So much of my life has been spent in looking for "the one." I have exhausted so much energy on seeking a wife that I have come to see it as a complete waste of time. Some would argue against this but I would ask you to bear with me while I expound on this statement in light of the Cross.
To think in such a way as to believe that I can, in and of my own power, choose the best person for me to marry is an absolute absurdity. I am in a fallin state and can in no way trust my own heart. Jeremiah 17:9 say's, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Proverbs 21:2 say's this, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart." How do I even create the attitude and belief that I know whats best for me. How can I map out my life with the assureence that I am headed down the right path. The problem lies in that we hold the belief that Christ Jesus allows freedom in this area of our life instead of absolute surrender. There is freedom but only on the grounds of His word and plan reason.
So here in lies the problem with believing that I can do whatever and whenever I think I am ready. I am going to attack this from many different angles and the first is worry. Okay, You may be saying to youself "why is he talking about worry?" That is a very good question and with God's grace I will seek to answer that question. Another title for this could be "The Glory of God in Being Single." Notice I'm not trying to give myself "Dating Tips."
Martin Luther had something to say about worry and to paraphrase what he said it was basically this: worry is when you think you know whats best and God is going to mess the situation up. Persuing a relationship with a sister, in Chirst, before the feelings are allowed to flow naturally and freely through the confinds of marraige allows sin to crep in and destroy the soul. Worry is not a sin that should be taken lightly. Thomas Watson said this, "There are no sins God's people are more subject to than unbeleif and impatience. They are ready either to faint through unbelief, or fret through impatience." You might ask the question "how does worry, unbelief, and impatience fit together?" I think that where worry is, unbelief and or impatience are at the root. When you don't stand on the promises of God (such as Psalm 84:11 "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.") and just allow your fellings to go and run where they please, worry will be their banner. When there is a promise clearly seen and the action is begging God to hurry up and fullfill it, there will be impatience and taking things out of the hands of God which always brings worry to the forefront. If worry is the path taken then there is a clear sign of immaturity and a clear signal to grow in grace a bit longer.
Another angle to view this is from an angle of perfect harmony. I think I will call it "the holywood factor." It seems that so many of our convections, whether spoken or acted, are based off of what we have grown up with. I am tried of everybody and their cousin worried about my relationship status on facebook!
The biggest lie in our society is that love is something that is found. I admit that there is an element of attraction that draws two pople together but that attraction quickly withers when faced with all the querks that each individual posses. I submit to you that love is not a dancing in the rain experience or a raised leg kiss but a deep and passionate commetment to first the Lord Jesus and secondly to each other and devoting each others life to serving the other. There is no biblical truth to stand on and believe that love is going to come knocking on your door one day and drop off the love of your life. Our love for the Lord Jesus will draw us into a relationship with somone that will far exceed any lie hollywood or pornography could ever create. This is not something that should be rashly rushed into. Just because Billy likes Betty but if Billy is not quick Bobby is going to beat him to Betty. Does anybody else have a peoblem with the fact that our view of relationship is so low and dispecible in light of the cross. We hold that if two people "love" or like each other then they should date to "see if it will work." We hold marriage so losly that more than half the marriages that take place with those that claim Christ as their Lord end in divorce. THIS IS PATHETIC!!! Is our generation going to follow the lead of our parents and just lay down the covenent made to God and to our partner just beause I am tired of the way they tie their shoes. I saw a perfect sign on the side of the rode the other day that shows how loosely we hold marriage. It was an advertising for an agency that promises, "Divorce, without the drama." No one breaks a covenant without hurting or being hurt!
God cares so much about marriage that it can be found in the second chapter of the very fist book of the bible and the very last chapter of the very last book of the bible. Oh yes beloved, God cares about what a ugly picture we are painting of such a sacred and charished covenant. God cares for marriage so much that it is the picture that points people to His Son's sacrifice (Eph 5:25-27). This is the ultimate reason God created marriage. It was not only for pleasure but for the advance of the gospel. This is why marraige is such a big deal and should not be sought as if its a game to find the hottest girl before someone else gets her. This is not a game where you put notches in your bed post every time you get into her pants. GOD FORBID that I would treat a daughter of the Most High God like a piece of livestock that I pick out to breed. God forgive us for holding lightly marriage! Hebrews 13:4 say's, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."
So now that I have vented on a few issues that really get under my skin and cause me to be anything but gentle I would like to talk, for a few sentences, about what the subtitle states: The Glory of God in Being Single. This is a hard and sobering topic for me to write about for I do not fully understand how this all works but by the grace of God we will search out some reasons why God is most glorified when we embrace our sigleness instead of running around looking for a realationship to comfort us.
