Coming To A Close

I don't expect this to be much of a post because I am so pressed for time, but if I don't write tonight I won't be able to until I am back in Texas. I have a pretty busy weekend ahead of me. Tomorrow, I will be waking up bright and early (5:00 AM) in order to get ready and go to a men's bible study. After that, I am picking up some Burundian children for a VBS Coram Deo has organized for the African kids this past week. Then I am going to a lake house two hours away in Iowa that belongs to an elder of the church. A few of the church members will be going as well. On Saturday, I am driving back to Omaha to pick up my mom who is flying into town. We'll tour the town and go out to eat with some people that night. On Sunday, I have call to worship duty one last time, Harambe after the services, and a going away dinner that night. So...this is my only chance for an update.

One thing I want to write about though is the Burundian VBS. I was only able to help on Monday and Tuesday this week, but I loved it. The kids were so excited to be spending time at the church learning. And when you give them a soccer ball to play with, they go absolutely nuts. I have gotten to know a few of the kids fairly well this summer and I became their regular chauffeur for those two days. They were all given a memory verse (John 3:16) on Monday and were asked to memorize it for the next day's lesson. On Tuesday when I picked them up, we practiced the verse on the way to Suckau chapel. When they got to the part about "whoever believes in him will have eternal life," one of the kids asked me what the word "eternal" meant. So I began to explain to him how it is a life outside of time that has no end. I think my exact words were, "It will be a really, really, really, really, really long time." Then we talked about what it meant to live with Christ in heaven and how that works. I explained what Christ did for us on the cross and told them about how heaven will be absent of pain and trial and how everything there will be perfect. When I said this, the little boy with me looked down at his knee which he had fallen on and scratched up recently after falling from his bike and asked me if his wounds would be in heaven. To which I promptly responded, "No way dude. No scratches in heaven."

I will never forget the look that overwhelmed his face in that moment. He got so excited about heaven and the thought of riding a bike without fear of getting hurt. And it hit me how great his questions were. This kid, probably 8 or 9 years old, is trying to figure out Christ, his sacrifice, and his eternity with him in heaven. Sure, they were little questions that we learn in Sunday school, but I think adults forget to pursue the fundamentals of their faith far too often. We get so wrapped up in theological debate that we forget who Christ was and what he did for us. We forget that the Gospel is not a theology. It is the means through which we grow in our relationship with Jesus. The Gospel is not religion. It is Jesus. Don't discredit childlike questions. For example, if a Jehovah's Witness comes to your door and quotes Colossians 1:15 as being evidence that Jesus was a part of God's creation rather than God himself, what are you going to say? Because your Sunday school lesson is not going to sound too convincing at that point. You need to know Scripture that is going to make it clear that Jesus was and is God. You need to know why we can trust in the Bible. You need to know these things for an answer. Simply claiming a fact without evidence gets you nowhere. Granted, words may not change hearts, but at least you will be able to rest in the fact that your heart knows the answers and they are affirmed in God's Word. I think that as we get older, we believe that we simply become smarter. Well, I'm 20 years old and I already know that isn't the case. It takes work. Don't discredit childlike questions simply because you are too old for them. These are the things we need to press into. Because they are not lessons to be memorized, but internalized and lived out.

I finished my last day at Greenlife Landscaping today. The weather was beautiful and cool and I spent the day pruning plants and cutting down branches. Easy cheesy. It was a great way to finish off my summer employment. And I am deeply grateful to Cory and his brother, Chad, for giving me the opportunity to work part-time this summer and make a little money on the side. They have been a huge blessing to me.

In regards to my last post about the pulley, I feel like there are two things that need to be said. First of all, I got a phone call on Tuesday from Will Walker (the associate pastor) and he gave me a B+ grade on my pulley. Also, he personally called Lane (the guy in the video) and rebuked him for his obviously faulty criticism of my masterpiece of engineering. So there's a fact to boost my ego. The other thing I wanted to clarify is the reasoning behind why I am consistently referred to as "Firth" in the pulley video. When I first arrived in Omaha, Will did not know my last name. So he started calling me Colin Firth, like the actor. His goal was to get through the entire summer never learning my name. About two weeks in however, I accidentally slipped up and referred to my family as the "Huber family." He was pretty upset and immediately had a discussion with me about how I always need to be on guard against deception from the Evil one because of my carelessness. But for some reason, that name stuck. And regardless of whether or not people knew my real last name, I became "Firth." My missional community even thought that was my real name for a while. Seriously. So now the video probably makes more sense. That is, if any of this makes sense in the first place...

This will most likely be my last post before I am back in Texas. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement this summer. Be in prayer for my mom as she travels up here on Saturday and as we make the 15 hour drive (probably through Sunday night/Monday morning) back to Victoria. It has been an astounding summer on every level and I will write a lengthy reflection on my time here when I get back home. Until then, I love you all! And I'll see you soon!

Rewind: Week Seven

Another successful week down. I have eight days remaining in my internship and then it's back to Texas! People have been asking me a lot lately if I am ready to come home and I have been thinking about that. The answer is yes, I am ready to come home, but it is not because I am sick of Omaha or missing Texas too much. Instead, it is because I feel very satisfied that my time here has been incredibly productive and I have a healthy excitement about bringing that back with me. And that is a cool feeling.

Overall, this week wasn't too bad. I had a tough couple of days landscaping on Wednesday and Thursday. The last day, I spent the entire 8-5 mowing out in the blazing sun and got moderately dehydrated. I still don't feel 100% back together from that yet, but this weekend has been full of resting and I am thankful that I had the opportunity for that. This morning, Bob continued his sermon series on The Church. Today's message was about church discipline. He began by making the point that as a culture, we have a simplistic view of sin. We see it as something that requires external action and that it is always visible rather than something that is bent within our soul. Our culture wants to think that we are born innocent and learn bad things from the circumstances surrounding us. Bob posed this example as a point against that theory: we never have to teach our kids how to be bad. They already know how to do that. The effort is put into teaching them how to behave and act according to the Gospel. We are not born innocent like our culture wants us to believe. And the Bible confirms this (Ephesians 2:3; Psalm 51:5). Again, we see an example of how the Gospel is a contrarian to the voice of the world in which we live.

