Praying & Going

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

During our prayer meeting last night we made it a priority to pray for our friends, family members, neighbors, and coworkers who don't follow Jesus. We have the opportunity to pray for people in our lives to see God give them salvation. Let's be a church that prays for God to do extraordinary things in peoples lives. As we pray for those in our lives let's look for opportunities to share the Gospel with them and share God's love with them. We do care about their eternal destiny, but we also care about their needs now. Be attentive for things that you can do to show God's love to others. Pray for opportunities today to share the Gospel today.

Where does this race end?

In our Christian lives we often feel greatly motivated after a worship service. We loved the songs and sung out loud despite being off pitch. The sermon was convicting and moved you to new decisions for Lord. However, just a few hours after worship, the fresh conviction wanes and no longer has an impact on our thought process, planning, and desire for the Lord.
Listen to the author of Hebrews:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God, Heb. 12:1-2.

How can we keep the Gospel at the forefront of our lives in order to continue with the endurance we need? We have to keep Jesus at the front of our lives. Concentrate on the Gospel today in order to continue with endurance with joy.

I made it home yesterday after a rough four miles. It was storming and the temperature felt drastically hotter. I knew I wanted to make it home. I kept it in view knowing the air conditioner and cold water that awaited me. Reflect on the joy that Jesus Christ has for us to persevere through the difficult times that you experience.

Orphan Care

Last night we continued our mini-series on Orphan Care. Orphan care isn't only for couples who adopt, nor is it only for a fringe section of well meaning Christians. It's for all those who live a life of faith in Christ. Our life is characterized by a desire for God's glory over our desire for comfort and conformity. Following Christ means we live advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through evangelism and caring for the needy. Following Christ means caring for the orphan because we were once spiritual orphans ourselves. In Genesis God promised Abraham that He would give Abraham a son, make his family into a nation as numerous as the stars in the sky, and bless all the nations through him. This promise could not come to fruition by Abraham's own power. He and his wife were nearly 100 years old and Sarah was barren. God provided a miracle in Sarah's dead womb, and they had a son, Isaac. God's promise still had to continue through Abraham's son, Isaac, but Isaac and his wife were faced with the same reality of infertility as Abraham and Sarah. They could not make the promise happen through their own power either. God miraculously intervened in their marriage as well. Their son Jacob was the testimony that God was delivering His promise to Abraham, but Jacob and his wife Rachel struggled with infertility like his father and grandfather. God continued to show His faithfulness to His promise and provided a miracle son in a barren womb. None of these men could make the promise happen on their own. God set His love on Israel and made this nation His son. At the end Genesis and beginning of Exodus, this nation is in captivity in Egypt. God redeems His son out of slavery to freedom in their own land that He provides for them.

In Galatians 3-4, Paul interprets these events in light of our adoption, our salvation. God redeemed us as sinners from the "elementary principles of this world" to heirs of the covenant. We are now sons! Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us out of sin's captivity and into the family of God. The good news of the Gospel isn't simply the forgiveness of sins, it's that we are saved from our sin, given righteousness, and made a son of God! For the women wondering if Scripture includes them, you can rest assured in the promises of God that you too receive the same inheritance as a first born son (Gal. 3:28). Our Father is a loving God that gives over and abundantly to ALL of His children.

Since we understand our salvation through adoption, the church does care for orphans. Read through Gal. 3:23-4:7 today and consider how loving our Father's is to us, His children. Please pray for opportunities for Gracepointe to become involved in orphan care in St. Augustine and around the world.

