBT task forces shows us that transgender people long to be something they are not, but the Bible says the same for all of us.  None of us are satisfied with the way we were born.  Jesus’ words ring true, “You must be born again” (John 3:3).  An exterior surgery will not do the trick, it is but an empty promise.  We need heart surgery- transformation, redemption, healing- this is found only through the work of Jesus Christ, the Great Surgeon for the broken, lost and the outcast (Luke 5:31-32).

Is Peter the "Petra" of Matthew 16?

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As the Pope makes his visit to America, I find it important to bring some clarity to the subject.  One thing that is sadly missing is any theological significant discussions of the doctrine of the papacy itself.*  Significant in the Roman Catholic system is the understanding that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, the head of the true Church, who infallibly can define doctrine.  They believe that the Pope has taken the “seat of Peter”, who they believe to be the Prince and Chief of the apostles, and that those who follow after him as the Bishop of Rome.  This doctrine was first clearly articulated in the Vatican 1 Council.  In this council the church infallibly interpreted Matthew 16:13-20 as well as John 21 to refer to Peter’s primacy.  They also made the claim that this has been the teaching of the church since the beginning.  Vatican 1 reads:

We teach and declare that, according to the gospel evidence, a primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church of God was immediately and directly promised to the blessed apostle Peter and conferred on him by Christ the lord.

It was to Simon alone, to whom he had already said You shall be called Cephas , that the Lord, after his confession, You are the Christ, the son of the living God, spoke these words:

Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the underworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

And it was to Peter alone that Jesus, after his resurrection, confided the jurisdiction of Supreme Pastor and ruler of his whole fold, saying: Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.

To this absolutely manifest teaching of the Sacred Scriptures, as it has always been understood by the Catholic Church, are clearly opposed the distorted opinions of those who misrepresent the form of government which Christ the lord established in his Church and deny that Peter, in preference to the rest of the apostles, taken singly or collectively, was endowed by Christ with a true and proper primacy of jurisdiction…

And so, supported by the clear witness of Holy Scripture, and adhering to the manifest and explicit decrees both of our predecessors the Roman Pontiffs and of general councils, we promulgate anew the definition of the ecumenical Council of Florence, which must be believed by all faithful Christians, namely that the Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff hold a world-wide primacy, and that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, true vicar of Christ, head of the whole Church and father and teacher of all Christian people.

 That apostolic primacy which the Roman Pontiff possesses as successor of Peter, the prince of the apostles, includes also the supreme power of teaching. This Holy See has always maintained this, the constant custom of the Church demonstrates it, and the ecumenical councils, particularly those in which East and West met in the union of faith and charity, have declared it. -Vatican 1, Session 4, 1:1-4, 3:1 4:1 (https://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/V1.HTM)

The Roman doctrine of the papacy stands or falls on Matthew 16:13-20.  We will examine this Roman Catholic dogma in three phases: first, looking at Matthew 16:13-20, second, looking at relevant New Testament passage, and third, looking at history before giving concluding thoughts.

Why You Should #ShoutYourAbortion

From: http://connect.citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2015/09/ShoutYourAbortion-1140x600.jpg?09db7c

Recently, a hashtag is making its way around the net.  #ShoutYourAbortion is meant to be a defense of Planned Parenthood in the midst of their most recent controversy, along with allowing women to proudly boast in abortion decision.  This hashtag is a celebration of autonomy.  In fact, the pro-abortion narrative is changing.  Not long ago, women who received abortion were “victims”, but now they are being considered heroes.  Any extension of the kingdom of autonomy is something to shout.  Mos may be shocked to hear this, but I agree- abortion is something to shout about, but not in mirth and celebration, but in mourning and lamentation.

