On Fellowship

“The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. . . . In confession the light of the gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought into the light. The unexpressed must be openly spoken and acknowledged. All that is secret and hidden is made manifest. It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted. But God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York, 1954), pages 112-113.

From Ray Ortlund's blog.

Spare Time

On the way home from church last night, I asked two brothers of mine what television shows they watched. They responded "How I met your Mother", "Big Bang Theory", "Chuck", and others. I'd have to admit I watched these shows now and then. I was thinking about challenging them in this matter, but I couldn't think of a way to say it that would be beneficial and not come off self-righteous.

Mike Cosper brings out an excellent point in this article. Evangelicals are very quick to take notice of the sexual immorality that is so prevalent in television today. However, we fail to notice our addiction to self-righteousness when watching shows like Jersey Shore. Or in the Home Makeover Extreme Edition... doesn't the family's reaction to their new home seem awfully similar to worship?

I guess what I want to point out is that even in our spare time, our periods of resting... we should be seeking activities that are enjoyable for us, but primarily honouring to God. People usually protest at this point. Their arguments tend to follow three patterns:

One, I don't find "prayer" or "bible study" or "musical worship" particularly relaxing. The range of fun-filled activities is too small! So I'm going to do my thing and repent tomorrow.

Two, X, Y, or Z watches these shows or does this or that. They seem to be in a state of progressing sanctification.

Three, I think you are being too legalistic.

Now in response to point one, it is to our shame (and I confess this too) that we cannot enjoy prayer and bible study and musical worship as something to relax too. If we put that issue aside. You are simply thinking too small if you feel that those are the only things that bring glory to God. You can do many things to the glory of God. Just as there are many things that can be corrupted by our sinful desires that is naturally a good thing (sex), but is sin when in the wrong context (premarital sex).

In response to point two, one man may be haunted by the desire to do drugs. Another man may never have that issue. We are all different and should apply discernment in the handling of our sinful flesh. And in a way this is a red herring....to be discussed in point three.

It is funny when people charge you with legalism. They exclaim, "We are in the covenant of grace; no longer bound by the works of the law!" But, we are also slaves to righteousness. We're not freed from sin to go back to the things that enslaved us in the first place. The issue we face (and I confess this too) is that we lack a holy fear of God.

God is our cosmic grandfather. He never disciplines. He's never angry. He always has a twinkle in His eye as he gives you a piece of candy. He has stories to entertain you. He never has any demands. He is laid back and easy going. It is amazing how man is so proficient at blasphemy and idolatry.

What we need to do is have a greater understanding and appreciation of the gospel. It is too costly to remain ignorant of the application of the incarnation, the sinless life of Christ, the crucifixion, the ascension, and the resurrection in our everyday life. For I do not desire that I learn to NOT enjoy shows based on man's depravity. Rather, I want to REPLACE these activities with things centered around goodness and things that are pleasing to God.

So I guess what you need to ask yourself dear reader: is your free time pleasing to God? Is it really God-honouring when you laugh at things of wickedness and evil? And if you find that your time isn't... don't try to just stop the activity. Rather, let's pray to God that we can find enjoyment in God-glorifying activities that can replace our sinful ones.

An addition to the 10:1 rule

In an earlier post, I made reference to the 10:1 rule for preparing Bible studies or SS lessons. That is for every 1 hour of teaching/instruction, there should be at least 10 hours of preparation time.

I would like to also include that every Christian should easily have a ratio of 10:1 for private versus public prayer.

Progress

On my whiteboard since September:

"What are you progressing towards?"

Life Verses

I have been at a loss on what to post. As I struggle to determine my future, a helpful suggestion posed by Dave Kraft's "Leaders who Last" was to examine the verses that God has impressed on my heart. Sadly, although I have been Christian for more than 10 years... I have been only able to discover verses up to four years old. All verses will be from NASB.

'Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
From the time that I established the ancient nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place. Isa 44:7

And the verse I start off with would probably be the most shameful and most ill-advised way of dealing with whatever I was struggling with. I was at an incredibly low point in my spiritual life. I was annoyed. I wanted to throw in the towel. I called out God. Prove your existence. Prove you're real. Prove it. Prove it. Prove it. And, I did what every competent pastor and Sunday School teacher will tell you to never ever do.