No Condemnation

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death, Rom. 8:1-2

Our salvation removes any condemnation for us and brings us into freedom in Christ Jesus. Everyday we need to recall this part of the Gospel. God has brought us into His family by giving us a new heart. There isn't anyone or anything to bring an accusation against us. We are forgiven and free! Praise the Lord for His grace to us. All of us who understand our salvation realize the gravity of our sin before the Lord. Since we realize how disgusting our sin is before a holy God, we celebrate how amazing and awesome His rich mercy and grace is toward us. Obedience to the Father isn't a difficult task that we feel forced or joyless to follow because we are liberated out of our crushing guilt and shame. God has called us to freedom in Christ, in the family of God. If you are in Christ, reflect today on the verses listed above on the mercy and grace that God has lavished over you in Christ. Write them down or commit them to memory. Diligently focus on these verses today.

Building Together

Get a glimpse of the work going on when Nehemiah leads people to rebuild Jerusalem:
Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. [7] And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province Beyond the River. [8] Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. [9] Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. [10] Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. [11] Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. [12] Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters. Nehemiah 3:6-13

Nehemiah heard the report from those remaining in Judah that everyone who survived the exile was in great trouble and shame. The wall was broken down and the gates were destroyed by fire. His heart sank with this news. Nehemiah was driven to prayer and fasting for the sake the Lord’s covenant with His people. God provided Nehemiah the opportunity to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall and the gates.
It wasn’t an easy task. All over the city charred remains lay on the ground and the rubble was everywhere. It took a great effort by everyone there to continue the grueling work of picking up stone after stone to clean up and rebuild.
Through God’s provision and Nehemiah’s leadership the people accomplished a monumental achievement. Despite the circumstances, the hostility from outsiders, the inward conflict, the wall and city gates were rebuilt! It required everyone to work together and continue to work through the opposition.
Today God has not called us to build a wall, and He’s not called us to build His church either. However, God does use us in His church. We share the Gospel, serve those inside and outside the church, and encourage each other. Consider your role in the church. How is your faith evident in your relationships with others at Gracepointe? How are you fulfilling the work that God has called you to?

God Saves the Orphan

We began a new series last night from Galatians - God Saves the Orphans - Looking at Orphan Care. True, we are a small church, and there are more than 147 million orphans worldwide. The amazing thing about being God's church is that He calls us to extraordinary tasks that result in His glory! What God has called us to as His people IS NOT something that we relegate to one hour on Sunday or the week we’re scheduled to go on a short term mission trip. God has saved us out of our sin and into His glorious grace. Our whole lives must be about God’s glory!


Salvation is more than the forgiveness of sins. It’s more than redemption. It’s more than not going to hell. It’s more than receiving eternal life. Gospel presentations can be distorted to lead people to believe eternal life is based on ONE PRAYER. Let me read to you what Scripture does not say:

If anyone wants to follow me, let him pray a one time prayer asking for forgiveness sins.

The rich young ruler asked Jesus what good thing must he do to obtain eternal life. After the rich man responded to Jesus that he had kept ALL the commandments, he wondered what he was still lacking. Jesus told him that if he wanted to be complete simply repeat after him a prayer.



Obviously that’s not what Scripture says. Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take us his cross and follow me," Matt. 16.24. He told the rich man to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. Then come and follow Him, Matt. 19:16-21. Salvation isn’t a one time event that secures your destiny regardless of your affections or pursuits after you repeat a prayer.


Many of you are following Jesus because you understand that faith in Christ makes a lifelong disciple. Our church is a church that will follow Jesus’ call to make other disciples and be involved in orphan care. I understand the Great Commission, but where does the Bible say that the church is mandated to care for orphans? It’s all over Scripture. Take time today to read through Scripture: Deut. 10:18-19, 24:17-19, 27:19a, Ex. 22:21-22, Ps. 10:17-18, Ps. 113:5-7, Ps. 146:9, Hos. 14:3, James 1:27


We want to be a church that lives out our salvation and cares for those in need. Let's begin to consider how our church can be involved in orphan care.