In fact, Biblically, seeking full autonomy is not what brings freedom and life (like the culture is promising).  Biblically, full and free moral autonomy breeds death, not life.  This is clear from the third chapter of Genesis.  In fact, the moment they dwelt upon Satan’s question, they exalted their own autonomy above Kingship.  “Did God really say?” has always been the root of our problems, this isn’t changing anytime soon.  The New Testament is clear that autonomy from God is still the root of our problem (Romans 1:18-32).  It also shouldn’t be surprising to us that autonomy has lead our culture to murder the innocent.  It was the next chapter after our first parent’s sought their full autonomy that we see a two-fold slaughter- first of God-given responsibility, and then of human life.  Cain’s question is just as chilling today, “Are we our brother’s keeper?”  To adjust it a bit for our context, “Am I my baby’s keeper?”

Abortion is clear reminder of the fallenness of our world.  Nothing can be more clear than allowing our autonomy to rule and reign over other’s autonomy.  We end life because we think that freedom from their life will bring us life, but death only ever brought life once, and it came not through asserting autonomy, but through humility and obedience to the plans of the Father.  Jesus by His death offers us fullness of life (Jon 10:10).  He died for our sins and rose again to make all things new.  He is the King over this creation, and only through laying down our autonomy and submitting to Him can we find life.  In this new creation we are made kings and queens over all things (Revelation 5:10).  Even those who have performed or received abortions can find forgiveness and newness of life in the gospel.  True freedom is not found in laying down the life of others, but in laying down our own lives.  Jesus modeled this and we are called to lay down our lives and follow Him.  Abortion is antithesis to the gospel, this is why anyone who claims to follow Christ can never support it.

The fallenness of sin should be mourned.  The death of the innocent is never celebrated in Scripture, but something to lament.  Herod thought killing the Messiah as a baby would solve his problem. Instead of celebration, Rachel was left mourning for her babies, and Herod couldn’t kill the baby.  In fact, through one of the babies he sought to destroy, the People of God would be rescued from their exile- a baby would bring life to the people of God.  This is why Matthew would quote from Jeremiah's lament (Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:17-18).  Jesus Christ conquered death and the fallenness of this world and rules all the nations with an iron rod from the throne of God (Revelation 12:5).

We must pray to our Sovereign King (who can empathize with those slaughtered babies) for the end of this in our nation.  He has all authority in Heaven and on Earth.  Nothing it too far gone for His power and promise to restore.  But, our work doesn’t stop there.  We have work to do.  Legislation needs to continue and propagation is an essential. Continue in the fight in Congress and elsewhere. But, we must not forget to preach the message of Christ’s obedience to death instead of the culture’s message- autonomy through death.  Abortion is anti-gospel, abortion is anti-joy.  One fact is clear- abortion is pro-death.   Because of this fact abortion is something to shout about, but only with sackcloth and ashes.  

Gifted By Grace Sermon Audio

Here is a sermon I was honored to preach at the Awakening Conference.  The conference was geared toward college students (like myself) and was held at Walnut Memorial Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky on February 28, 2015.  I was given the topic of Spiritual Gifts, so I chose Romans 12:1-8 as my text in hopes of showing how the gospel is the foundation for our gifting and then I hoped to show three practical applications for our gifting(s).

May God be glorified, His gospel preached, and His people edified.

What Child "Sacrifice" Teaches you about Faith

Via: http://tinyurl.com/pbkkyw9

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets…

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” -Hebrews 11:32, 39-40

We all have heroes.  The author of Hebrews dedicated a whole chapter of his letter to address heroes of the faith.  Before he can tell us what it means to be a “hero of the faith,” he begins his chapter by defining what faith is.  He writes, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” - Hebrews 11:1

Within his discussion he gives us the importance of faith.  He writes, “ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” – Hebrews 11:6.  Faith is belief in God, and that belief in God brings some sort of reward.  Faith is not just belief, but true faith sees faith as something to be valued.  This faith was found in all of the writers heroes of faith.

