Part Two: Something's not right....

In college I heard hundreds of sermons. Most of them were good.... err.. for the most part. Most people would say, "At least the sermons came from the Bible, and we can be ok with that." Be ok with that? Folks! Just because someone is preaching from the Bible doesn't mean it's good preaching! Or proper preaching! Or biblical preaching! Ask yourself a question. Does the preaching you hear present Christ as the focal point of the subject or is He 'tacked' onto the end like the caboose of a train? Let me give you some stark examples. Ezekiel 22:30 says, "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." God is looking for someone to stand in the gap! He's looking for people to stand up for what is right! He's looking for someone to stand before Him on behalf of the land. Do you know how we can be that gap man? Check out: Romans 12:1-2 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." If we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God and being transformed by the renewing of our minds, we can do what is that Good and Acceptable and Perfect will of God! Yes. This sounds good. This sounds right. After all it's out of the Bible! ok - wait a moment. Who says we (Christians) stand in the gap?? I tell you - this is not right! Look at it; we're talking in 'moral' terms and 'tacking' Christ on the caboose - if at all! Earlier in chapter 22 God says that the people were defilers - basically. God then proceeds to say that He is looking for someone that can bridge the gap between Himself and man ("So I sought for a man 'among them' who would ... stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land"). Now tell me, what Christian can do that??? No one! Except Christ! If you look at verse 31, God says, "... I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have compensed their deeds on their own heads..." ok - Ask yourself this question: Did God pour out his wrath on anyone? yes He did, but not on the people. He poured it out on Christ! Christ is the one who stands in the GAP before God on behalf of the people! Now look at Romans 12:1-2 - How can we prove what is that Good and Acceptable and Perfect will of God? We can't. Christ did it for us, in our place, whereby, when we feed on the Gospel! When we feed on what Christ did in our stead, we become transformed and Christ perfects us and through Him (Christ) we are proven to do what is Good, Acceptable, and Perfect. (God looks at us through Christ) Look at the end of chapter 11 - "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things..." We can't be the GAP man! Christ is the GAP Man! God poured out His wrath on Christ! God's righteous indignation was placed on Christ! in our place. Now. Do you see the difference between the 'moral' teachings and Christ centeredness? Wow. Big difference, right? When we recognize what Christ did in our place, obeying the commands of Scripture is a JOY! Not a drudgery. For when you do something out of duty, it's only that - how can it be joyful service? We do things out of gratitude! How about another example? Remember David and Goliath? I've heard many, many, many sermons on how we can overcome our "giants". ok whatever. Think about this. In this instance, David represents Christ. Yes, David overcame a real giant, but Christ also overcame a very real giant. Christ overcame the biggest giant of them all - DEATH! And since Christ overcame death, there is nothing that can overcome us! Only by Christ can this happen. We can't overcome our little giants. It's only by Christ! I can preach "we can overcome our giants - just like David did" from any book besides the Bible. Those thoughts are very moral; very encouraging. We say "by God's strength we can overcome our giants" - who says so? Can't it be possible that the 'giants' we do have in our lives are there for to live with? (hence, Paul's thorn in the flesh...) and not to overcome? It's not - "God helped me to overcome my giants" - that's an ok statement, right? It should be - "God Himself (Christ) overcame the biggest giant of them all - DEATH - and because He did that, all of our little 'giants' are as nothing. They have no effect on us. They are like a 'shadow'! For what is death? A Shadow! (read Psalm 23) - If Death is a shadow, then what does that make all of our little 'giants'? I'll give you a hint. It begins with an 'S' and ends with a 'w' and has 'hado' in the middle. Do you get my point? Think Christ. He is the right paradigm. Anything else is man centered and blasphemous! This is where the command "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" comes into play. When we focus on what man's duty is, we violate that command. When we tack Christ on our subject as the caboose, we violate this command. Christ. Christ. Only Christ is the answer. If we don't preach Christ, we preach another Gospel. The other Gospel Paul refers to in the NT is adding duties and other things on top of Christ. Yes people said, "Christ is the answer", but they also said, "you need to be circumcised to be fully accepted by the Father". That's blasphemous! Our faith in Christ is the only means by which we gain acceptance with the Father! So when we say we can be the Gap man or that we can overcome our giants in life by Christ, we tack on "circumcision" to Christ. Thereby, we attach Christ as the caboose of our topic. 'nough said.