Praying as a First Priority

. . . If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" 2 Chron. 7:14

On Wednesday nights we meet for prayer. Lloyd leads us in prayer for our missionaries and various prayer requests we have within the church. Over the past few weeks I have been teaching through Paul's prayers. However, the most recent two prayer meetings have involved more collective praying. Last night we looked at the Lord's appearance to Solomon after the dedication of the temple found in 2 Chronicles 7:11-22. Prayer is often said as a last resource or the only option available since there's nothing we can do on our own to work out the problem. Prayer meeting is downplayed to one of those church activities that we really don't have to attend. After all, it's only a prayer meeting. This attitude is one of a pagan idol worshiper instead of a child of God.

Praying together joins us in a spiritual bond that unites us in our pursuit of seeking the Lord's will. We want to see God glorified by saving people, changing lives, and intervening in supernatural ways. If we truly want to be a church that makes a difference in people's lives, we have to pray for the lost, pray for specific ways we can serve the community, pray for God to use us, as well as pray for God to help us with our needs. There is much more prayer who loves people as opposed to a church who wants to see growth. The first step for Gracepointe Baptist Church is to pray together for those whom we will reach with the Gospel. Take some time today to pray for your lost friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors to want Jesus. Pray for the unity of our church body. Pray that God will be praised for the work that He's doing in us.

Justified

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:16

The Good News of Jesus Christ stands or falls on the teaching of justification by faith. Indeed Martin Luther called it "the most important doctrine of Christianity. If there is such a great weight on justification by faith, it's important for us to know and dwell on this wonderful truth.

We are judged righteous because Jesus Christ took our sin and God's wrath on Himself when He died on the cross as our substitute. Not only did Jesus remove our sin, we receive His righteousness. WE HAVE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST! Due to the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, we are not condemned as rebels, as sinners, as God's enemies. There is no more guilt. There is no more shame. Jesus died for our sins and gives us right standing before God (righteousness). We win because Jesus has won for us. There is no problem or sin that you can't overcome because you have been justified by our Lord and Savior.

Our justification is by faith in what Christ has done rather than in our good works. The Good News of Jesus Christ is your reason to worship. God has done all the work on our behalf. Celebrate His goodness and love for you because He accomplished your salvation, a work that you or I could never do.


Prayer:

Father, thank you for your goodness and love to me. I praise you because you have saved me from my sin through your Son, Jesus. Remind me of your great love for me. Help me to know that I don't have to earn your love or earn right standing before you. I know you have given me grace and salvation that I did not deserve or earn. May I treat others with grace and love them like you have loved me. Thank you for your wonderful salvation. Through you I pray Jesus, amen.

Follow flirt to its natural conclusion

I'm not a mom trying to teach my children about modesty and sexually. I'm a father trying to shepherd both my daughter and my son how to live for the glory of God all the way down to fashion. Some might argue that I'm not really capable of teaching such a subject and for the sake of argument I'll concede the point, but it all matters. Read this WSJ article for an interesting secular take on raising daughters in a sex driven culture.

There's no hero packing a concealed weapon

Read this article. People carrying sidearms don't save lives. The reality is more people die when there is more potential to kill.

AKA Halloween

As October 31 approaches, here is an interesting interview with Carl Trueman, Professor of Historical Theology and Church History, and Academic Dean, at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, about Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. He knows his facts about Luther having written his dissertation on Luther's Legacy. Check it out.

I found this Q&A very interesting.
Was Luther a “Protestant” at this point (when he nailed the 95 Theses to the door)? Was he a “Lutheran”?

No, on both counts. He himself tells us in 1545 that, in 1517, he was a committed Catholic who would have murdered—or at least been willing to see murder committed—in the name of the Pope. There is some typical Luther hyperbole there, but the theology of the Ninety-Five Theses is not particularly radical, and key Lutheran doctrines, such as justification by grace through faith alone, are not yet present. He was an angry Catholic, hoping that, when the Pope heard about Teztel, he would intervene to stop the abuse.