Hebrews 3:12-13 tells us that sin is deceitful and that it can harden our hearts. On this note, Bob suggested that we should not be offended by confrontation from others about our sins because sometimes they may not even be visible to us. He then transitioned to his sermon text, Matthew 18:15-17, in order to illustrate how we as Christians are to approach church discipline by means of the Gospel.
Step 1 - Approach your "brother" in private (vs. 15) remembering that Galatians 6:1 calls us to restore our brother gently.
Step 2 - Have conversation again with two or three spiritually wise people as witnesses (vs. 16). Because, as Proverbs 18:17 promises, there are always two sides to every story.
Step 3 - Take the issue to the church (vs. 17) and by church, this means the members and the elders of the church.
Step 4 - If they do not respond to any of these efforts, we are called to treat them as Gentiles or tax collectors (vs. 17). This does not mean we cast them out or ignore them because the final goal in the Galatians passage is restoration. Rather, what is meant is that we treat them as non-Christians. Those who believe in Christ are new creations and their actions should reflect that. Christians repent of sin. They do not ignore it. By becoming a Christian, our conduct thereafter reflects Jesus and not us. Therefore, by living in unrepentant sin, we say that Christ, his death on the cross, and the Gospel are in line with and approve of unrepentant sin.

This passage from Matthew makes it clear that church discipline is meant to be relational. Not simply an accusation that expects repentance, but a joint pursuit of restoration. Because sin is deceptive, we are not always totally aware of our sins. We need biblical community and we need to welcome confrontation and discipline. We should never be ashamed or filled with guilt because of our sins because it is by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and not by our own works that God smiles upon us. Everything was taken care of on the cross. Our job is to embrace that.

Before I end, I have to make note of a very significant point. At the beginning of the summer, I was given a very important responsibility by the church staff that was my top priority for the entire time I was here: build a pulley for the missional community leader party that happened last night which would allow beer to be raised to the balcony where the hamburgers were being grilled by the cook. To be honest, I never took this idea seriously. It sounded a little ridiculous to me. But in the end, it happened. Last night, Kendal and I successfully pieced together a pulley that not only raised beer to the balcony, but also allowed food to be lowered down to the hungry attendees. It got a solid two hours of use by everyone. And the kids there loved it. Below is a video interview by Kendal of me and Lane Freemyer (the brownie guy from my last entry) in which I am given an official Coram Deo letter grade for my efforts. And for all it's worth, in hindsight I am glad that I fulfilled my duty. It turned out to be really funny to watch everyone using it.

Oh, and I made my first mark in my new Bible today. It was a difficult decision because it was so clean and crisp. But it had to be done...I highlighted my favorite verse: Isaiah 49:16.

Sweet and Sorrow

Though I still have twelve days to spend here in Omaha before my summer comes to an official close, last night gave me my first taste of the finality of my time here. Will Walker, the associate pastor, is leaving tomorrow morning for Dallas and a few other areas of Texas where he will be for the next couple of weeks. So last night was the last chance I had to spend time with him this summer. A few of us guys got together over at his house and sat out in the driveway talking away the time. I feel very fortunate to have spent the time with Will that I did this summer. He has helped me to learn some of the most profound lessons of my summer and has been a visible example of the importance of digging into the Gospel. He has challenged me in a lot of ways and I feel like our time together was invaluable. It's never fun to say goodbye, but he and I are both going to end up in the same place one day. Whether that is in this life or the next, it's not for me to say. I will be in contact with him in the next couple of weeks though because he has assigned me to an exhaustive study of the book of Colossians, which has been awesome so far.

Yesterday also turned out to be a prime example of the antics that occur in the Coram Deo office. There are certain days of the week which exist under certain terms with everyone at the office. Monday is not complete if it's not Chips and Salsa Monday. Just as Tuesday only exists as Baked Goods Tuesday. And somehow, for some reason, random members of the church come by throughout the day and bring us muffins, cookies, apple enchiladas, etc. However, this time around was a first for us all. A guy who drops by often decided to make three different brownie recipes and bring them into the office in order for us to all have a taste test that would determine which one is the best. In theory, this sounds simple. But it took us nearly an hour to properly identify and debate our thoughts on the taste, texture, and tastiness of each batch of brownies. I had absolutely no complaints though. Brownies are by far my favorite homemade dessert. And I don't do sweets often, but this was a day of days. We never eat breakfast on Baked Goods Tuesday. And despite times of serious doubt and worry, God always provides for us in the form of sweet baked delights.

I had a guy ask me the other day, "What has been the weirdest thing for you about coming to Omaha?" At the time, nothing necessarily struck me as being weird or out of place. But in hindsight, I have picked up on a couple of things which I believe to be worth noting. Especially for those of you who have never been to Nebraska. It may or may not give you motivation for a visit. First of all, nobody refers to a carbonated beverage as a "soda." Rather, it is called a "pop." No matter how many times I hear the term being used, it never quite clicks for me. I always have to double take at someone when they ask me,
"Would you like a pop?"
"Um, no...OH! A soda..."
Secondly, there is no TEX MEX IN OMAHA. Instead, they have some wildly unsuccessful concoction called West Mex. I can tell you that one of the most exciting things for me about getting back to Texas is that I am going to gorge myself at my favorite Tex Mex locations and thank the Lord for blessing Texas so richly with the ability to make far superior Mexican food than even Mexico itself.