He walks through the Old Testament recounting classic stories of the faith!  Anyone who has been to church or a VBS has probably heard a few of these stories.  Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Samson, Gideon…..Jephthah? Some of you might be asking, “Who?  Jephthah?  Who is that?”  While others of you might be asking, “Jephthah?  The guy from Judges who sacrificed his daughter?  How was he a hero of the faith?”  The answer may just surprise you…

5 Reasons Christians Should Sing and Sing Often

This is a photo from my church choir at Christmas.
http://yellowcreekbaptist.com/worship/

I’m sure we’ve all met those people who “just don’t sing” at church.  Whether due to their lack of vocal ability, shy personality, or (supposed) unfamiliarity with the songs; I have heard tons of excuses for why people do not want to sing in church.  While, certainly singing is not a requirement for being a Christian (faith in Christ alone is!) we find that singing is right at the heart of our faith.

1) Jesus was a “singing person.”  Jesus was all about singing!  One example of this is found in the Last Supper He shared with His disciples.  “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”- Matthew 26:30.  Jesus does this during a crucial moment in His ministry.  He is sharing what would be His last supper with His disciples before the cross, but He also is instituting an ordinance for His church!  This was a moment to be cherished and remembered and what does Jesus do?  SING!  This raises so many questions I wish we could know!  What vocal range was Jesus?  What song did He sing?  Was this spontaneous or planned?  What we can know is that singing was used as a part of the celebration and was a part of the Son of God’s preparation to suffer.  This bring us to number 2….

2) Singing helps us endure suffering  We can also draw the conclusion that Jesus was a singer because of how much He seemed to cherished God’s inspired song book: the Psalms.  We find that 14 times in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus quotes the Psalms (ESV Study Bible, pg.2609-2610).  One of the most profound moment we find is when Jesus is on the cross, and of all He could declare, He quotes lyrics to Psalm 22 (Matthew 26:45-46).  In Jesus darkest hour He found comfort in songs overflowing with Holy Spirit inspiration.  As Jesus Christ was bearing out sin, He had a song in His head.  Should not songs of truth be a bedrock for us in the midst of suffering?

3) Singing is a means of fighting temptation.  Once again, in the ministry of Jesus we find another example of Jesus singing.   Jesus, when faced with temptation found power in Holy Spirit inspired Torah and Psaltery.  In Matthew 4 Satan actually tempts Jesus through misquoting Psalm 91, but, He knew Psalm 91 and counteracted with a quote from Deuteronomy.  A song was a means by which Jesus overcame temptation, how much more for us?  Yes, we have the Psalms, but the truth of Scriptures can be communicated via the songs we sing corporately.  Gospel saturated songs have sin conquering power.  In the midst of heavy temptation I often find myself singing, “When Satan tempts me to despair, And tells me of the guilt within, Upward I look and see Him there, Who made an end of all my sin.”  If Jesus fought temptation through singing God’s truth, how much more should we?

4) We will sing in Heaven

Corporate worship is an earthly shadow of a Heavenly reality (Hebrews 9-10), so when we sing we are mimicking (and joining in with) the choir off Heaven!  Revelation 5 pulls back the veil and we hear that the Gospel truth is declared even by glorified saints, “And they sang a new song, saying ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’” (Rev. 5:9)  Heaven will be far to glorious to want to hold back due to being “shy.”  Worship will not be cold or dead in Heaven.  In fact, many may think we are Charismatic (this coming from a non-Charismatic!).

Certainly we are going more than sing for all eternity, the next verse says we will be reigning as well, but this passage and many others make clear that much of the joy of Heavenly is going to be found in expressing our salvation in song.  Song is not sinful, but in fact even in the garden was expressed by God’s image bearers to express delight (Gen. 2:23).  Singing is at the core of what it means to be human.  Even God Himself expressed his delight in song, which is why we need not fear singing to Him…

5) Because God’s singing over us will always be louder than our singing to Him

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” – Zech. 3:17 (ESV)

The glorious news is that God does not accept us because we sing well, or because we sing loud, but God sings over us because of His great love for us in Christ.  Christ died that God might sing.  Sing over sinners.  Delight over you.  You.  In the gospel, God sings a song over you.  Even on our “best” worship days, the singing of God over His people will always be louder than a congregation in chorus together.  That, my friends, is good news.  News good enough to sing about.

