Trinitarian Critique of Presuppositionalism
3 days ago
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Jesus and Stuff
As I mentioned here, I've been listening to David Platt like crazy. I've nearly finished his "Radical" series now and Britt and I have realized just how much stuff we have and how much more money we could give for the sake of those who are in so much need.
The fact that I didn't notice this sort of thing sooner is troubling. How could I live so selfishly with my money? How can I justify spending so much money on food, drinks, and books, while people who can't read die of starvation and thirst? How come I don't more readily see myself as the Rich Young Ruler? How come I have so long glossed over the many Biblical passages that tell me that murderers, adulterers, and those who neglect the poor are all in the same boat?
What Platt constantly reminds me is this: none of the pleasures of this world are greater than relationship with Christ. It is, as he says, almost unreasonable to call it "sacrifice" when we give away our earthly possessions when we consider how much greater is the reward of Christ. As all of my Reformed heroes have taught me, so I am reminded: there is nothing in this world as good as knowing Jesus Christ. When compared with this, every other pleasure looks more and more like I'm getting ripped off.
And so, our Lord says, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Will I be the Rich Young Ruler who laments Jesus' call to sell my many possessions and so rejects him, or will I joyfully sell it for the greater treasure?
Lord, make me like the disciples who dropped their nets to follow you.
The fact that I didn't notice this sort of thing sooner is troubling. How could I live so selfishly with my money? How can I justify spending so much money on food, drinks, and books, while people who can't read die of starvation and thirst? How come I don't more readily see myself as the Rich Young Ruler? How come I have so long glossed over the many Biblical passages that tell me that murderers, adulterers, and those who neglect the poor are all in the same boat?
What Platt constantly reminds me is this: none of the pleasures of this world are greater than relationship with Christ. It is, as he says, almost unreasonable to call it "sacrifice" when we give away our earthly possessions when we consider how much greater is the reward of Christ. As all of my Reformed heroes have taught me, so I am reminded: there is nothing in this world as good as knowing Jesus Christ. When compared with this, every other pleasure looks more and more like I'm getting ripped off.
And so, our Lord says, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Will I be the Rich Young Ruler who laments Jesus' call to sell my many possessions and so rejects him, or will I joyfully sell it for the greater treasure?
Lord, make me like the disciples who dropped their nets to follow you.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Walking in a Winter Wonderland
Britt and I are staying at her parents' house in Wheaton, IL for vacation for the week. It snowed for a couple days right when we got here- a fluffy, powdery, dry snow that really is beautiful. So today we decided to go for a walk to enjoy the snow and one another's company, and for me to enjoy the new pipe I got for Christmas.
Thing is, when it's 25 degrees out and you want to go for a walk, you have to
do a little extra dressing up. So here's what I wore:
On my head: my new winter trapper hat, which looks kind of like the one in the picture, minus the creepy manican head.
On my upper body: a t-shirt under a thermal under a sweater under a double-layered jacket. Count 'em, five layers.
On my lower body: boxers under my superman fleece pajama pants under my jeans. Superman fleece pajama pants are the new long johns, you know.
On my feet: short, thick songs, under taller, thick wool socks, under more short, thick socks, under beat up brown converse low tops. Note to all those who are spending time in the snow: beat up converse are worthless in that weather. No traction for the ice; no insulation from the snow. My toes froze, even under three pairs of socks.
What's the moral of the story?
It's this: as beautiful as the snow is- and it is beautiful- it is a massive pain in the rear to have to put on 12 items of clothing to take a 30 minute walk. Spending time with my wife and her family is lovely, and my new pipe, for those who wondered, was delightful for its first smoke (didn't have to relight once). But when it's that much work to take a walk on a day that the locals say is "warm" (I'm not kidding- they actually say that), well, you can keep your white Christmas. Like a good friend of mine says: weather is something you visit, not something you live in.
I'll put up a picture as soon as we get home and get the proper cable to move it from camera to computer.
Thing is, when it's 25 degrees out and you want to go for a walk, you have to
do a little extra dressing up. So here's what I wore:On my head: my new winter trapper hat, which looks kind of like the one in the picture, minus the creepy manican head.
On my upper body: a t-shirt under a thermal under a sweater under a double-layered jacket. Count 'em, five layers.
On my lower body: boxers under my superman fleece pajama pants under my jeans. Superman fleece pajama pants are the new long johns, you know.