The last observation I have made about Omaha is that people here are obsessed with personalized license plates. I don't know who decided to introduce those to Nebraskans, but they are making a killing. If you don't believe me, here is my proof: I was working on a landscaping job today and got into a conversation about this with one of my co-workers. We decided to test my observation on the ride back to the shop from the job site. During this said ride, which lasted twenty-five minutes, we saw sixteen personalized license plates. 16 plates in 25 minutes. That's basically 1 and 1/2 every single minute. I don't know what is going on with those plates, but they certainly seem appealing for some reason. Maybe somebody tied balloons to them or something...

I do have something theologically relevant to write about though. Don't you worry! I listened to a sermon earlier this week by Dr. Timothy Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan discussing the legitimacy of the Bible. The deeper I dig into my faith, the more I am realizing that this is a question that people talk about constantly back in Austin. Students always try to invalidate the entire legitimacy of the Bible because they have not seen any physical evidence of Noah's ark, because it was written by men, or because there is just no way that Jesus really was God. Of course, that is all speculation, but I am finding that even though I don't agree with those arguments I do not have an answer for them. Keller's audience has consistently been full of skeptics so I consider him quite an expert on any apologetic issues. His sermon challenged that you can believe in the legitimacy of the Bible in three different ways: historically, culturally, and personally.

His three points historically were that:
1 - The New Testament was written too early to simply be a legend. The opening statements of Luke claimed that he consulted eyewitness of Jesus in order that his gospel be true and believe with confidence. Similarly, Paul's letters began only 15-20 years after the death of Christ and he also cites his interaction with eyewitnesses to in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
2 - The New Testament is too counter-productive to be a legend. Because if the leaders of the church simply wrote a fiction about the life and death of Jesus, they certainly would have made him look better. They would have taken out the part where he cries out to his Father asking why he has forsaken him. Also, they would have made themselves look better. The religious leaders in the Bible are CONSTANTLY being verbally thrashed by Christ and are made to look like legalistic fools time and time again. And last of all, they would have taken out the account of Jesus' resurrection as having been first discovered by women, who were not even considered for valid testimony in court at the time, instead of men.
3 - The New Testament is too detailed to be a legend. This was C.S. Lewis' problem. There was no such thing as our modern fiction novel back then which makes things seem very realistic and current with cultural reality. Fiction of the time was something like Beowulf which was easy and simple to simply relegate to the genre of fiction. But that legend alone is drastically different from the Gospel. And no fiction of that time begins in the same way as the gospel of Luke.

His three points on believing culturally were:
1 - Consider that when you are reading the Bible and it says something you don't like that in fact you are not comprehending its teaching as something it is really teaching. For example, we read through the Old Testament and see polygamy acted upon over and over again without God ever intervening or laying down a law to kill those men. And therefore we think God must think polygamy is okay and we are offended by this fact. But a closer reading says something different. Genesis overturns these traditions consistently as it wreaks havoc on the families thereafter. Abraham, Gideon, David, and Solomon are all underscored examples of this. Similarly, the ancient patriarchal traditions are overturned as well. God consistently chooses the younger son over the older one.
2 - Consider that you are misunderstanding what it is teaching because of your cultural blinders. For example, many people today think that the Bible condones slavery when in fact it does not. Our idea of slavery stems from that of our own country's historical stigma. Whereas slavery in biblical times was more like that of indentured servitude. The book of Philemon is an example of this.
3 - Consider the unexamined assumption of the superiority of your cultural moment. If you react to something as being archaic, outdated, and lacking progress culturally, what in the world gives you the right to assume that your culture is right in everything it does? For example, individualistic societies, like our own, love scripture about forgiveness but struggle with restraints on sex. But if you take those same two things to the Middle East, the restrictions on sex will probably not be strict enough and the idea of forgiveness will seem absurd. Why should your cultural sensibilities trump everyone elses? Similarly, if the Bible is truly the divinely inspired word of God who exists in perfection outside of any society, shouldn't it gain credibility by the fact that every culture across the world has issues with Scripture in some form or manner?

Lastly, he tackled it personally:
1 - In Luke 24:25-27, Jesus points out to these men that they are misinterpreting the Bible. The reason for their misunderstanding is that they are believing the Scripture to be about them and not about Jesus. It is all about Jesus, not us. God did not come to Moses because he was a good man. He did it to express his grace in humanity. Stop reading the Bible like it is about you (like a lecture) and start reading it like it is about Christ (like a sermon).
2 - It is all-authoritative. Therefore, there will be conflict. In a personal relationship, there has to be conflict for it to be healthy. Without this element with God, he is basically a "Stepford God" who does whatever we ask and has no authority. Jesus had the greatest relationship with God and he submitted to Scripture fully as God and man.

I thought the sermon was fantastic. He spoke about the New Testament most of the time, but said this same line of argument could be used to give credibility to all of the Old Testament as well not only because of New Testament references, but because Jesus himself quoted, believed, and lived out the Old Testament with every bit of his life.

Sorry for the long post. And I'm sorry if I offended any Nebraskans. I enjoyed this post!!

"When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk, you'll end up as the Pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."
- Pablo Picasso

Rewind: Week Six

I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago, thanks entirely to my father who booked a flight for me (THANKS!), and spend the weekend with Brittany. It was easily the best weekend I have had this summer. I have been to Chicago once before, but this past weekend revealed to me how truly awesome a city it is. I loved it. But more than anything, it was a time of Brittany sharing with me everything she has been doing this summer. And that was special for both of us.

