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Counterfeit Freedom

Grapevine Lake (Grapevine, TX)

Those who lived to see the rainbow trusted God rather than their flesh. The rainbow is a reminder that true freedom is found not in the ability to sin but the ability to be free from it. 

Like Roe v. Wade, which legalized the sinful activity of murdering innocent children, the recent Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage legalizes the ungodly activity of homosexuality. It is not surprising but it does illuminate the apathetic and ever decreasing influence of the church in America.  

From the founding of this nation its core value has always been freedom. From the start this nation wanted freedom from taxes, freedom from religion, freedom to vote, freedom to bear arms, freedom from tyranny to list just a few. However, instead of pursuing freedom from sin this nation has slowly but willfully chosen to embrace and legalize the freedom to sin. Demonstrated in the laws allowing the slaughter of unborn babies, the use of illicit drugs, and now the legalization of homosexuality. Instead of promoting morality our laws are increasing lawlessness. 

Homosexuality is sin. If the bible is held with any regard it is obvious that God does not tolerate homosexuality (Romans 1:26-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). He decimated a city for their unrestrained homosexuality (Genesis 19). Homosexuality must be acknowledged as sin, confessed and repented from. God is not trying to rip us off for He loves us all deeply. His intense love does not mean tolerance rather He keenly desires us to have true freedom, freedom from ourselves. Tolerance towards homosexuality or any sin cannot be found anywhere in Scripture. We serve a loving and jealous God who doesn't tolerate our sin but gently guides us toward obedience and freedom. Distorting and widening the definition of marriage may help homosexuals sleep better at night and maybe save them a few bucks on their tax returns but it will not fill the void in their soul any more than alcohol or marijuana. Homosexuality like any habitual sin only further hardens one's heart to the grace and mercy found in the crucified Savior. 

What this nation has pursued is a counterfeit freedom, a freedom that leads to greater bondage, greater disappointment, and greater sin. With great remorse, this nation has become a slave to its own desires. I’ve heard some say things similar to “this nation is going to hell” or “God has given up on this nation.” These phrases demonstrate pessimism towards the current state of affairs. Although we should be sad at this nation’s moral decline, which undoubtedly demands a time of dedicated lament and prayer, we must remember that God is still at work! Just because we may be living in the last days doesn't mean we should throw in the towel! If anything it means we must be more faithful not less. It means we must display the same love God showed us to our homosexual neighbors, lovingly guiding them to repentance not discriminating or hating them. 

The greatest freedom we have is not the freedom to worship without persecution but freedom from our own depravity. 

~Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16)

God Will Provide? Oh yes He has, Oh yes He is, and Oh yes He will!

Rainbow Piñata from Rosalee's 3rd Birthday Party

“God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together. (Genesis 22:8)

I have heard the phrase, "God will provide" thrown around a lot. It seems like anyone who isn't an atheist uses this phrase to provide some droplet of hope to one in dispair (Atheist prefer the phrase, "It will work out"). The problem is that the phrase "God will provide" is so vague I don't quite understand its intentions or helpfulness. So I thought I would try to break this phrase down the way I did in 5th grade english, with 5 Ws and an H. 

Who?

Obviously the who is God. God is the one who provides. God is the ultimate source of provision. That is fairly straightforward. If there is anything the phrase "God will provide" clearly communicates, it is this concept of God as provider. Like the verse above where Abraham trusted God to provide an offering, even if that meant the offering was his only son. The problem with people throwing around this term, "God will provide" is that most who use it don't realize they can be God's means of provision. Often, we don't need a miraculous cataclysmic event from God, we need people to hang around us, love us, listen to us, pray for us and walk with us. The thing I hate most about people throwing out the phrase "God will provide" at the sign of any disturbance is that it almost appears as if they don't want to be a means of hope and peace but rather are trying to remove themselves from the equation of being God's provision. So yes, God is the one who provides but often, if not almost always, He chooses to use people to do so.

What?

So this is the vague part of the statement. Like Abraham in the verse above we struggle to understand what the provision is going to be. Surely Abraham was thinking the worst, "God's provision is going to be my son's death." If I were Abraham, I am guessing I would have thought something along the lines of, "I don't want God's provision, this is ridiculous. Really God you want me to murder the son you gave me?" God's provision appears insane. The term, "God will provide" requires a supernatural understanding of God's goodness. If one lacks an understanding of God's goodness then he will likely only see God as a devil, because sometimes God's greatest provision comes through excruciating and heart-wrenching circumstances. Abraham used this phrase to bring peace and calm to his son, but often we unintentionally use this phrase to create unnecessary fear in whether or not God will really provide and what He will provide. If you aren't willing to be one source for God's provision than don't tell someone else that God will provide, in doing so you are just breathing out empty words.

When?