On my feet: short, thick songs, under taller, thick wool socks, under more short, thick socks, under beat up brown converse low tops. Note to all those who are spending time in the snow: beat up converse are worthless in that weather. No traction for the ice; no insulation from the snow. My toes froze, even under three pairs of socks.
What's the moral of the story?
It's this: as beautiful as the snow is- and it is beautiful- it is a massive pain in the rear to have to put on 12 items of clothing to take a 30 minute walk. Spending time with my wife and her family is lovely, and my new pipe, for those who wondered, was delightful for its first smoke (didn't have to relight once). But when it's that much work to take a walk on a day that the locals say is "warm" (I'm not kidding- they actually say that), well, you can keep your white Christmas. Like a good friend of mine says: weather is something you visit, not something you live in.
I'll put up a picture as soon as we get home and get the proper cable to move it from camera to computer.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Selections from the National Geographic Photo Contest
The Big Picture, the Boston's Globe's photoblog, has 25 selections from this year's National Geographic photo contest. All of them are pretty remarkable, but my favorite is the very first one. What's yours?
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Britt's Plan for What to Do Should One of Us Get Sick
Yesterday my good friend Michael, another newlywed like me and Britt, was wondering how married couples avoid catching all of each other's diseases. We talked about it at staff meeting for a little bit with the oldlyweds there, all of which I relayed to Britt when I came home.
But she didn't see as much need for counsel on the subject, because she already had a plan for how this will work:
When I Get Sick: I sleep on the couch, she sleeps in the bed. This way she doesn't get sick and gets to enjoy a nice, comfortable night before she has to get up and teach the next day. There's no way she's sleeping on the couch when she has a full day of rambunctious teenagers ahead of her (even though she falls asleep on the couch every night as it is and I often end up carrying her to bed...).
When She Gets Sick: Britt sleeps in the bed, and so do I. This way she doesn't have to deal with the physical discomfort of being sick and sleeping alone. I'll have to just suck it up and deal with getting sick as well. The only other solution is for me to call her mother to fly out from Chicago and share the bed with her while I sleep on the couch. But there's no way she's sleeping alone while sick.
Sounds about right...
But she didn't see as much need for counsel on the subject, because she already had a plan for how this will work:
When I Get Sick: I sleep on the couch, she sleeps in the bed. This way she doesn't get sick and gets to enjoy a nice, comfortable night before she has to get up and teach the next day. There's no way she's sleeping on the couch when she has a full day of rambunctious teenagers ahead of her (even though she falls asleep on the couch every night as it is and I often end up carrying her to bed...).
When She Gets Sick: Britt sleeps in the bed, and so do I. This way she doesn't have to deal with the physical discomfort of being sick and sleeping alone. I'll have to just suck it up and deal with getting sick as well. The only other solution is for me to call her mother to fly out from Chicago and share the bed with her while I sleep on the couch. But there's no way she's sleeping alone while sick.
Sounds about right...
Monday, November 9, 2009
The One Where I Preached the Gospel at the Pagan Club Event
Let me just recap the last couple weeks' events, climaxing at today's:
Fri., Oct. 23: I'm sitting at the conference for my church's denomination thinking about how we need to do more outreach, and this thought comes to me out of nowhere: "Why don't I go to Long Beach City College and set up a table with a sign that says 'Free Prayer' and see if we can meet people, pray for them, and tell them about the glory and love of Jesus?"
Sun., Oct. 25: I get to church and see Justin Botz, who is also excited about outreach/evangelism these days. I say to Botz: "Here's what we're gonna do: we're gonna go to LBCC on a Thursday and set up a table that says 'Free Prayer' and see what happens." Botz responds: "Holy crap. I was thinking basically the same thing the last couple days. Not necessarily about LBCC, but that we should do a free prayer thing." Weird.
Most of the week passes without my having the time to make things happen, until I start making calls on Fri., Oct. 30 to see if we can come to campus the following Thursday. We wanted to get all the right permissions and not infringe on LBCC policies.
Tues., Nov. 3: After talking to one Christian in the LBCC AS offices the previous week, I get directed to a woman named Jaymarie, who informs me that the place that they would allow us to go on Thursday is full for that day, but that we could come on Monday. I politely responded, "Well, we'd really like to come on Thursday: is there any way we can do that?" Jaymarie responded, "Let me ask the lady who would know." Jaymarie connects me to Beverly.