My brothers I do not dare say that I have complete knowledge of this. Nor would I ever admit to having no faults in my writings. My goal is that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart will be acceptable to My Jesus!!(Psalm 19:14)
While single I have a unique opportunity to pour my passion into growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord God almighty. I have freedom from responsibilities that come with marriage. This freedom must not be spent on seeking self pleasure by pursing my lust of all sorts. This will ultimately bring a lack of contentment and allow for sin to build siege towers against my heart. May I not waste my single status!!!
Being single allows me to serve the body of Christ, my family, and friends in ways that will ultimately grow me into a mature man ready to take on the resposiblities of my own family. I have time to work and save money or time to read books that will guide me into a deeper undersatnding of the grace of God given to us. The list goes on and on.
The picture I am trying to paint is one that will allow us to see how much can be gained from embracing our single status. This hour of our life is ultimately for the glory of God!! How can we neglect such a great opportunity as this? How can we discard all that is gained from growing closer to our Lord Jesus? Will I be one who expends all my energy on finding the "one" or will I grab a hold of grace and spend His energy(Colossians 1:29) "in admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ"(Sinclair Ferguson) our Lord and Great High Priest who was, who is, and who is to come!!!!
Passion for the Lord Jesus will not diminish my desire for marriage but it will place it in its rightful context and allow His strength to flow through me and keep me from my former passions of indulging in immorality. As with all parts of life; marriage must only be looked at through the lens of the Cross and thus allow Jesus to be Lord over it. May I not be one who wastes my singleness and in so doing may I not be one that wastes my marriage!!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Searchings in Mark 1:9-15
This small section at the very beginning can be quickly overlooked with great anticipation of what the Savior will do. Questions flood our minds of who is He? How will He handle this or that situation? We become anxious for the great Teacher to do or say something that will set us back in our chairs astounded and amazed at the depths of God. But let us look closely at these words. Let us focus our attention here and not else where for if this is in chapter one it must be important for the chapters that follow. We can not press on till we understand the importance of Jesus being baptized and driven out into the wilderness. We must take a close look at the first words, that Mark records, that come out of the saviors mouth. Though these verses may be meet with little or no explanation it is still extremely valuable for us to take time and run back through this "common" (though I would submit there is nothing "common" about these next verses) passage.
I will probably not say much but I might find some questions and statements to throw on the table for you to chop up and chew on for a bit.
9) "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." It is truly amazing how we find no accounts of Christ life while He lived in Nazareth. Matthew Henry had a little to put on the table for us. He said, "O how much hidden worth is there, which in this world is either lost in the dust of contempt and cannot be known, or wrapped up in the veil of humility and will not be known!" I could not do justice on talking about the reason Christ came and was baptized by John but I think Christ's words in Matthew 3 will far exceed anything I could bring. So Matthew chapter 3 starting in verse 13 "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.14) John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"15) But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented."
"And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." - 1:10-11
Immediately when Jesus came out of the water he looks up to the sky and sees the heavens torn open. They were not just opened but torn open. I am reminded of Christ glorious return when the heavens will roll up like a scroll. They will be torn open and we will see our majestic Lord ridding a white horse and coming with vengeance. What would it have been like, on that day, to see the heavens torn opened? What would my thoughts have been? Would I have fallen to my knees out of fear or would I have opened my mouth with shouts of praise because God is fulfilling His promise? If we look in Isaiah we find three places where the Lord talks about putting God's spirit on Jesus:
Isaiah 11:2 "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD."
Isaiah 42:1-4 "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law."
Isaiah 61:1-3 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified."
Praise the Lord!! Oh, this is good news! This is great news! God almighty sent a savior but not just to be a good person; He sent Him with power. Can there even be thoughts about the possibility of Jesus not getting baptized? The importance of the baptism far exceeds just being dunked under the water. The heavens being torn open and the Father saying, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased" is evidence that this is not something that can just be read through. Stopping to take a glance at what took place at the Jordan river is never in vain. The power of God is clearly seen by the spirit descending upon Jesus. Look carefully at the dove. Look carefully at the heavens being torn open and God almighty speaking for all to hear.
What would have been my thoughts. Would I have even recognized the importance of what was taking place before my eyes? Oh, that God would light up this scene for us to see clearly the depth of the riches that are found in this interaction between the Father and the Son. The giving of the spirit is not something that is cute. By God putting His spirit on His Son we are able to be healed. No Spirit, No Jesus.