Part One: Something's not right....

I have added to my Pet Peeve collection. In fact, this pet peeve has been growing over the past year. What is this pet peeve of which I speak? "Christ being taken out of our preaching." I know what you're thinking... "How can Christ be taken out of our preaching when the preaching is from the Bible?" Now the big question of the day is, "Is Christ the central theme in what is being preached, or is man's duty the primary focus - while Christ is tacked on to make your point more legitimate?" What do I mean by that question? Let me answer it for you. First, I want give some background and explanation of what I'm about to present. I won't be starting my answer to the question until "Part Two: Something's not right...." I want to explain some key terms.

Word Definitions

Paradigm - the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time Gospel - Christ lives in me. Christ remains. The great and awesome mystery of the gospel is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). Christ is the Gospel - The Gospel is Christ

Word Descriptions

Paradigm - Scientifically speaking, in times past, a general viewpoint of the Solar System was that the Earth was the center of the Solar System. That was a paradigm. Everyone subscribed to this viewpoint. Check out A Brief History from the University of Wisconsin to get more detail on this paradigm. I don't subscribe to the 'Big Bang' theory, at all. Please disregard that. I am mainly pointing you to the descriptions of geocentric and heliocentric viewpoints of the universe. Gospel - To spread the gospel, first through ourselves and then through the city by word, deed, and community; To bring about personal changes, social healing, and cultural renewal through a movement of churches and ministries that change [local cities] and through [them], the world. Romans 1:16 states - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Corinthians 4:4 says specifically that the Gospel is Christ - "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Mere words or actions can not change people (if that were true, then the AA would have incredible affect - also, Christ would have died in vain), only Christ/the Gospel changes people.

Background

I am challenging our current paradigm. Of which paradigm am I speaking? Generally, we believe when we preach from the Bible, we are preaching truth. Correct? Naturally, we would all agree on that point. For instance, if I were to 'preach' "Love one another" you would automatically think about the book of I John or think about Christ saying 'Love your neighbor as yourself', right? Or maybe, if I mention to you about conquering the giants in our lives. What do you think of first? David & Goliath, right? All these things are all well and good, but what is the emphasis? Man's duty, right? A key question to ask yourself now is, How does man's duty make a difference before God? Does it make a difference? Why is it that if David can kill Goliath that we think we can conquer our 'giants'? That doesn't make sense. God gave him the ability to do so, right? But does that automatically mean we will conquer our giants? No - not necessarily. God may want those giants in our lives to teach us something greater. To bring this part into full circle, let's consider a quote from the link of UW above: "As we discover more and more about the origins of our early universe, we should realize that our present theories must be continually tested and modified because new theories frequently arise as we learn more through our observations." Remember scientific actions/testings can be universal to any discipline (Theology, Bible, Math, Technology, etc...) - by this I mean the testing of a theory (repeatedly) to verify its validity or authenticity based in truth. So why is it that we do not come with that approach to our understanding of Scripture (and thereby the preaching of Scripture)? My point? Test your biblical paradigm. Make sure it allows you to fit your 'new revelation' (not meaning a brand new revelation but a pre-exising revelation to which you have been enlightened - or made to understand). Test your paradigm. To be continued...

The list is growing!

I am hoping that the list keeps growing. I'm also hoping that the email feature becomes more stable/fast/consistent. Let's just hope we don't have to go with something else. If it becomes too much of a problem, I'll drop it and we'll go with the normal means of accessing new posts. :) I'm hoping to post more entries soon. I've been doing a lot of thinking on different subjects. Stay tuned!

Gone for the weekend.