Family Reading

I've greatly enjoyed reading books to my children. We've gone through several books and checked out fun, smaller books from the library. On our family blog I've written about Chuck Black's, Kingdom Series. I definitely recommend families to read through them together. They are great allegories of Scripture that provide many opportunities for conversation about the Bible and the Gospel. We're reading through The Chronicles of Narnia now which they absolutely love. It helps that after we read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe that we watched the movie together. We'll read The Dawn Treader well before it's out this December. I can't wait to take them out to the movies.
For our nightly devotions we have read The Big Picture Story Bible several times and finished the Jesus Storybook once. There's no doubt for older children that the Jesus Storybook is amazing. It's presentation of the Gospel and constant emphasis on Jesus as the center of the whole Bible directs us to worship together. During our morning routine we are reading through Mighty Acts of God. It is a good book, and it will be a book we use for a long time. It has many great discussion helps at the end of each section. Once again it is a great help to always point us to Jesus Christ throughout every part of history in God's redemption plan.
I write this because I love being with my children. One of the ways we spend precious time together is playing games but also by reading together which creates conversation and teaching opportunities. I love my children, and I look for ways to cultivate our relationship to deepen it and strengthen it in the Gospel. Reading Truth to them is something I cherish and they enjoy as well. It's a special time when we read together. I pray that by God's grace one of the things that will anchor them to a love for God's Word and a thirst for knowledge is our reading together as a family.

The Hiddenness of God

I wrote some time ago about the Hidden smile of God. Behind a frowning Providence, He hides a smiling face. We all wrestle with questions about suffering and death regardless of our belief in God or lack thereof. Below is one man's account of how death has impacted him and yet, his trust in God. Frank James's brother was killed on Mount Hood after being trapped in a cave during a horrendous blizzard. I posted the story in part here but you can read the entire article here which provides great counsel on grieving.

Midnight, it is said, is the portal between this world and the next and is somehow in league with chaos, death, and mystery. It is the moment of dark visitations. So it was for me in December 2006. My sleep was interrupted by a phone call, and I was instantly shocked into full consciousness: My younger brother was trapped in a snow cave on Mount Hood, and an unyielding blizzard prevented rescue.
The mountain proved to be Kelly's final adventure. Losing my brother on Mount Hood has been a painful reminder of my own spiritual fragility. None of us is immune to the heartaches and sorrows that inhabit this misbegotten world. Though I am a preacher, a professor of historical theology, and the provost of a theological seminary, I have found it agonizingly difficult to come to terms with my brother's death. It is one thing to talk about death in the abstract. It is entirely another to cope with the death of someone you love very, very much. The truth of the matter is that losing a loved one hurts down to the deepest parts of your soul.
I was the first to learn the news days later. Hearing those words announcing his death was like a blow to the solar plexus knocking the breath out of me, but telling the rest of my family was more dreadful. I had known heartache before, but this transcended every previous emotion I had ever experienced. My vision blurred. My feet were heavy and seemed to resist carrying me to the next room, where my family anxiously awaited the latest news of the rescue mission on Mount Hood. Kelly's wife, Karen, the children, our mother, three brothers and a sister—they took the news hard. I have never heard weeping like I heard that night in the village at the foot of the mountain. The Bible sometimes refers to "wailing" as an especially forlorn kind of weeping. That is what I heard that night—wailing. I hope I never hear that sound again.
Death is ugly, and we cannot—indeed, should not—try to make it palatable or explain it away with pious platitudes. Death is a cruel, brutal, and fearsome trespasser into this world. It is an intruder and a thief. It has severed an irreplaceable relationship with my brother. We shared the same story, and he knew me in a way no other person did. Kelly would no longer return my calls. Never again would I hear him cheerfully mock me as "Frankie Baby." Sometimes I see him in a dream, and I reach out to grasp him—but he is not there.
We are created for life, not death. Kelly had a shameless zest for living life to the fullest. When death strikes suddenly from the shadows or claws at us until the last breath, those left behind experience numbness and disorientation. Somehow we know in our hearts that it is not supposed to be this way.