"The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." -1:12-15
Can our imaginations even carry us into the wilderness? Can we even create a picture that would adequately tell what was taking place these forty days? After looking at this can we continue to say that I failed because the devil tempted me? What would it have been like to stumble across Jesus during this time? How would we have seen Him? Would our eyes have looked upon Him with compassion? What would it have been like to sit beside Him for one day? What would He have said to us? We know from Matthew that He battled the devil with the sword of the Spirit. We know that the devil took Him places. We know that Jesus never caved to the temptation. That tells me that I never have to cave. Christ has given us the same spirit when we were baptized with Him into His death. The devil can't hold me cause Christ blood covers me! I stand in the face of temptation and by the power of the Spirit I am not taken captive.
I leave with these thoughts.... I would have liked to see what it would have been like for Jesus to be ministered to by angles. I would have liked to been there to hear what they would have said to Him. I would have liked to see how they acted towards Him. What would their actions have been like? Can a mind even create a glimpse of what beauty would have taken place during this moment?
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Let us never stop repenting and believing in the gospel of our Lord Jesus!
I will probably not say much but I might find some questions and statements to throw on the table for you to chop up and chew on for a bit.
9) "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." It is truly amazing how we find no accounts of Christ life while He lived in Nazareth. Matthew Henry had a little to put on the table for us. He said, "O how much hidden worth is there, which in this world is either lost in the dust of contempt and cannot be known, or wrapped up in the veil of humility and will not be known!" I could not do justice on talking about the reason Christ came and was baptized by John but I think Christ's words in Matthew 3 will far exceed anything I could bring. So Matthew chapter 3 starting in verse 13 "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.14) John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"15) But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented."
"And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." - 1:10-11
Immediately when Jesus came out of the water he looks up to the sky and sees the heavens torn open. They were not just opened but torn open. I am reminded of Christ glorious return when the heavens will roll up like a scroll. They will be torn open and we will see our majestic Lord ridding a white horse and coming with vengeance. What would it have been like, on that day, to see the heavens torn opened? What would my thoughts have been? Would I have fallen to my knees out of fear or would I have opened my mouth with shouts of praise because God is fulfilling His promise? If we look in Isaiah we find three places where the Lord talks about putting God's spirit on Jesus:
Isaiah 11:2 "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD."
Isaiah 42:1-4 "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law."
Isaiah 61:1-3 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified."
Praise the Lord!! Oh, this is good news! This is great news! God almighty sent a savior but not just to be a good person; He sent Him with power. Can there even be thoughts about the possibility of Jesus not getting baptized? The importance of the baptism far exceeds just being dunked under the water. The heavens being torn open and the Father saying, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased" is evidence that this is not something that can just be read through. Stopping to take a glance at what took place at the Jordan river is never in vain. The power of God is clearly seen by the spirit descending upon Jesus. Look carefully at the dove. Look carefully at the heavens being torn open and God almighty speaking for all to hear.
What would have been my thoughts. Would I have even recognized the importance of what was taking place before my eyes? Oh, that God would light up this scene for us to see clearly the depth of the riches that are found in this interaction between the Father and the Son. The giving of the spirit is not something that is cute. By God putting His spirit on His Son we are able to be healed. No Spirit, No Jesus.
"The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." -1:12-15
Can our imaginations even carry us into the wilderness? Can we even create a picture that would adequately tell what was taking place these forty days? After looking at this can we continue to say that I failed because the devil tempted me? What would it have been like to stumble across Jesus during this time? How would we have seen Him? Would our eyes have looked upon Him with compassion? What would it have been like to sit beside Him for one day? What would He have said to us? We know from Matthew that He battled the devil with the sword of the Spirit. We know that the devil took Him places. We know that Jesus never caved to the temptation. That tells me that I never have to cave. Christ has given us the same spirit when we were baptized with Him into His death. The devil can't hold me cause Christ blood covers me! I stand in the face of temptation and by the power of the Spirit I am not taken captive.
I leave with these thoughts.... I would have liked to see what it would have been like for Jesus to be ministered to by angles. I would have liked to been there to hear what they would have said to Him. I would have liked to see how they acted towards Him. What would their actions have been like? Can a mind even create a glimpse of what beauty would have taken place during this moment?
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Let us never stop repenting and believing in the gospel of our Lord Jesus!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Searchings in Mark 1
Mark waste little time in identifying who the savior is. In verse one Jesus is instantly and appropriately labeled "the Son of God." Why is that important? Why is Mark so quick to let his readers know that Jesus is the Son of God? I don't know if I am smart enough to answer those questions but as I have been reading, the gospel accounts, I have noticed cases where Jesus says I have said such and such so that you may know that I have authority on earth (2:10). Why does it matter if the son of man has authority? Why does it matter if Jesus has authority on earth?