We were gone for this past weekend. We traveled to Indianapolis, IN area. We left Friday and got back Sunday. One of our whirlwind trips. I'm actually tired of them (mainly the traveling part). Carrie had her 10 year reunion from her high school. We had a good time. Carrie was the one that spear-headed the reunion - getting it up and organized. Needless to say the President & Vice President shirked their responsibilities and let it hang on Carrie. Regardless of whether they wanted a reunion or not (of which they could care less) their responsibility as a President & Vice President of the class is to set up the reunions. Some people are counting on it b/c some people are sentimental. They're just typical guys - which is sad. I guess they were elected as President & Vice President on shear popularity - not for who will do a good job. Carrie tried to get them to say they'd set up the 20 year reunion, but they said 'we elect Carrie to do it'. I almost said 'as the reunion leader's advisor, we decline the appointment and redirect to the people who are shirking their responsibilities...' ok. I wouldn't have said it, but I definitely was thinking it. But alas, it wouldn't have been as good if they did it. :)

First Email Member!

Yes. We have our first member submitting for the email updates! Now, I must warn that the sending of the emails are sporadic. I'm not sure when they actually send. So you may not get them for a day or so (at least that's what happened when I was testing this out). It may get better as we go along. I'll see if I can fix that - if possible. Hopefully we can make this even better. I'm looking for other options and features to add - keep checking back! :)

New Email List!

Ok folks - I'm trying something out on a probationary basis... or something like that. If you want to try it out, send an email to: Email ToTellYouTheTruth-Yahoo Group Or go to: ToTellYouTheTruth Yahoo Group address to join the group to get your email update! You can receive an email every time this blog has been updated with a post. Don't worry your email addresses will not be used for spamming (except for what you're signing up), nor will it be sold or given to anyone else. Not sure how this is going to work, but we'll try it and see if we like it! Check it out.

New Feature on To Tell You The Truth... honest!

Notice anything different? Comments! A comment link has been added. So comment away! Just be advised if it's not appropriate, not in good taste, or I just don't like it - it's outa here! Me have the ultimate moderator rights... err.. at least on this blog. Enjoy. :)

Meditations

One thing I do as often as I can is Bible Study. I usually go through a set of four questions for many of the passages of Scripture I read. Tonight's meditation is on Psalm 62:1-2, 5-7. "(1)For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. (2)He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. (5)For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. (6)He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. (7)On God rests my salvation and my glory, my mighty rock, my refuge is God." The questions I try to answer for medition are: 1. What do these verses teach me about God? a) God is worth waiting for... in silence. (For God alone my soul waits in silence) b) God speaks in His still small voice - in my silence. (For God alone my soul waits in silence) c) God is the author of Salvation. (from Him comes my salvation) d) God protects me. (He only is my rock, my salvation, my fortress, my glory) e) God is my worth. God is my weight. God is my significance. (On God rests ... my glory) (Glory here means weight; worth; significance) 2. What do these verses tell me about myself? a) I do not wait. I rush around doing my own thing. (For God alone my soul waits in silence) b) I need salvation. (from Him comes my salvation ... He only is ... my salvation) c) I put my hope; my salvation in anything but God. (my hope is from Him - If I don't take the hope He gives, I am taking hope elsewhere) d) I seek self glorifcation; self worth. (On God rests ... my glory) 3. How do these verses point me to Christ as Savior? a) He only is ... my salvation. (notice the first occurance of salvation - 'from Him comes my salvation' - while the second occurance - 'He only is ... my salvation') b) Christ was shaken in my place. ('I shall not be greatly shaken' - This does not say I will not be shaken. It says I will not be greatly shaken. Christ on the cross was greatly shaken ... in my place!) c) Christ is my salvation. ('On God rests my salvation' - Christ is God) 4. How would I be different if the truth of these verses were explosively alive in my inmost being? a) I would not be afraid of what man may do to me; or think of me; or talk about me. (From Him comes my salvation; He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress) b) I would share the Gospel in word and in deed. (On God rests ... my glory) c) I will trust God for my salvation; not my up coming vacation; not my next weekend; not my next day off from work; not my gaming on the PC/PS2/Xbox; not my 'alone time' with my spouse; not my paycheck. These questions make you think. They help guide you to see that salvation is from the Lord! Don't think b/c you 'chose' Christ that you 'saved yourself' - Salvation is from God and is God and only in Him. That's where our hope lies. What a thought to think about - Christ was greatly shaken in my place so I would not have to be greatly shaken. Nothing that comes our way will greatly shake us! "What so ever is true, think on these things..."