Order of Creation

I'm not posting to give an answer to the age of the earth or universe. I can tell you the order of creation, but it would be much easier for you to look up Genesis 1 and read it. See The Economist's review of Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow's new release The Grand Design. Hawking has made several "appearances" on The Simpson's but in real life he's a famous physicist well known for A Brief History of Time. If we had a coffee table I'm sure our illustrated copy of A Brief History of Time would be a fun piece of decoration, but we don't have a coffee table. Nonetheless check out The Economist's unimpressed review.

Their conclusion:

Once upon a time it was the province of philosophy to propose ambitious and outlandish theories in advance of any concrete evidence for them. Perhaps science, as Professor Hawking and Mr Mlodinow practice it in their airier moments, has indeed changed places with philosophy, though probably not quite in the way that they think.

Orphan Care is Spiritual Warfare

Here is an article written by Dr. Russell Moore in Christianity Today. It was written a couple of months ago, but is well worth the read today.

We evangelicals often seem to identify more around corporate brands and political parties than with each other in our local churches. But our adoption in Christ makes us not warring partisans but loving siblings, whom the Spirit has taken from the babble of Babel to the oneness of Pentecost. The church's unity attests to the "manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10). Would our gospel be more credible if "church family" wasn't just a slogan, if "brothers and sisters" was more than metaphor? What would happen if the world saw fewer "white churches" and "black churches," fewer "blue-collar churches" and "white-collar churches," and fewer baby boomer and emerging churches, and saw more churches whose members have little in common except being saved by the gospel?
Our churches ought to be showing the families therein how love and belonging transcend categories of the flesh. Instead, though, it seems God is using families who adopt to teach the church. In fact, perhaps we so often wonder whether adopted children can really be brothers and sisters because we so rarely see it displayed in our pews. Some—maybe even you—might wonder how an African American family could love a white Ukrainian baby, how a Haitian teenager could call Swedish parents Mom and Dad. The adoption movement is challenging the impoverished hegemony of our carnal sameness, as more and more families in the church are starting to show fellow believers the meaning of unity in diversity.
That's why adoption and orphan care can ultimately make the church a counterculture. The demonic rulers of the age hate orphans because they hate babies—and have from Pharaoh to Moloch to Herod to the divorce culture to malaria to HIV/AIDS. They hate foster care and orphan advocacy because these actions are icons of the gospel's eternal reality. Our enemies would prefer that we find our identity and inheritance in what we can see and verify as ours—the flesh—rather than according to the veiled rhythms of the Spirit. Orphan care isn't charity; it's spiritual warfare.

The Gospel of Wealth

Here is an interesting op-ed piece from David Brooks - The Gospel of Wealth. He highlights the American Dream clash with excess and how certain "groups" are reshaping the restraint that was once present in America.

Here are some of his statements:

People bought bulbous vehicles like Hummers and Suburbans. The rule was, The Smaller the Woman, the Bigger the Car — so you would see a 90-pound lady in tennis whites driving a 4-ton truck with enough headroom to allow her to drive with her doubles partner perched atop her shoulders.

In the coming years of slow growth, people are bound to establish new norms and seek noneconomic ways to find meaning. One of the interesting figures in this recalibration effort is David Platt.

Jesus, Platt notes, made it hard on his followers. He created a minichurch, not a mega one. Today, however, building budgets dwarf charitable budgets, and Jesus is portrayed as a genial suburban dude. “When we gather in our church building to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshipping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead, we may be worshipping ourselves.”

Platt is in the tradition of those who don’t believe these two spheres can be reconciled. The material world is too soul-destroying. “The American dream radically differs from the call of Jesus and the essence of the Gospel,” he argues.

But the Gospel rejects the focus on self: “God actually delights in exalting our inability.” The American dream emphasizes upward mobility, but “success in the kingdom of God involves moving down, not up.”

Wow.