I did the think-of-a-passage and flip to it. So I thought of 44:7. Then I thought Isaiah, because no one ever reads Isaiah end to end. And... I was humbled.


but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense in account of the hope that is within you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 1 Pet 3:15

If Isa 44:7 was an unmerited answer by God to demonstrate that He is real, 1 Pet 3:15 was the verse I lived by to prove to others that God is real. I used to be very into apologetics. 1 Pet 3:15 was a sword-verse that many apologetic websites championed to encourage Christians to make a defense for Christianity.

I first discovered the verse in my University days. I frequently employed the verse to spur young Christians to 1) examine themselves and see if they were in the faith! 2) defend the gospel truths. As I have grown older, my attention has shifted to the "yet with gentleness and reverence". It becomes easy to win arguments against opponents, but that is not the goal. We wish to proclaim gospel truths and to show them the glory of Christ. To simply make a show of your knowledge and send your opponent home packing will bring him no closer to Christ unless he hears the gospel.


Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4:14-16

I'm unsure of the timeline on this verse. I know this is towards the end of my University experience, that much is sure. This is a rich passage that I used for both comforting the brethren and myself. I don't have much to say on this passage... it's a good verse... let it speak for itself.


Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Acts 17:11

Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
Prov 27:17

Two for one special. These two verses made an impact after a fateful night in September '08. This was the night I met my friend and pastor, Scott. It is actually a testament of how God works with such sovereignty. I had a friend in Ryerson who had a friend I met during a RCCF retreat. So this girl invited me to a Bible Study, and I went. Fast forward two years, and here we (Scott and others) are starting a church.

Anyways, when I first met Scott... I knew I met someone on a higher spiritual plane. And I was under the impression that I was there for a Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate... not a why Calvinism rocks Arminianism discussion. So I threw down as much as I could, referring to Scripture and problem passages (for Calvinism). These two verses probably stuck out to spur me on to study Scripture (examine extensively!) and although I was critical of Scott... we did sharpen one another.


Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. Jas 3:1

Although the passage is aimed directly towards teachers, I would say it encompasses any leadership type position where you have authority over others and teach. I have served in various leadership positions, led different study groups, but nothing awakened me to the potency of this verse until I started teaching teen Sunday School in early '09. All those young impressionable minds that can be filled with good Biblical knowledge or every heresy conceivable to man.

I think this was the point at which I started the 10:1 ratio for SS and development of Bible studies. For every hour of SS or Bible study... there should be at least 10 hours of prep time spent in the Word and various commentaries.


But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5:8

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:23

These two verses became more prominent for me earlier this year. I have two reasons.

1) I have tried to witness more to my family, especially a cousin and her son from Calgary. My nephew is young and he has a heart for spiritual things and wants to learn of God. I pray continually that they and their family would come to know Christ.

2) I am trying to understand grace more. I'm a slow learner.

Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? Rom 2:4

Two months ago, I wrote this on my whiteboard. I am still learning about grace.

Summer Update

Last year would mark a year of trial and tempering by the Lord. This past summer has been blessing after blessing.

The trip to Europe with my family was especially cool. My relationship with my different family members have generally improved.

I am incredibly blessed to have friends that have gotten married. Participating in their wedding was awesome. And I look forward to the next young couple getting married, you know who you are.

Captaining a softball team has its moments of trial, but has yielded much fruit. I'm hoping that God will continue to bless the team and call and change their hearts.

Mentoring has been exceptional. One of the guys is really explosive and on fire for the Lord. The other is getting there. Also, I have more people interested... so it's been really encouraging.

God has blessed me with a job and people who are watching out for me. I know that it is incredibly difficult to find work and decent paying work at that! So I have been amazingly blessed in this area.

It is indeed...amazing grace.

The Bad Stuff

I think everyone experiences rough patches and trials in their life. Now, you can mope around about these horrible things that God is inflicting on you. Or you can know that...

A) He is tempering you to get rid of the dross.
B) Disciplining you as a beloved child of God.
C) Allowing you to have a really funny story in 5 years time.

Woooh!

Still Unemployed?!!!

Vacation Log

Tuesday (Arrive in London, England)
Promptly took a nap once arrived into town. The hotel room was tiny. The beds were on wheels. The shower pressure was excellent. After nap, family and I went to the British Museum, where I feasted my eyes on the Rosetta stone. There were also a lot of paintings of Jesus. Following that, we went to dinner in China town. (lol, why are we not having fish and chips?)