The Passion

There is only one true passion that makes a difference. Mel Gibson is finding that out. Mel Gibson's 'The Passion' is not the passion I'm talking about. It's what Mel Gibson's 'The Passion' is about - Jesus. Jesus has the one and only Passion that makes a difference (notice I am using the present tense...). Personally, I am looking forward to viewing this new epic movie. From the reviews I have read, people rave over it. Mind you, the sources I've read are from respected Christian organizations. There are others that deplore the movie saying it is anti-Semitic. The movie is scheduled to come out in February. To read more check out Worldnet Daily and Faith 'n' Film. An excerpt of the following article is very striking (at least to me): "We would all be well advised to remember that the Gospel narratives to which "The Passion" is so faithful were written by Jewish men who followed a Jewish Rabbi whose life and teaching have forever changed the history of the world." Some people say "The Passion" is anti-Semitic - on the contrary. The above statement counter-acts that way of thinking. Don't take my word for it. Nor take anything you hear as 'Gospel Truth'. Go See The Passion yourself. I know I will.

This post is in response to an interesting discussion on Chumpmonkey. This got me thinking and so I add my comments here (b/c Chumpmonkey is a technology driven 'organization' - not a theological/philosophical oriented 'organization'. I wouldn't say the United States is not mentioned at all in the "End Times" out right. Daniel 7:4 says: "The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it." Think about this - The lion represents Great Britain while the Eagle's wings represent the United States. Part of it is our theological interpretation is from a specific paradigm - and there are times that pieces of information don't fit into that paradigm (i.e. the United States), thereby we dismiss that it exists or can not function in a particular circumstance/situation (End Times). Think about when people thought the earth was the center of our solar system (milky way) when in actuality the sun is the center. LOTS of data/info we knew back then (during the time of the old paradigm) did not make sense until we changed our paradigm (the new paradigm). I'm not necessarily subscribing to (nor dismissing) this idea so much as I am presenting it as 'Food for Thought'. And the more I think about it, the more thought that must be applied to it. I reserve the right to add to this 'discussion'. ok monologue. :)

I Remember

2 years. It has been 2 years since the tragic terrorism attacks on 9/11. The images are forever carved into my mind. The horror which devastated a people but strengthened a nation. God has been good through it all. How is God good that He let this happen? - you ask. God has been drawing people to Himself. What can be better than that? For with God there are pleasures forever more. Take time to pray for our nation's heroes and also for the people who lost loved ones and friends. Ask that God would draw them to Himself - that He would show Himself beautiful - that He would show Himself as The Sustaining One. I remember.

We finally did it. We went for Direct TV. Best deal around, really; regarding TV channels. As you already know we had Charter and finally dropped them like a hot potato. My parents-in-law have Dish Network, but it seems the better deal is Direct TV. Direct TV's lowest level package still has more channels than Charter's second level. Direct TV has their lowest level package at $38.99. The funny thing is their second level package is $39.99. Yes, you read it right, $1 difference. I think you get almost 15 channels more for $1 more. So that's the package we went for. We went to Circuit City for our first visit to get pamphlets, etc... There deal was pay $100 right then and there, but get a $100 mail-in-rebate. Ok, I can live with that. We then went to Best Buy. There's a reason they have that name (ok, not for everything, but in this case it was true...). Best Buy had the same deal, and they had a $50 gift card thrown into the deal. I'm all for getting free money regardless of what shape or form :) So that's the scoop; although we don't have the service set up right now. We have to be contacted, then a service tech comes out and installs it on a specified day. No biggie. We've been without TV for a couple months now; so what's a couple more days? I miss my Tech TV, Fox News, ESPN, Speed, CSI (on CBS), and John Doe (on Fox). I get sucked into HGTV (Home and Garden Television), Discovery Channel, TLC (The Learning Channel), and a couple other channels because my wife likes those channels. Oh yeah, I like DIY Network (Do It Yourself) - when you're a homeowner someday (if you're not already) you'll understand :)