Beverly, of all of the faculty and staff at LBCC, is the faculty/staff sponsor of their Campus Crusade chapter. Plus, she's the secretary for the Dean in charge of this sort of thing. So she's excited about us coming and can help us out. She says that we could come Thursday over at one area, but that it wouldn't be as good. We agree to wait 'til Monday.
Thurs., Nov. 5: Justin and I go to LBCC anyway, not to set up the table, but just to get some face time with any requisite administration, make sure we're keeping up good relationships, and get ahold of any paperwork we need to get ahold of. So we go up to Beverly's office. When we get there, Beverly says, "It's great that you're coming on Monday, because the Pagan Club (yes, you read that correctly) is sponsoring a panel discussion in the room right next to where your table would be during the time you'd be here."
The flier she hands us says that there will be representatives of Sufism, Catholicism, Asatru, and Wicca for two hours discussing their religious views. Justin and I are elated at what is looking more and more providential all the time- how are all these details working themselves out like that?
Various Days between Thursday and Sun., Nov. 7: Justin and I, and later Kyle Lundquist, get together to pray about our time at LBCC. One thing keeps coming up: "Lord, somehow or another, get me on that panel so I can represent Christianity and share the gospel at this meeting."
Mon., Nov. 8 (today): Justin and I arrive at LBCC at about 9:45 a.m. and set up our table. A few people come by and we get to pray for them and hand them pamphlets that explain the gospel (kind of like tracts, but not crappy). Kyle and Dave Krall come join us at about 10:30.
10:45 rolls around, and the panel discussion starts at 11:00. Thanks to some encouragement from Dave and despite my faithless doubting, I walk into the room where the panel discussion will take place. There I meet Lisi, a member of the Pagan Club, and a nice young lady who will be hosting the event. I tell her I'm a pastor at a Baptist church just down the street and ask if I can get on the panel. She says "Probably not, but you can ask Dr. Novotny (the Pagan Club staff sponsor and an anthropology professor at LBCC) when he gets here. We only have four panelists at a time, and we do this every semester."
I leave, tell the guys it doesn't look good, and ten minutes later go back in. As I'm walking in, Lisi says to Dr. Novotny, "That guy" and points to me. I walk up to Dr. Novotny, tell him who I am, and he says, "Well actually, the Sufi Muslim no-showed, so it'd be really great if you could take his place."
I start to shake some as Kyle leans over to me and says, "How's that for providential?" I grab my Bible, my journal, and a pen, and take my place on stage. I am told that the format will include each of us getting fifteen minutes uninterrupted to explain our views.
The Pagan Club might as well have said: "Hey Andrew, would you mind coming and preaching the gospel to us? We're going to have all these competing religions here, and we just want to make sure that Jesus is proclaimed as the only source of real spiritual life, just so no one gets the wrong idea."
Of course, that's not what they said, but I nonetheless stood up and explained the story of the Bible with conviction after each of the other three folks talked about their rituals and festivals with minimal joy and no central message. I preached the gospel to 60+ students. It was amazing, and I cannot get over how much of God's providence I saw in all this. I talked to the Pagan Club folks afterward at lunch, and I also was able to hand out some pamphlets to a few students.
It was definitely one of the coolest things that I've seen happen in my life, and one of the clearest works of God's providence for His purposes. Remarkably, He also taught me some humility in all this as I sat down and thought, "I should've said this and this and this and this," as if God was saying, "I set this up for you, so you need to remember that it was I who worked, not you. You're not sufficient on your own."
No Lord, I'm not. But I pray that you will show Your perfect, complete sufficiency to sinners who need the grace of Jesus through my life more every day.
Fri., Oct. 23: I'm sitting at the conference for my church's denomination thinking about how we need to do more outreach, and this thought comes to me out of nowhere: "Why don't I go to Long Beach City College and set up a table with a sign that says 'Free Prayer' and see if we can meet people, pray for them, and tell them about the glory and love of Jesus?"
Sun., Oct. 25: I get to church and see Justin Botz, who is also excited about outreach/evangelism these days. I say to Botz: "Here's what we're gonna do: we're gonna go to LBCC on a Thursday and set up a table that says 'Free Prayer' and see what happens." Botz responds: "Holy crap. I was thinking basically the same thing the last couple days. Not necessarily about LBCC, but that we should do a free prayer thing." Weird.