My flight arrived in Chicago around 10:00 Friday morning. Brittany picked me up and from there we drove to the University of Chicago campus in order to see the lab where she has been working and to meet some of the other students employed there. But first, we made a stop at a nearby coffee shop. I believe the name was Medici Bakery. And I have to say, there I purchased the best cold brew coffee I have ever had. Plus, according to every single staff shirt, President Obama has eaten there at least once. What more can you ask for in a bakery? We then walked over to the University of Chicago where Brittany showed me around the campus. It was beautiful. Almost every building was covered in ivy and looked like something straight out of the movies. I got to see the office where Brittany works and met a few of her colleagues there. After that, we picked up some sandwiches at a nearby deli and went down to the lake shore nearby where we had a great view of the city while eating next to the water. I was a little bit of a party pooper Friday though because I had a bad headache due, more than likely, to the fact that I had slept an average of four and a half hours the previous three nights. So we spent most of the day resting at the house and then finished the night at an excellent italian restaurant in downtown Wheaton.

On Saturday, we got an early start and ate breakfast at a little cafe also located in Wheaton. The food was great and they even had strawberry orange juice. Delicious. After breakfast, we hopped on the train and went to downtown Chicago. It was beautiful. I had no idea how much I would like being in the midst of that city. Our first destination was Millennium Park which was sweet. There was this big, strange, shiny thing that captivates all of humanity in visual proximity called The Bean. It was beautiful outside so walking around was not uncomfortable in the least. Next up, we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. It was not a planned stop on our itinerary, but both of us ended up being very glad that we checked it out. They have some beautiful paintings there, including my favorite of all. We saw Van Goghs, Monets, Cezannes, and Picassos. It is a great museum.

One of the best moments of the day came later that evening. Brittany has been raving about this pizza place in Chicago known for its deep dish pizza. It's called Giordano's. Being the skeptic I am and having been spoiled by the pizza in Rome, I naturally had my doubts. But this pizza was AMAZING. I cannot say it was better than Roman pizza, but it was easily second place and very healthy competition for the top spot on my favorites list. They will mail a pizza to your house if you are interested! The last stop of the day was Navy Pier. People were everywhere there and we did not get a chance to ride the ferris wheel because of the line. We would not have made it back to the train in time if we stuck around. But sitting on the water, staring at the Chicago skyline and watching boats drift around was the perfect end to the evening. It was beautiful there.

Also, I saw Juwan Howard walking on the sidewalk Saturday evening. Pretty cool.

Sunday, Brittany brought me to the church she has been attending since coming to Chicago. It is called Wheaton Bible Church. Our pastor back in Austin recommended it to her. I was very impressed. The pastor, Rob Bugh, was preaching on 1 Peter 4:12-19. And we did not hear a self-esteem gospel or a comfort gospel. We heard the Gospel. He made it plain that 1 Peter was not about how to live comfortably or stress-free, but how to endure trial and suffering. Because it is bound to enter into the life of a Christian. The sermon talked about Peter's strategy for us in suffering that says not to panic or be surprised by suffering (vs. 12), rejoice in it (vs. 13), do not be ashamed of Jesus (vs. 16), and in all things trust and obey him (vs. 19). Our strength in suffering does not come by our own means or efforts, but rather from God himself who carries us through our trials. I am very thankful that God placed Brittany in such close proximity to the church. She has been plugged into the Gospel and gotten to meet some really neat people during her time there this summer.

The flight home was a little rough. That is one huge drawback about traveling alone. Getting there is easy. But returning after having such a great trip with someone you really care about is difficult because all you can do is reflect. But it was worth it. We will be back in Austin soon enough.

In fact, I only have two more weeks to go! It is amazing how quickly time flies these days. I distinctly remember my parents telling me when I was younger that the older you get, the faster the moments go by. But being a child, naturally I did not listen to them. I find it hard to believe that I have already been in Omaha for six weeks, but when I look back at this blog and my journal I have packed in more learning and more growth than I ever expected to be granted before this all began. I love these weekly rewind entries because they allow me to reflect on the grace God has bestowed on me in the past week. However, my description of that grace can never simply be compartmentalized into the past week because it is generally tied to a greater internal heart change that the Lord is bringing to my life. The most profound learning experience I have had so far has been the process of receiving and experiencing the Gospel through the perspective of receiving gifts. The great part about the things God teaches us is that they are never one-sided. And I have loved seeing how God has used me in learning this aspect of the Gospel by sharing it with others.

This past weekend was a prime example. Since Brittany does not have a paid internship, she is on a very fixed budget this summer. The same goes for me, but certain financial circumstances allowed me to splurge on her this weekend and I was able to pay for some great meals and experiences for both of us that kept her from draining her bank account and allowed us to see more than we expected to see. For those of you who know me well, you know I am cheap. But I have been pressed on that a lot this summer. Because in reality, being cheap or storing up money does not do anything but make you comfortable. There is no eternal reward for having a full bank account. And as much as I have made myself believe that in the past, I found so much more comfort in spending money on Brittany and our memories in Chicago this weekend than I ever have before in simply putting it in my bank account. Granted, I like to be comfortable and I like to be safe. But there is no better feeling than putting a smile on her face over and over again like I was able to this past weekend. We receive gifts not to give them away, but to receive Christ more profoundly so that we might be better at giving to others.

That's about it for this week. I posted a bunch of pictures from Chicago on Facebook. You can view them in the album link below. Also, I am posting the video I took from the Sick Puppies show I went to last week. Thank you for your prayers for me over the summer. I have seen some amazing things happen in my life and I hope that they continue in the last two weeks I am here.

Until next time...