Another question that goes unanswered in the phrase "God will provide" is when does this provision come? I am sure Abraham wrestled with the same question. Will God provide before I have to offer my son as a sacrifice or after? Will God provide by keeping my son alive? Or will God provide by helping me deal with the aftermath of my son's death? Another thing I don't necessarily prefer about the statement, "God will provide", is that it neglects God's provision in history, God's provision in the moment, and God's coming provision. God has provided, is providing and will provide. Now that is a statement I can get excited about. God's provision is not just in the future! He provided the cross, he provided the church, and he promises to provide the calvary when He returns to restore what has been utterly distorted. One thing that is awesome about God is that He is in complete control. Hence, even if we think our circumstances are beyond God's ability to provide, He can and will put the broken pieces back together. As the story of Lazarus shows, even when everyone thought the circumstance was beyond God's provision, God provided. Don't loose hope, grow in perseverance. Just realize you might not find relief until you breath your last or Christ comes back, which ever happens first. 

Where?

Hopefully in my life. Maybe my previous sentence is comical but don't we all want God's provision to be geographically centered in our life. And by provision we really are usually asking for calm, quietude where troubles, problems, and pains are so far aloof they are a distant fragment of our imaginations. But if James 1 means anything than maybe we should pray for painstaking circumstances rather than provision. Let a life of ease be someone else's lot as we grow through tribulation.

Why?

This is a question that I struggle with because there really is no obligation on God to provide. God doesn't have to provide. Our actions only solidify that God is under no constraint to provide. We willfully walked away from His perfect provision in the garden and we deliberately killed His perfect provision on the cross. If there were any obligation on God to provide (which there isn't) it would be because He is overly gracious and exceedingly kind. Maybe it is seeing the cup half full verses seeing it half empty, for seeing God as owing us nothing makes the little provisions that we often ignore a little more precious. Even in turmoil don't forget to see God's provision, it is there even if it is difficult to see. 

How?

Scripture doesn't really say much on how God will provide, especially when one is looking at the individual rather than the community (Israel or the Church). Again God is under no obligation to provide and likewise there are no rules that govern how He must provide. Nevertheless, God can provide through miraculous events (but miracles are miracles because they are rare, and defy nature), mundane happenings, or anywhere in between if He so chooses. Nevertheless, God loves using His people to provide for other's needs. This is emphasized throughout scripture, clearly seen in the great commandment where one is charged to love one's neighbor and also Jesus' command to love one another (John 13:34-35). We make God look good when we use what God has stewarded us to provide for the needs of others. Personally, the greatest acts of God's provision in my life have almost always come through the lives of other people.

The question is not whether God will provide (He will!) the question is will you partner with Him?

Things I say in passing that are theologically wrong...

After spending the past five years of my life studying theology it is difficult to not think about everything in life through that filter. Sadly, even though I am supposed to have mastered theology I find myself saying things that are not theologically correct but culturally normal. For instance:

"Let's go to church", "I go to church at ___", or any other statement that defines church as a place or a building. Obviously, the Church is neither. It is not limited to a location; rather it transcends national borders, extends throughout time, and encompasses not a place but a people group. So how can one say these things better? Maybe say, "we are going to gather with other believers" or "we gather together to corporately worship at ____." It may take a few extra words but the difference in meaning is significant.

Another one I slip up on involves referring to those who have passed away in the past tense. For instance, I might say, "she was a good person." The problem is that such an understanding seems to imply that one is not eternal, that we cease to exist after death. Hence, it is probably better to refer to one in the present tense. Awkward sure, you might get some funny looks, but closer to a biblical understanding of our nature.

So what theological slip ups do you find yourself saying?