I read this blog earlier and have a very hard time categorizing it. When you read it, I'm sure you will find sadness yet peace in God. I can't imagine the sorrow this couple is going through, but I take them at their word when they hoping in the Lord while they suffer. Read it here or below. Please pray for Zach and Jennifer.

The Glory of It All
September 2, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010. Zack and I visited the perinatal clinic for a “just to be sure everything’s o.k.” ultrasound. I had already had two normal ultrasounds and at fourteen weeks thought I was not in danger of losing this baby. From the start of the day, things were off. We got up late, got to the clinic late, there was only one doctor working. And then…Immediately the ultrasound tech knew something was wrong, though she put on a good show for us. She paged the only doctor working at the clinic and he came immediately to let me know in no uncertain terms, that my baby would not live once it was born. He spouted off a lot of medical terms and possibilities, none of which I remembered. I came away from that appointment knowing only that my baby would die and that as the doctor said, “This is much worse than Down Syndrome.”

The doctor left us alone in the room to process the news and as Zack held me while I cried and my heart broke at the thought of carrying this baby for six more months and then losing it, a peace settled over me. I had a sense that this was God’s plan for our lives and we would live it, like we had lived everything else. Like Zack had lived the death of his father when he was only seventeen, or we had lived the two miscarriages prior to the birth of our son John Owen. We’d live it because we wholeheartedly trust that God’s plans are best.

Today we returned to the perinatal clinic so they could try and determine exactly what was wrong with the baby. The answer: anencephaly. I sat staring at the picture of my baby that the ultrasound tech had left up (by mistake probably) as the doctor talked and talked and tried to console us and offer us “early delivery” and reassure us that it wasn’t our fault. I just sat and stared. None of those things he said offered any consolation to me, any hope. For the ten days prior to today, I had believed and known with everything inside of me that God could heal my baby. BUT today as I sat and stared at my baby, something inside of me knew that maybe healing wasn’t God’s best in this situation.

Our desire has been to glorify God in all we do. I fail miserably most days. Especially while we are on this journey though, my heart cries out to glorify God above all else. And maybe God will receive more glory through our suffering than through a miracle. Maybe not. All things are possible with God.

But today…I grieve.

I grieve for my little girl kicking and growing inside of me–Ella Grace.

I grieve for my husband who tries so hard to understand me and wants desperately to make things better.

I grieve for my family, friends, and church family who hurt with us as we travel this road.

At the end of this journey I hope people can say that God received glory.

I hope we suffer well.

The net connecting us all

I'm a big fan of the new developments in gmail. Not only can you chat or video chat with people (not that I chat with people or video chat with people outside of my parents who really just want to see the kids and occasionally with Freddy T.) now you can call cell phones and landlines for free. That's right I said for free.
I'm a big fan of this new development because we use our cell phones for calling and that's it. Now that I have another outlet to use minutes I don't have to sweat at the end of the month and make sure my phone calls end in one minute or calling people after 9 pm.
It's an interesting development in the cell phone world too. It hasn't been a secret that data is the premium sales ticket rather than minutes. Thus, in our Decade of Disconnect we're already avoiding texting and data costs and reaping the benefits of no price calling.
Yes, I identify with Karen's term "Decade of Disconnect". In reality both terms are used lightly, kind of like Made from Scratch Lemonade at O'Charley's which is made with soda water, and lemon flavoring. Yes, we are disconnected without a TV. But we have the internet. No we don't text either, but we have cell phones. As for texting, I'm not opposed to texting in general, but I am opposed to conversational texting. The bottom line is which is most practical - texting or talking?
Nonetheless we're not totally disconnected even if it takes a Newsweek article to let us in on the Jersey Shore phenomenon. Decade is used loosely too since there is no way to know what technology will bring in ten years.
For now, I'll indulge in the latest tech fun with gmail. If you look at your caller id and don't recognize the number go ahead and answer it, it might be me!