Chicago Photo Album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=96173&id=661918786&l=38befd0803

"The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to the person whose life is not." – Charles H. Spurgeon

In The End All You Were Was a Pawn In The Show

I know you are all just waiting to hear what I think about the new Project 86 album, so here you go...I think it's AWESOME. I don't think the lyrics are nearly as deep as some of their previous albums, but it is still solid overall. The first song on the album is called Destroyer and I love it. Here are the lyrics:

Ready yourself for the end
Ready yourself cause you cannot pretend
Ready yourself for the late, for the great
The Destroyer’s surrounded and cannot defend

The lives that you thought that were yours to devour
Destroyer, the tables have turned in this hour
The plagues you unleashed, every vice that you fed
Shall be visited here tenfold on your head

Let go
Cause you know
In the end all you were was a pawn in the show

Witness the fear of the fiends
Open the floodgates, behold and believe
Witness the pain, let it rain on the beast
For the serpent is slain in a blaze of defeat

And the Sick Puppies show was sweet. I have a video that I will try to post on my next entry.

Luke 19:11-27 has been on my mind a lot for the past few days. I think it is a striking parable that, in my mind, makes plain what exactly is our responsibility as Christians. It also plays into the topic of God's sovereignty vs. man's works which I wrote about in my last post. The parable is an illustration of judgment day. The "man" or "nobleman" in the parable is Jesus himself who came to a "distant country," or earth, in order to "have himself appointed king" and then return. This is a picture of Christ's crucifixion through which he set his kingdom on earth, rose again three days later, and returned to heaven. And because the Gospel extends to our lives today, I believe that it is also a picture of conversion. Through his death, we enter into a relationship that allows us to spend eternity with him.

Verses 15-27 concern the return of Christ and his judgment in light of verse 13 which signifies the Great Commission, our calling to make a spiritual profit with the tools God has given to us in his grace. The first two servants of the passage present themselves before the Lord having invested wisely by making a profit for the King with the materials he left them. In response, he gives them authority in his kingdom. In verse 20, the mood shifts to the unfaithful servant. He has accepted the gift of salvation and done nothing but sit on it. And then he makes a shallow excuse for his actions by claiming his fear of God's wrath as the reason for his lack of movement. Christ's response is a condemnation of him in light of his own words. For if he had truly been afraid of the wrath of God, he would have at least placed his gift of life in a place that would have drawn interest for the King's return.

What the parable implies is that there is more to a relationship with Christ than simply asking him into our hearts. There is an element of works that we are called to fulfill. When we become believes, our perspective towards our possessions should change. We should realize that everything we have is a gift from God as evidence of his grace. Our money, our food, our education, our job, and our friends and family should be evidence in our lives of God's glory. They are not to be things by which we grow amused, entertained, and complacent. Nor are they things by which we are to pursue personal and worldly profit. But rather, they are things by which we pursue a spiritual profit in our own lives by pursuing Christ and in the lives of others by sharing that pursuit with them. The first two servants of this parable did not invest their gifts and make a profit for themselves, but for Christ. The wicked servant never got past conversion. He never understood that being a Christian is the pursuing of a relationship. It is not an accomplishment in which we glory ourselves. The end of the parable says that those who have, in context meaning those who pursue spiritual profit, will be given more. Whereas those who have not, those who do not pursue spiritual profit, will have everything taken from them. And lastly, those who oppose the King will be slaughtered before him, or thrown into hell.

This is a picture of Christ's return and his judgment of our works in this life. The question we should be asking is this: Am I living out the Gospel and pursuing spiritual profit in such a way that on Judgment Day I might be considered a good servant? Or will I be found to be a wicked servant having done nothing but waste what was before me? This should create in us a drive to allow God to accomplish victory in and through our lives. Because we will be found lacking in righteousness when we stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives. But will we also be found disobedient? Being a Christian is not about being complacent. It is a pursuit. Not an accomplishment.

On Friday, I am going to visit Brittany in Chicago. I am really excited to go there and spend some time with her. It's going to be a great weekend. I am REALLY tired right now though and I have a full day of landscaping in the sun tomorrow. So pray for me to find some time to get some rest between now and Friday morning. Lastly, here is another C.S. Lewis quote from Surprised By Joy that I cannot get out of my mind. Simply amazing.

You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words "compelle intrare," compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.
(Page 228-229, Brace & World Inc., New York)

Rewind: Week Five

I am five weeks into my time in Omaha today. Only three weeks to go. This has been a pretty solid week overall though. Last night, a group of guys that I have been going through a Bible study with got together at a sweet Mongolian Bar-B-Que restaurant here in Omaha called Hu Hot. We had a great time together. It served as the closing of the Bible study as we finished the material the previous week. I have a picture of us at the end of the post. They are all neat men. Friday marked the one year anniversary for Brittany and I since we began dating last summer. I can't believe how quickly that time flew by, but we have made some really good memories together on which we can reflect. And I'm looking forward to many more in the future. One of them will be this upcoming weekend as I will be flying to Chicago to spend a few days with her. We will also be celebrating our anniversary there. I'll be sure to update on that after I get back.

Also on Friday, I started the book, Surprised By Joy, which is C.S. Lewis' autobiographical account of his conversion from atheism to Christianity. I finished it yesterday because I couldn't put it down. He has quite a story beginning with a rocky road down radically legalistic Christianity that emboldened him to embrace evolutionary humanism and then atheism. But when he arrived at Cambridge, a series of relationships, including one with J.R.R. Tolkein, began to chip away at his walls. What was most interesting to me is that the bulk of his journey to embracing Christ came through internal conversation. His atheistic mindset began to war with his background in medieval literature and the significance it had in his views of the Bible. As much as he wanted to disregard the Christian faith, or more specifically the Bible, as being fable and fiction, certain markers, such as geneolgies and descriptive markers of historical context, forced him to believe that it was more than mere fiction. This quote is amazing:

I was by now too experienced in liteary criticism to regard the Gospels as myths. They had not the mythical taste. and yet the very matter which they set down in their artless, historical fashion - those narrow, unattractive Jews, too blind to the mythical wealth of the Pagan world around them - was precisely the matter of the great myths. If ever a myth had become fact, had been incarnated, it would be just like this. And nothing else in all literature was just like this. Myths were like it in one way. Histories were like it in another. But nothing was simply like it. And no person was like the Person depicted; as real, as recognizable, through all that depth of time, as Plato's Socrates or Boswell's Johnson (ten times more so than Eckermann's Goethe or Lockhart's Scott), yet also numinous, lit by a light from beyond the world, a god. But if a god - we are no longer polytheists - then not a god, but God. Here and here only in all time the myth must have become fact; the Word, flesh; God, Man. This is no "a religion," nor "a philosophy." It is the summing up and actuality of them all.
(Page 236, Brace & World Inc., New York)

Isn't that awesome? Leading up to this point, his hatred for the Bible and Christianity forced him to study and search for a reason which explained why he held this hatred and instead brought him to the Truth. In his mind, he toiled with his desire for control of his destiny and the shaping of his soul. He wanted to exist in a world that allowed him to act as his own god. Before his conversion, one of the thoughts that pierced his soul came during a debate in a pub with Tolkein in which he told Lewis that the Bible is "a true myth." On a morning after many such debates with his friend, he and his brother were traveling to a nearby zoo for a visit on a historic day for Lewis, about which he quotes:

When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.
(Page 237, Brace & World Inc., New York)

In spite of his deep desire to exist in solitude spiritually, God never let him get away. The product: probably the greatest modern Christian philosopher our world has seen. I highly recommend the book. It is a phenomenal story. This morning, Nathan and Shelby's son, Zachary, was dedicated in church along with six other children from the congregation. I took a video of the dedication in the second service, which will be at the end of this post, but I was not able to record Zachary's dedication because Nathan and Shelby asked me to come to the front and stand with them as Bob prayed over all of the children and their parents before officially dedicating them to the Body of Christ. I was an exciting time for the Bliss family and I was very happy to have been a part of it. This was also the first Sunday in which Bob has preached since I arrived in Omaha. He started a four week series on the church today and preached on the significance of leadership in the church and how we are commanded to submit and obey biblical leadership. The text he used was Hebrews 13:17 which calls us to "obey your leaders and submit to their authority." On this point, Bob addressed how most of us struggle with this idea for two big reasons:
1 - Sin
2 - Our culture which believes in humanism, or man being the final authority. Therefore, he led with this thesis: Our issue is not with church leadership, but rather unqualified church leadership. The Bible does not call us to submit blindly. It commands that we obey qualified leadership whom Hebrews says, "must give an account." Our lives in general reveal this truth to us because anything we learn to do well is done by submitting to qualified authority. A child learns to play baseball by submitting to the teaching of a qualified coach. A musician learns his instrument by submitting to a qualified instructor. This must be the same approach we take with church leadership. Bob said that we become obedient and submissive people through three things:
1 - Acknowledging the holiness of God. Scripture is not a suggestion and therefore submission is a command.
2 - Acknowledging our unwillingness and inability in light of our sins. We are deeply selfish people.
3 - Filling our minds with Jesus and his sacrifice. In coming into our world, he submitted himself to corrupt and misled worldly authority in order to forgive us for our own rebellious nature.
We must be transformed through a relationship with Jesus and not through self-maintenance. In approaching leadership, we should always remember that the Bible is the highest authority by which we are to keep leaders accountable and that the Gospel is central to our lives. It should be applied to leaders continually. But even leaders do not have the final authority. Only Jesus has the final authority. It was a great sermon and is probably worth listening to on their podcast on iTunes.

Before I close, two exciting things about Tuesday:
1 - Project 86, one of my favorite bands, has a new album coming out Tuesday. It is called Picket Fence Cartel and it has the potential to be amazing. Check out the trailer below.
2 - I was given a ticket to see Sick Puppies live for the release show of their new album. It should be awesome and I am very excited. I am having live rock concert withdrawals at the moment. So this should be a good fix for me.

I will leave you with another C.S. Lewis quote. If you do not love him yet, just give me some time with you. I am great at brainwashing people on Lewis. Just ask Nathan Bliss...

When we are lost in the woods the sight of a signpost is a great matter. He who first sees it cries, "Look!" The whole party gathers round and stares. But when we have found the road and are passing signposts every few miles, we shall not stop and stare. They will encourage us and we shall be grateful to the authority that set them up. But we shall not stop and stare, or not much; not on this road, though their pillars are of silver and their lettering of gold. "We would be at Jerusalem."

Not, of course, that I don't often catch myself stopping to stare at roadside objects of even less importance.
(Page 238, Brace & World Inc., New York)

A Work In Progress

As I stated in my first post of this blog, the reason I am serving as an intern for Coram Deo this summer is because of a mission trip in which I came with a group to Omaha and spent a week here with the church. One of my favorite things that happened during that week was something Coram Deo calls "Film and Theology Night." Will Walker, the associate pastor, is a movie freak. He loves watching them, talking about them, thinking about them. It's great. However, I would say that the way in which he approaches this outlet of culture is very different from most people. When God created us, he created everything about us - including our passions, interests, and desires. Will has really taken this to heart. Since one of his passions is watching movies, he wants to do that in a way that glorifies God. And since we are all a part of God's story, beginning with Adam and extending to today, no matter the story being told we can't help but incorporate glimpses of the Gospel into our thinking regardless of whether or not we are Christians. So the idea of the Film and Theology Night is to watch a movie that is popular within our culture and talk about it in terms of the Gospel. What moved us in the movie? And why? What type of questions did it raise about meaning, growth, life, etc? What elements of the movie exemplify Creation, Fall, and Redemption? Was there a Christ figure? And how did he/she play out or distort the Gospel?