Awash in the Ocean

"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy" - Titus 3:5a

Panama City Beach Florida 

Various people I interacted with and different things I read continued to show this belief that what we do determines how we rank and where we will ultimately end up. Which personally I have no problem with such a belief as long as my life and all the marvelous things I have done is the standard by which everyone else is measured. (It seems almost comical to write this but so many people have bought into this idea.) You ask most people out there, "how do you go to heaven?" and many will often give you a response like, "do good stuff, take care of the poor, go to church, etc." Funny enough half of those who answer this question will honestly admit that they cannot even do what they have described as necessary to enter eternal bliss. Salvation is no easy topic to comprehend but it must not be ignored. It is difficult to describe because it is so hard to fully understand what we are saved from and why we need it in such an affluent society. It is a difficult concept to grasp because if God doesn't help us out we'll most likely write it off as foolish or offensive. It is hard to even figure out what to compare it to that would give us understanding without diminishing or distorting what salvation really is. This is no prefect comparison (the best explanation I have found is contained within Scripture [that is everything from Genesis to Revelation]) but I think salvation is kind of like a man dropped in the middle of the ocean. Actually maybe it is better to think of a man on a cruise ship who stupidly thinks it would be more fun to jump off the cruise ship so he can play with the fishes, telling the captain he desires to remain in the middle of the ocean and that they do not need to pull him out. Eventually, the situation he finds himself in is far from ideal. No land, food or drinkable water in sight. At first he thinks irrationally that he will find dry land on his own so he passionately swims and exerts as much energy as he can muster to pursue a direction where he believes dry land awaits. However, eventually it just doesn't matter what he does, how good of shape he is in, or how smart he is, he will never find dry land. He just won't. His situation is hopeless. It is in his exhaustion that he cries out to God, "I was so stupid to jump off that cruise ship, I am going to sink and die at the bottom of this ocean unless you help me." God in His infinite mercy sends a small boat. So he now has a choice, get in the boat, which is the only chance he will have of seeing dry land or pursue things on his own under the false understanding that he could make it to dry land. Obviously if he refuses the boat he has chosen death. While if he chooses to get in the boat he is now on his way to dry land. But it is important to note that just because he has hopped in the boat that doesn't mean he has stepped on dry land. A lot of trials and tribulations lie ahead as he journeys toward dry land. Nevertheless, if he has chosen to get in the boat he will reach dry land.

Don't believe the lie that you can earn salvation be grateful its a gift given to the unworthy.

Friday the 13th

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" --- Matthew 7:21-23 

100 words a minute. No I am not talking about typing speed, I am talking about the rate of expletives that came out of a guy's mouth. I didn't even realize it was possible to make a full sentence out of curse words.  An impressive feat indeed. The words came from a gentleman (to put him in the best light possible) who was livid about being over income for charity assistance. In the four years I have worked at my job I have never seen someone get so irate. From his view, he just couldn't believe that illegal immigrants would get charity assistance and he would not. It just didn't seem fair. There is so much more that I could say about this situation but found myself thinking, "there are going to be a lot people in his shoes on judgment day". They will be dumbfounded and infuriated at the fact that Jesus denies them eternal life. They will be utterly shocked as he hurls them into a fiery pit of everlasting torment (Rev. 20:15). They won't be able to understand how homosexuals, robbers, rapists, murders, and others who have done heinous acts can be granted life while they are eternally condemned. They will argue that they are innocent and they will be pissed at those who have clearly done evil but have been extended grace. They think they need no grace, so none will be given. They will think they need no mercy, so none will be given. They think they are innocent, but they fail to understand that they will be judged by a perfect and holy God who can see through their hypocrisy. They think they are an A+ apple not realizing they are filled with magots. They forget that there is no one who is innocent. But thankfully, there is no one (not even a rapist or a murderer) who is beyond redemption. As long as you have breath you have time. Time to trust that God is sovereign and that He really does love you. That He loves you so much that He gave up everything to come here and be slaughtered so that He might conquer death and give you life. Don't forget that you are guilty. But if your best friend is the judge, I would say you are in pretty good shape come judgment day.    

Wheelchair day...

"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2


I am taking a class this semester titled, A Biblical Theology of Suffering. One of the assignments for this class required me to spend the day in a wheelchair. Here is the first paragraph in my paper (Click here to download the complete essay in .pdf format). 


"The assignment of spending a day in a wheelchair can only be described as an adventure. The adventure that this assignment encompassed began well before I embraced a wheelchair as my personal companion for the day. As one rather clueless to the world of wheelchairs, I had no idea where to even find one to use for a day. First, I tried all my close friends to see if they happened to know someone I could borrow a wheelchair from. That turned out to be a dead-end, so I branched out further. I thought to myself, “Surely, someone on Facebook has to know where I can get a wheelchair.” Nope, nothing, no response at all except for a fellow classmate asking, “let me know if you're able to find one because I am looking too.” What I thought would be a simple task was quickly becoming more complicated. So I caved and started looking online to find a place to rent a wheelchair since my options of borrowing one were depleted. I found a place fairly close that was willing to rent a wheelchair for $20.00 a day. I thought that would be my only option. However, to my surprise I came across a craigslist ad for a $25.00 wheelchair. I was so excited, especially when I picked up a decent wheelchair for close to the cost of renting one for the day. It was a great experience to pick up the wheelchair and interact with an older lady who was no longer wheelchair bound and had no need for the wheelchair any longer. Overall I was excited to spend one day in a wheelchair. So I planned what I thought would be my “day” in a wheelchair. However, after my 9-month-old son developed a rash and needed to be taken to the doctor, so it was no longer wise to be in the wheelchair for the sole purposes of this assignment. The second day I planned for using the wheelchair collided with my wife’s plans for a garage sale. Nevertheless, eventually things worked out."


Feel free to download the full paper to see how the rest of my day went.