Purified or Pornified

I regularly read Justin Taylor's blog at The Gospel Coalition. His blog is a great resource. Many times I want to re-post what he has written or linked as is the case today. Taylor provides a post from a talk Albert Mohler gave several years ago to students at Boyce College. You can read Taylor's summary of it below, read the Dr. Mohler's manuscript here, or listen to it here.

In 2004 Albert Mohler gave a talk to the male students of Boyce College, entitled “The Seduction of Pornography and the Integrity of Christian Marriage”—available in manuscript and audio form.

I encourage young guys in particular to read it and listen to it.

Here is an excerpt, where he talks about two pictures of male sexuality:

The first picture is of a man who has set himself toward a commitment to sexual purity, and is living in sexual integrity with his wife. In order to fulfill his wife’s rightful expectations and to maximize their mutual pleasure in the marriage bed, he is careful to live, to talk, to lead, and to love in such a way that his wife finds her fulfillment in giving herself to him in love. The sex act then becomes a fulfillment of their entire relationship, not an isolated physical act that is merely incidental to their love for each other. Neither uses sex as means of manipulation, neither is inordinately focused merely on self-centered personal pleasure, and both give themselves to each other in unapologetic and unhindered sexual passion. In this picture, there is no shame. Before God, this man can be confident that he is fulfilling his responsibilities both as a male and as a man. He is directing his sexuality, his sex drive, and his physical embodiment toward the one-flesh relationship that is the perfect paradigm of God’s intention in creation.

Mohler then asks us to consider the picture of another man:

This man lives alone, or at least in a context other than holy marriage. Directed inwardly rather than outwardly, his sex drive has become an engine for lust and self-gratification. Pornography is the essence of his sexual interest and arousal. Rather than taking satisfaction in his wife, he looks at dirty pictures in order to be rewarded with sexual arousal that comes without responsibility, expectation, or demand. Arrayed before him are a seemingly endless variety of naked women, sexual images of explicit carnality, and a cornucopia of perversions intended to seduce the imagination and corrupt the soul.

This man need not be concerned with his physical appearance, his personal hygiene, or his moral character in the eyes of a wife. Without this structure an accountability, he is free to take his sexual pleasure without regard for his unshaved face, his slothfulness, his halitosis, his body odor, and his physical appearance. He faces no requirement of personal respect, and no eyes gaze upon him in order to evaluate the seriousness and worthiness of his sexual desire. Instead, his eyes roam across the images of unblinking faces, leering at women who make no demands upon him, who never speak back, and who can never say no. There is no exchange of respect, no exchange of love, and nothing more than the using of women as sex objects for his individual and inverted sexual pleasure.

By logical consequence, he achieves sexual gratification at the expense of women who have been used and abused as commodified sex objects. He may imagine a sex act as he fulfills his physical pleasure, but he almost certainly does not imagine what it would mean to be responsible for this woman as husband and accountable to her as mate. He can sit in his soiled underwear, belching the remnants of last night’s pizza, and engage in a pattern of one-handed sexual satisfaction while he “surfs the net” and forfeits his soul.

Here’s the point:

These two pictures of male sexuality are deliberately intended to drive home the point that every man must decide who he will be, whom he will serve, and how he will love. In the end, a man’s decision about pornography is a decision about his soul, a decision about his marriage, a decision about his wife, and a decision about God.

Pornography is a slander against the goodness of God’s creation and a corruption of this good gift God has given his creatures out of his own self-giving love. To abuse this gift is to weaken, not only the institution of marriage, but the fabric of civilization itself. To choose lust over love is to debase humanity and to worship the false god Priapus in the most brazen form of modern idolatry.

You can read it and listen to it online.

More Guns More Fun

Am I a gun rights advocate or gun owner advocate? No, not at all. There's a huge force driving Americans need and craving for owning and carrying a gun. I look forward to writing my thoughts, but at this point I thought this Vanity Fair article had more satire than I could pen that really gets to the balderdash at America's outlandish laws permitting unregulated gun purchases and gun toting.
Be sure to read it.