Wednesday
Used Big Bus hop-on hop-off tours. (They suck, don't use them. Buses are way too infrequent.)
We went to the Tower of London. This was a fortress at some point or another. There were torture chambers. It was rainy. We also went to Kensington Palace. It was closed by the time we got there. For dinner, we went Italian. (Why not fish and chips!?!)

Thursday
We went to Windsor Castle, which had considerable Jesus stuff. I was very glad I read my reformation history book (see Book Library). We also went back to Kensington Palace... It was not as fun as I would hope. It was really...really...girly. Fish and chips for dinner!

Friday
We found that Notre Dame was too expensive to go in. So we went to St. Margaret's Cathedral instead. St Paul's cathedral was excellent. Very cool artwork. Also if you climb to the peak (500+ stairs), you'll get a lovely view of the city. Also went to the National Gallery, which I think was the highlight of Britain. There I feasted my eyes on treasures such as this and this and this. We went for incredibly expensive Indian food for dinner.

Saturday
Woke up at 4:30 AM thinking it was 7:30 AM. There is so much more daylight in London. Didn't help that none of my family had watches. We went to Bath to see a bathhouse. We also saw Salisbury, there is a church there. It houses a copy of the Magna Carta. Pretty cool stuff. Finally, saw stone henge. Everyone should go see it once in their life. In the evening, we took night pictures with my brother's camera. Spotlights accentuate peculiarities of monuments that one does not capture during the daytime.

Sunday
Chunnel it to Paris. First stop, this incredibly ghetto flea market which I wanted to leave immediately. It was hilarious... my mom was excessive in her vigilance for thieves, all of us wearing our safety belts, safe drinking water...etc. And in this incredibly sketch flea market where the people can't speak a lick of English and gangsters are idling on street corners, she wants to go around in shop.

Struggled a little bit with trying to get a phone card. Manage to call friends! Meet up with friends, and make new ones. We visit Notre Dame and following that have dinner. My parents chinese'd the bill, so my friends ended up ninja'ing Monday's bill. It was cool as they were all Christian and I had some spiritual discussions with some of them. Following that, checked out the Eiffel tower at night. If you go see it at night, make sure to watch it on the hours, as it will light up!

Monday
Through the busy streets of Montmartre and up the many many stairs to Sacre Coeur, a cathedral. Watch out for strange men offering to tie your hands with their friendship bracelet. I declined their offer. We also went to the Lourve. French museums need English signs. The Mona Lisa is definitely over-hyped. Arc De Triomphe & Champ D'elysee for a little while, followed by dinner at Chez Papa. Their Big salad is BIG! It's like meat dumped on two pieces of lettuce.

Tuesday
We went to Dorsey museum, I remembered it being a lot more fun when I visited the first time. It's okay. I brought a book. We saw Napolean's tomb at L'armee Museum. I need to learn more French History....well, history in general. Following that, we went to the Ridon Museum. He was the creator of the Thinker. You should check out his lesser known art, The Gates of Hell. Also went on a boat tour...which I fell asleep on.... and went to the top of the Montparnasse tower... could see all over Paris on that thing.

Wednesday
In the Chateau de Versailles, there is this absolutely stunning garden. I'm not talking some small garden in your backyard. I'm talking Louis XIV's kilometers of gardens. The Grand Chanel would be the perfect spot for a paddle boat + picnic date. My brother and I tried to do some shopping, but there was nothing affordable/eye-catching..with the exception of Uniqlo. Finally, we had a small good bye dinner with the young'ns. (My parents wanted to do their own thing.) Afterwards, we went for some ice cream. (Girls, you have to get Paris ice cream. They'll make it into a flower for you.) Jumping pictures at Notre Dame, followed by good byes.

Thursday
Flight back. Watched The Hurt Locker and read some books. It's amazing what you can get done while on a plane.

Random Thoughts:
- I find that my general knowledge of history embarrassing.
- The world is a big place.
- I need to learn another language.
- More adventures!
- After re-reading this post, incredibly difficult to read... Maybe I should master English first.

London Baby!

So much church history!

This was breathtaking in person.

Updates to follow.