Fantastic Video on the Christian View of Homosexuality

"What is thy only comfort in life and death?"

"That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him."

-The Heidelberg Catechism Questions 1 and Answer

Great Encouragement!

“What Is The Foundation Of The Gospel?” - Ken Ham.

Great point.

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” - Romans 5:17

Death Of Yolo! HE IS RISEN!!

The Armor Of God: Fitted Feet

"and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." ~Ephesians 6:15

As I write this, I begin to prepare my heart to take the Gospel to the streets. A team will be down at a weekly local downtown festival in Owensboro to pass out tracts and engage in conversation. Our team would appreciate our prayers, that God would give us boldness and open the hearts of those we talk see and grant salvation to even just on tonight.

God calls us to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15)

What comes to my mind when I think of "fitted feet"? Well, one sermon I had just recently heard talked about the prophet Isaiah, and what he said I think fits with this well.

I think the best way to keep our "feet fitted with readiness" is to never turn our phone off. What do I mean by that? Well, always be ready to be faithful to God's mission and purpose, no matter when, where or how it comes about.

How then does this connect to Isaiah? While most preachers will preach out of Isaiah 6, most won't finish it.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? ”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ~Isaiah 6:8

But, look at what the Lord is sending Isaiah to preach:

He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused;make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
~Isaiah 6:9-10

He is saying, "Go preach to a people who will not listen to you and do it because you love me and wish to be faithful." Will we be ready to be faithful to God's mission even if it means going to a hostile, hardened people? God calls us to plant and water seeds, but its God who grows the seed of salvation. (1 Cor. 3:6)

God Bless!

The Armor Of God: The Breastplate of Righteousness

"...with the breastplate of righteousness in place..." ~Ephesians 6:14

We come to the heart of our protection, the breastplate. This plate is meant to protect our heart, in the most spiritual sense. What is the cause of most heart break and disappointment in the Christian life? Forgetting our identity in Christian. We can easily forget that our righteousness and identity is not in what others think about us, or what our current situation looks like, but in who Christ was, is and will always be through the Cross.

Your relationships, or lack thereof, do not define you. You're broken family does not define your identity if you are a Child of God.

The Gospel defines you. The moment you were regenerated, repented of your sins and put your Trust in Christ, you became an adopted, chosen, loved, Child of the Creator God of the universe, our Father through Christ on the Cross.

So, let's put righteousness in it's place, the center of our thoughts, hearts and minds, so we may wages war against discouragement and the devils schemes.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. " ~2 Cor. 5:21

The Armor Of God: The Belt Of Truth.

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist..." ~ Ephesians 6:14

Paul, here, where the battle with the devil and against sin begins. Do we hold firm to the Truth? Well, first we know what the Truth is.

Christ is Truth. (John 14:6)

The Word is Truth (John 17:17)

The Gospel is Truth. (Titus 3:3-8)

The moment we begin to forget who we as born-again Christians, are to God through the Gospel, there is noway we can walk in the victory that is promised to us. Just like once we forget that the Word is Truth and defines the world around us, and our view of it, ultimately we become a foolish builder (Matthew 7:24-27).

Think about it, the belt holds everything up, without it, we will, as the infamous song puts it, be "lookin' like a fool with out pants on the ground".

Don't look like a fool. Remember, that in a Christ we have every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3) but we have chosen, loved,(Eph. 1:4) adopted (1:5), redeemed (1:6), and given God Himself through the Holy Spirit as a "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (1:14). These are just some of the glorious gifts given to us through the gift of Grace.

Also lets not forget that apart from Him we are dead (2:1), disobedient (2:2), objects of wrath (2:3), darkened in our understanding and without hope (Eph. 4:17-19).

Don't be a fool. Love the Truth, preach it too yourself, continue in it, buckle it to your side and stand firm in it. There is a battle between us and sin, are you ready to fight?

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." ~John 8:32

Singleness and the Next Generation

This sermon by David Platt is one of the most hard hitting sermon I’ve ever heard for someone who is young, and whether you are single or not.

Check it out and Be blessed!