(Through this blog I will seek to ask questions but not necessarily answer them. Sometimes I just don't have a clue what the answer is and the thought just comes to me as i am writing. Sometimes I might have a slight inclination of what the answer may be but I leave it blank because I am not truly satisfied with my thoughts. Then other times I might know but I want the question to speak louder than my answer. 1 John 2:27 says, "But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie--just as it has taught you, abide in him." I desire that you learn from the greatest teacher, of the word, of all time and forever. I desire that You learn from Christ Himself!!!! What other teacher of the word could ever compare to our Lord Jesus?)
I want to direct our attention to verse 7, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie." How important is this? How important is it for John to direct attention to the Christ? I believe it is eternally important for the simple purpose of turning the attention to the Christ. John's hearers and followers considered him a prophet and Jesus answers with the fact that he is and much more. In Matthew 11:11 Jesus says, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist." John exalts the Christ and humbles himself to the point of saying that He is not even worthy of doing a task that is most humiliating. He is not even worthy to stoop down and untie the Christ's sandals.
Notice how John directs his listeners to the fact the Christ is mightier than he His. He goes on to tell of Christ's power by saying, "I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Oh the mighty difference of being baptized with water and being baptized with the Holy Spirit: the blessed comforter who is "the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:14). It is so very kind of the Lord Jesus to baptize us with the Holy Spirit! What a loving gift the Holy Spirit is too the world! His presence instantly makes the world a better place. Oh How great and mighty and powerful the Lord Jesus is! May we emulate John in always directing the attention to the Christ!
(Through this blog I will seek to ask questions but not necessarily answer them. Sometimes I just don't have a clue what the answer is and the thought just comes to me as i am writing. Sometimes I might have a slight inclination of what the answer may be but I leave it blank because I am not truly satisfied with my thoughts. Then other times I might know but I want the question to speak louder than my answer. 1 John 2:27 says, "But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie--just as it has taught you, abide in him." I desire that you learn from the greatest teacher, of the word, of all time and forever. I desire that You learn from Christ Himself!!!! What other teacher of the word could ever compare to our Lord Jesus?)
I want to direct our attention to verse 7, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie." How important is this? How important is it for John to direct attention to the Christ? I believe it is eternally important for the simple purpose of turning the attention to the Christ. John's hearers and followers considered him a prophet and Jesus answers with the fact that he is and much more. In Matthew 11:11 Jesus says, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist." John exalts the Christ and humbles himself to the point of saying that He is not even worthy of doing a task that is most humiliating. He is not even worthy to stoop down and untie the Christ's sandals.
Notice how John directs his listeners to the fact the Christ is mightier than he His. He goes on to tell of Christ's power by saying, "I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Oh the mighty difference of being baptized with water and being baptized with the Holy Spirit: the blessed comforter who is "the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:14). It is so very kind of the Lord Jesus to baptize us with the Holy Spirit! What a loving gift the Holy Spirit is too the world! His presence instantly makes the world a better place. Oh How great and mighty and powerful the Lord Jesus is! May we emulate John in always directing the attention to the Christ!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Searchings Through Mark Intro
I want to start a blog series called "Searchings Through Mark." Mark's writings are saturated with the gospel message (obviously). The stories told of Christ Jesus and His dealings with people seem to paint beautiful pictures of the kindness of God, to us through Jesus Christ. His redemptive work is clearly seen by the fulfillment of scripture and by proclaiming the gospel message. The people loved Him and the religious leaders despised His actions and consider Him to be a blasphemer. Jesus came to save sinners not those who considered themselves saints because of their observance and keeping of the law. Christ "Came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17). This is clearly seen by Christ dealings with the common people. His interactions with the pharisees and the sadducees are anything but, what we would consider, kind. If we take a step back, though, and look at Christ's dealings with all people then we will clearly see that it is because of His kindness His words were so hard. If the person thinks themselves to be righteous then the only cure for them is to be humbled so the can see there need for a savior. Those who have a clear view of their need for a savior waste little time in running to His feet for cleansing. May God, through the gospel of Mark, open our eyes to see our need. May humility rain on us so that we can hear the sweetness of Christ words and feel the freedom of His healing touch. Most importantly, may illumination be given to what is of first importance to the believer's life. Word of God speak!
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