Last Friday night the class of 2009 was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. My two all-time favorite players were among them--Michael Jordan and David Robinson. I challenge to take a few minutes and watch part of the 23 minute acceptance speech he gave. Skip around. You won't miss much. You'll get the gist of the speech fairly quickly I think. Then, watch David Robinson's, and take the time to watch the whole thing. It's worth every second.
After watching both, this verse comes to mind:
Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Love AND Truth
I stumbled across this article in my reading today and thought it would be good to share with you all. It reminded me of the importance of seeing the world through God's eyes and not our own or the culture's.
If we assume that this young man's parents are only doing what they've said and take his statement as his freewill testimony of what's going on, then his parents have done for him what love and their faith demands--they've lovingly confronted the sin in their son's life and come alongside him to help him turn from it. In God's view, this is right and good.
In the world's eyes, however, these parents look like intolerant, fundamentalist criminals. They kidnapped their son (because it had to be against his will) and are subjecting to him to what to the world calls brainwashing (but only if they disagree with the subject matter). They make the argument that such "conversion therapy" is extremely "emotionally damaging," all the while ignoring the damage, emotional, spiritual, and even physical, that they leave behind in their own wake.
We must remember who we're dealing with here--on the one hand, sinners in need of love and grace, and on the other, self-proclaimed enemies who wish to distort God's image and His truth for their own advantage. We must respond accordingly, in both love and truth, never neglecting one for the sake of the other.
A 23-year-old pre-med student who "got caught up with friends who were pulling him" toward homosexuality is well and undergoing Christian counseling, his family says.
But a gay activist who created a Web site to locate the "missing" man says Bryce Faulkner's silence speaks volumes, claiming that the young man's religious parents are controlling his every move in an effort to "cure" him of his homosexuality.
If we assume that this young man's parents are only doing what they've said and take his statement as his freewill testimony of what's going on, then his parents have done for him what love and their faith demands--they've lovingly confronted the sin in their son's life and come alongside him to help him turn from it. In God's view, this is right and good.
In the world's eyes, however, these parents look like intolerant, fundamentalist criminals. They kidnapped their son (because it had to be against his will) and are subjecting to him to what to the world calls brainwashing (but only if they disagree with the subject matter). They make the argument that such "conversion therapy" is extremely "emotionally damaging," all the while ignoring the damage, emotional, spiritual, and even physical, that they leave behind in their own wake.
We must remember who we're dealing with here--on the one hand, sinners in need of love and grace, and on the other, self-proclaimed enemies who wish to distort God's image and His truth for their own advantage. We must respond accordingly, in both love and truth, never neglecting one for the sake of the other.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Dr. Russell Moore on "John or Joan"
Relevant discussion of the role of the church in ministering to fellow believers who struggle with the culturally less accepted forms of sexual sin. Tools of love and truth that we should all carry, ready to employ. I think it directly speaks back to some of the things we talked about last summer.
How the Gospel Ministers to the Transgendered: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
I thought this was really useful in thinking about the topic.
I'd love to hear what you guys think.
How the Gospel Ministers to the Transgendered: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
I thought this was really useful in thinking about the topic.
I'd love to hear what you guys think.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
"Come and Die"
Earlier this year, I took on the resolution to "die to self." As a Christian, you may have heard that phrase many times, and you may, like me, think you understand it but realize that when you actually try to describe what it is that it becomes large and slippery.
I've been trying to degrease this pig for the last several months. A quote from John Calvin shed some light on it for me a little while ago, and now this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer does the same. I still don't have a firm grasp on the meaning, let alone the application, but I'm closer. I feel it's a particularly good time of the year to contemplate such things on the eve of Good Friday.
Here's the quote (I would say enjoy, but I don't think that's the point):
The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call. (The Cost of Discipleship, 99)
HT: John Piper
I've been trying to degrease this pig for the last several months. A quote from John Calvin shed some light on it for me a little while ago, and now this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer does the same. I still don't have a firm grasp on the meaning, let alone the application, but I'm closer. I feel it's a particularly good time of the year to contemplate such things on the eve of Good Friday.
Here's the quote (I would say enjoy, but I don't think that's the point):
The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call. (The Cost of Discipleship, 99)
HT: John Piper
The sweet whisper and grand tsnaumi of His kindness...
....i was in Charlottesville, Virginia recently with the funniest man in America [Jon Stewart the Conservative Future Talk Show Host], visiting a few of his friends who are 2L's at UVA. Which, in case you were not aware, is one of the premier institutions of legal education in the country. Their law library has a quote at its entrace from Bobby Kennedy about the 'smallest' most seemingly insignificant actions instigating chain reactions that swell up into insurmountable forces that can potentially overcome oppression, barriers, etc.
Kind of like a tsnaumi of kindess. That's what i've been feeling lately, as if it is all around me, sent forth from the hand of God Himself and washing away all my depravity, mistakes, and human frailty. I was cruising through Romans this morning and my mind kept sticking on:
Romans 2:4 [ESV] Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
I think this kindness is a bit like a multi-faceted and ubiquitious manifestation of which B-Kennedy articulated but a sliver. For when i reflected on the sheer immensity of the Lord Jehovah Jirah's provision of kindness in my life, i stand shocked, awed, and utterly undone before His pristeen glory.