Last night, we watched Juno and then talked about all of the Gospel implications within the movie. And it got really deep. Will put in a lot of thought and time in preparation for the discussion and I thought it was awesome. As sad as it may be, movies are becoming in some sense the new pulpit of America. And they speak loudly. But too often, as Christians, we get caught up in our own legalism and shun the idea of viewing a "bad" movie. Our justification might be that there is too much violence (Old Testament?), there is magic, there is too much language, or maybe because it is rated "R," unless of course it's a movie about the Passion of Christ. The truth of the matter is that the Bible does not call us to see the bad things in life and run away from them, but to engage them by testing everything and embracing what is good. I'm not saying that everyone should begin watching the worst movies possible in order to engage people about them. Because this is not simply about movies. It is about every part of culture including music, books, politics, etc. This is the world in which we live and though we are aliens here, we are called to do God's will. And part of that is this:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is you spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will."
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

It is not about a particular set of rules because that is not the Gospel. Rather, we should saturate our minds so fully with Christ, his sacrifice, and his promise so that we might approach our culture in a way that is meaningful in order that Christ might become visible in every part of our lives. And we cannot do this by passively interacting with culture, or in this case, passively watching a movie. But we must be actively observing the Gospel in every arena in order to share it with others. Isn't that a cool idea??

During my time reading through Scripture this summer and venturing through the Old Testament for the first serious time in my life, I am realizing how mysterious the Bible really is. It is easy to look at it on a surface level of contrasting the Old Testament to the New Testament and believe that they say two different things. But in reality, they are both either pointing to or telling the story of the same thing - Jesus Christ. The challenge is working through these "paradoxes" in order to embrace the Truth of the Gospel. I think this is the beauty of it as well. This summer, I challenged myself on working through these issues, some of them I have already posted about. Especially about finding God's grace in the midst of his wrath. Because it does exist and it is lazy to simply say that the Old Testament is all wrath whereas the New Testament is all love. But we find those extremes incredibly appealing to embrace because they are easy to settle on and do not require much work or thought in pursuing the truth of the matter. Another issue that has been on my mind lately is that of the works of man in light of God's sovereignty over all things. Because the Bible tells us two things about this issue:

1 - There is no amount work I can do to gain, earn, or deserve salvation. (Isaiah 64:6)
2 - Faith without works is dead (James 2:17-26)

Am I the only one confused by this? I heard Chandler preach a sermon about this recently and he broke it down this way. Everything was created by God. Mankind, the earth, the heavens, everything. Therefore, everything in our world belongs to God. Our money, our house, our cars, our television sets, everything. And he has blessed us with "things" so that we might make visible our worship of Christ and his sacrifice through them. God gave us wine so that we might drink it in a way that glorifies him and does not make us alcoholics. God gave us money so that we might spend it, donate it, give it in a way that glorifies him and does not cause us to become greedy and materialistic. God gave us sex so that we might engage in it in a way that glorifies him and does not trample on his creation or belittle it through lust. As John Piper would say, God gives us things so that we might use them "in such a way that it is plain to the world they are not our treasure. Christ is."

What this means to me is that the "works" James is speaking of are not defined by the materialistic item involved. Rather, they are defined by the ways in which we use those things. And I think this even applies to religious action. If we commit to reading the Bible daily for the sake of memorizing more verses or because we know that we should do it, then that is the wrong approach. However, if we commit to reading it daily in order that we might come to know Jesus more intimately and grow in our relationship with him, we will do just that. The same goes for prayer. If we commit to regular prayer for the sake of the action itself, it means nothing. But if we commit with the holiness of God as our motivation, it means everything. I was talking to Kendal about this recently and he gave me some good insight into how all of this works. We do not grow in our commitment to something like reading the Bible daily. Rather, we grow out of this action by preparing ourselves in such a way that God might open our eyes to Truth and renew us spiritually. John Ortberg gives a great analogy for all of this which Kendal also told me about recently:

You may be wondering, "What about God's role in spiritual growth?" To speak of spiritual growth only as the product of training could make it sound like something that can be engineered.

Think of the difference between piloting a motorboat and a sailboat. I can run a motorboat all by myself. All I have to do is start the engine. I am in control. But a sailboat is a different story. I can hoist the sails. I can steer with the rudder. But I am utterly dependent on the wind. My job is simply to do those things that will enable me to catch the wind when it comes.

Spiritual transformation is like piloting a sailboat. I can open myself to it through certain practices, but I cannot engineer the wind. When it comes, it is a kind of gift. Seeing this saves me from pride and from the wrong kind of effort. Wise sailors know their main task is to be able to read the wind, to learn to raise and lower particular sails to catch the wind most effectively. They know when to stay on the existing course and when to set a new one.

So it is with the spiritual disciplines. Our job is to creatively and wisely engage in those activities that will give God a chance to work in our life. This can look different in different seasons of our lives. We can put up the sails and adjust them as needed. But what happens is up to God.

I think this is a beautiful picture by which we can learn how to find spiritual renewal. When we say that we will read the Bible more or pray more in order to become better Christians, we are defining ourselves as the source of spiritual growth rather than God. Religiosity does nothing to cleanse the condition of the heart. Because our righteous acts are like filthy rags before the Lord. John 3:8 says,

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

This means that the Holy Spirit within the believers of God has a will of its own. We do not know its origin or its destination. But what we can do is commit to the Gospel and its calling in order to be prepared for God to move your heart where he pleases. We move most steadily with the wind when we have worked, built, and prepared our sailboat in such a way that it is ready for the wind to carry it.

I will leave you with this passage which has been on my mind a lot lately:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"
Matthew 7:21-23

People do good things in this world, but good things do not justify you before the Lord. Works do not justify you before the Lord because everything we use to commit to action already belongs to God and does not allow any room for us to build righteousness that is not already his. Our works produce pride and self-righteousness. Not salvation. We are hopeless to do anything on our own. It is by God's grace alone that we have beating hearts with which to function here and now. As this passage makes clear, there is more to faith than simply conversion. After we enter into our relationship with Christ, he has a purpose for us. And that purpose is to use the material riches God gives us in order to make a spiritual profit in our lives and in the lives of others, not a worldly one.