Most of the week passes without my having the time to make things happen, until I start making calls on Fri., Oct. 30 to see if we can come to campus the following Thursday. We wanted to get all the right permissions and not infringe on LBCC policies.
Tues., Nov. 3: After talking to one Christian in the LBCC AS offices the previous week, I get directed to a woman named Jaymarie, who informs me that the place that they would allow us to go on Thursday is full for that day, but that we could come on Monday. I politely responded, "Well, we'd really like to come on Thursday: is there any way we can do that?" Jaymarie responded, "Let me ask the lady who would know." Jaymarie connects me to Beverly.
Beverly, of all of the faculty and staff at LBCC, is the faculty/staff sponsor of their Campus Crusade chapter. Plus, she's the secretary for the Dean in charge of this sort of thing. So she's excited about us coming and can help us out. She says that we could come Thursday over at one area, but that it wouldn't be as good. We agree to wait 'til Monday.
Thurs., Nov. 5: Justin and I go to LBCC anyway, not to set up the table, but just to get some face time with any requisite administration, make sure we're keeping up good relationships, and get ahold of any paperwork we need to get ahold of. So we go up to Beverly's office. When we get there, Beverly says, "It's great that you're coming on Monday, because the Pagan Club (yes, you read that correctly) is sponsoring a panel discussion in the room right next to where your table would be during the time you'd be here."
The flier she hands us says that there will be representatives of Sufism, Catholicism, Asatru, and Wicca for two hours discussing their religious views. Justin and I are elated at what is looking more and more providential all the time- how are all these details working themselves out like that?
Various Days between Thursday and Sun., Nov. 7: Justin and I, and later Kyle Lundquist, get together to pray about our time at LBCC. One thing keeps coming up: "Lord, somehow or another, get me on that panel so I can represent Christianity and share the gospel at this meeting."
Mon., Nov. 8 (today): Justin and I arrive at LBCC at about 9:45 a.m. and set up our table. A few people come by and we get to pray for them and hand them pamphlets that explain the gospel (kind of like tracts, but not crappy). Kyle and Dave Krall come join us at about 10:30.
10:45 rolls around, and the panel discussion starts at 11:00. Thanks to some encouragement from Dave and despite my faithless doubting, I walk into the room where the panel discussion will take place. There I meet Lisi, a member of the Pagan Club, and a nice young lady who will be hosting the event. I tell her I'm a pastor at a Baptist church just down the street and ask if I can get on the panel. She says "Probably not, but you can ask Dr. Novotny (the Pagan Club staff sponsor and an anthropology professor at LBCC) when he gets here. We only have four panelists at a time, and we do this every semester."
I leave, tell the guys it doesn't look good, and ten minutes later go back in. As I'm walking in, Lisi says to Dr. Novotny, "That guy" and points to me. I walk up to Dr. Novotny, tell him who I am, and he says, "Well actually, the Sufi Muslim no-showed, so it'd be really great if you could take his place."
I start to shake some as Kyle leans over to me and says, "How's that for providential?" I grab my Bible, my journal, and a pen, and take my place on stage. I am told that the format will include each of us getting fifteen minutes uninterrupted to explain our views.
The Pagan Club might as well have said: "Hey Andrew, would you mind coming and preaching the gospel to us? We're going to have all these competing religions here, and we just want to make sure that Jesus is proclaimed as the only source of real spiritual life, just so no one gets the wrong idea."
Of course, that's not what they said, but I nonetheless stood up and explained the story of the Bible with conviction after each of the other three folks talked about their rituals and festivals with minimal joy and no central message. I preached the gospel to 60+ students. It was amazing, and I cannot get over how much of God's providence I saw in all this. I talked to the Pagan Club folks afterward at lunch, and I also was able to hand out some pamphlets to a few students.
It was definitely one of the coolest things that I've seen happen in my life, and one of the clearest works of God's providence for His purposes. Remarkably, He also taught me some humility in all this as I sat down and thought, "I should've said this and this and this and this," as if God was saying, "I set this up for you, so you need to remember that it was I who worked, not you. You're not sufficient on your own."
No Lord, I'm not. But I pray that you will show Your perfect, complete sufficiency to sinners who need the grace of Jesus through my life more every day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