Rewind: Week Four

Sorry. I am a day late on my weekly "rewind," but it has been a very busy week. As I am writing this, I can't help but think about the past few day full of fireworks, farmer's markets, a trip to the zoo, and spending time with my girlfriend. Brittany flew into town on Friday and we were given the opportunity to spend the weekend exploring Omaha together. I was very excited to have her here as she was finally able to meet all of the people with whom I am interacting on a daily basis. If you have been keeping up with my blog posts so far, you know that this has been a convicting summer for me during which I have learned so much and to finally share that with Brittany was very special for me.

On Friday, Brittany and I grabbed breakfast together, stopped by the Coram Deo office and hung out with Justin, Kendal, and Will for a little while. The weather wasn't so agreeable that day so we ended up spending most of the day watching movies at the Bliss' house. But it was good to have a low-key day to catch up and spend time with one another because it had been six weeks since we last saw one another. On Saturday, she and I drove down to the weekly farmer's market that is held in a large parking lot in downtown Omaha every weekend. We purchased quite a few goodies that played predominant roles in the fantastic dinner that Brittany pretty much made by herself while I stumbled around the kitchen acting like I knew what I was doing. We also went to the Omaha zoo Saturday afternoon which was a lot of fun. It is huge and we spent over five hours walking around the complex without seeing every exhibit. But we enjoyed ourselves. Saturday night, we were invited over to Justin's house to watch a fireworks show his neighbor does every year. I swear, this guy had to have spent somewhere around $5,000 if not more on everything that he blew up. And for a pyrotechnic like myself, it was a dream come true. I will have a video sample of the show at the end of this post.

Yesterday, I was able to bring Brittany to the Coram Deo service so that she could finally get to see what I am involving myself with this summer. I was given the responsibility of making the call to worship again this week and that went well. Justin was preaching on prayer from the text Matthew 6:5-15, the Lord's Prayer. He prefaced his message with the warnings found in the text leading up to the prayer itself. We are called by God not to be hypocrites, like the Pharisees, or like the pagans who pray with many words. His sermon pointed out the fact that the Lord's prayer is not a script that we should use in order to talk to God word for word, but rather it is a guideline by which we approach God in prayer recognizing who he is and reminding ourselves of his truth in the process. We begin by approaching God in prayer as if we are speaking to our Father. In light of the Old Testament, this is a new way of relating to him because he was never addressed this way until Christ came and died for us. Therefore, we know that when Jesus died on the cross, he created for us a new connection with God through which we have been allowed to enter into an extremely personal and loving relationship with him.

The second portion of our prayers should be concerned with God's kingdom manifesting itself in our lives and our world. Prayer should not be about our will and our desire, but rather prayer should be driven out of a motivation to get our will in alignment with God's will so that our efforts in life will not be wasted. And lastly, we ask God for his daily provision, forgiveness, and protection in our lives. Often times we forget how personal and intimate an interaction with God prayer can be due to the fact that the approval of other people either keeps us from praying or causes us to try and rehearse our words beforehand so that we don't sound stupid. But it's not about sounding smart or knowledgeable. It's about being honest. In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable of two men who entered the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee gave God the glory for everything that he had been given in his life: obedience to the law, a positive reputation, and status above others - including the tax collector. Whereas the tax collector could not even lift his head to the heavens and instead beat his chest and cried out to God for a merciful response to his sinful nature. And in the end, Jesus tells us that only the tax collector went home justified. Justin did a great job with his sermon digging into a message that we overlook far too often.

After my call to worship in the second service, Brittany and I left and relaxed at the Bliss' house until it was time to leave for the airport. And I have to admit, I did not like that drive to the airport or going through the process of watching her leave for Chicago again. Six weeks is a long time to be apart. I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to receive a hug from her. Or to kiss her. Or to hold her hand. But when I saw her coming out of that gate on Friday, it hit me all over again. When she saw me and literally sprinted into my arms, I remembered. This was the best weekend I have had this summer by far. I am so thankful that Brittany was able to visit and I am so thankful for the ways God is using her in my life to motivate me in becoming a better man.

Oh, and on a side note, I feel a responsibility in being honest with all of you about something. I cannot say that I am necessarily excited about doing this, but I am very comfortable with my reasons for doing it. This past week, I was trying to think of a good act of service that I could do for Brittany over the summer since I really have no way of being in close proximity to her physically and I think God stepped in and gave me this suggestion. I begged him on end to let me do anything else, but decided it was probably the most significant act I could do right now...that being said, I have begun reading the Twilight series. And I am doing it for one reason. L-O-V-E. How are you going to criticize me for that???? ;-)

Peace

J. Tillman - Master's House

I have really been digging this song lately. And it is such a great representation of the Gospel. Love it.



You won't need a dime to board in the master's house
You won't need a dime to board in the master's house
'Cause he'll sell you a thousand for a hundred
And tell you the rest is on loan
Until you try to build a house of your own
You owe every crossbeam and stone
You won't need a dime

You won't need a tool to work in the master's field
You won't need a tool to work in the master's field
'Cause he'll tell you that work is beneath you
'Till your shirt is hanging off like a sheet
'Till suddenly the work of your hands
Is just keeping out of well-laid plans
You won't need a tool

You won't need a sin to pray in the master's church
You won't need a sin to pray in the master's church
Every reason he gives you to fall at his feet and be saved
For wars that his grandfathers waged
How easily the heart of man is tamed
You won't need a sin

You won't need a guide to find the master's door
You won't need a guide to find the master's door
'Cause everyone who's gone before you
Has been pounding it down to the floor
While we were plotting his end
He bought all our land and moved in
You won't need a guide

'Cause the master rules where the master divides