You see this through the kind actions of strangers, friends, family, and at times, those from whom you would never had expected anything. And the continued gift of life, of breathing each day, of driving down Academy Blvd. and beholding the expansive ampitheatre that are His gorgeous mountains. Such beautiful handiwork, strewn out like a bold statement for us to see each day. And i began to realize...His kindness is continual, perpetual...persistent, and unrelenting in my life. His love overflows to the point of sacrafice and intrusion into my human, depraved, and erroneous plans for my life.
What a fool i am.
How often i think i know where to go, what to do, who to talk to, how to talk to them....
and then reality happens. Kindness happens. Like a sweet whisper.....
i have heard only one school's name whispered to me in prayer these past six months....'michigan.' it seems the only place capable of deterring what seems to be His tsnaumi of kindness in bestowing out financial and academic blessings at pepperdine....there has been signpost after signpost. Scripture, further prayer, and elders tell me i will have to make a choice in the coming months. That something will happen....i think it already is....His kindness has come both in quiet tones and with vast trumpeting....what a choice to make....loud or soft, i believe His will and glory shall be accomplished mightily in my life for all to see.
What a gracious God we serve....I am so thankful He does not hold me to all of my words. And i am overwhelmed with the kindness of the most breathtaking, scintillating, and gorgeous gifts he sometimes puts in the most deprived, barren, and unexpected places in our lives. Like a true living water of life, His kind touch flows in and i feel that in that moment, His heart must be shouting with such force [but restrained, so as not to instantaneously annihilate me in a consuming fire] the words that have been echoing through my soul's chord this blessed day...."do you know, Matthew, what i have in store for you? do you know my kindness leads you to turnabout on your course and seek me anew? keep striving after Me...seek ME"
and so i shall. onward i tread with renewed hope in my heart, a heart full of grateful humility and shocked awe at His gifts in my life, and chances i never thought would even be possible.
Kind of like a tsnaumi of kindess. That's what i've been feeling lately, as if it is all around me, sent forth from the hand of God Himself and washing away all my depravity, mistakes, and human frailty. I was cruising through Romans this morning and my mind kept sticking on:
Romans 2:4 [ESV] Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
I think this kindness is a bit like a multi-faceted and ubiquitious manifestation of which B-Kennedy articulated but a sliver. For when i reflected on the sheer immensity of the Lord Jehovah Jirah's provision of kindness in my life, i stand shocked, awed, and utterly undone before His pristeen glory.
You see this through the kind actions of strangers, friends, family, and at times, those from whom you would never had expected anything. And the continued gift of life, of breathing each day, of driving down Academy Blvd. and beholding the expansive ampitheatre that are His gorgeous mountains. Such beautiful handiwork, strewn out like a bold statement for us to see each day. And i began to realize...His kindness is continual, perpetual...persistent, and unrelenting in my life. His love overflows to the point of sacrafice and intrusion into my human, depraved, and erroneous plans for my life.
What a fool i am.
How often i think i know where to go, what to do, who to talk to, how to talk to them....
and then reality happens. Kindness happens. Like a sweet whisper.....
i have heard only one school's name whispered to me in prayer these past six months....'michigan.' it seems the only place capable of deterring what seems to be His tsnaumi of kindness in bestowing out financial and academic blessings at pepperdine....there has been signpost after signpost. Scripture, further prayer, and elders tell me i will have to make a choice in the coming months. That something will happen....i think it already is....His kindness has come both in quiet tones and with vast trumpeting....what a choice to make....loud or soft, i believe His will and glory shall be accomplished mightily in my life for all to see.
What a gracious God we serve....I am so thankful He does not hold me to all of my words. And i am overwhelmed with the kindness of the most breathtaking, scintillating, and gorgeous gifts he sometimes puts in the most deprived, barren, and unexpected places in our lives. Like a true living water of life, His kind touch flows in and i feel that in that moment, His heart must be shouting with such force [but restrained, so as not to instantaneously annihilate me in a consuming fire] the words that have been echoing through my soul's chord this blessed day...."do you know, Matthew, what i have in store for you? do you know my kindness leads you to turnabout on your course and seek me anew? keep striving after Me...seek ME"
and so i shall. onward i tread with renewed hope in my heart, a heart full of grateful humility and shocked awe at His gifts in my life, and chances i never thought would even be possible.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Purpose of This Blog
I created this blog as a way for the Summer '08 class of the Focus on the Family Institute to share with each other and their other peers the musings of their hearts, the thoughts God has placed in their minds, the work He is doing in their lives, the vision the Holy Spirit has placed within them, the recounting of daily life in walking with their Savior Jesus Christ, pertinent reviews of books, movies, and music, and any other such thing as might be edifying to the community of believers.
The second purpose of this blog (for now) is to expand the potential impact of our words. It occurred to me that several of us have blogs or write facebook notes or tweet or what have you. Why not have a place in addition to those personal blogs in which we might all have a conversation? It will be a place where my friends might be touched by your words--words they might never have seen otherwise.
The idea only came to me today, and I am sure that it will grow and change as time passes. For now though, let me share with you a few things that stood out to me from my Bible reading tonight that seemed particularly appropriate to this endeavor:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. -Hebrews 9:23-25
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has x a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. -Hebrews 9:32-36
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. -Hebrews 9: 39
The second purpose of this blog (for now) is to expand the potential impact of our words. It occurred to me that several of us have blogs or write facebook notes or tweet or what have you. Why not have a place in addition to those personal blogs in which we might all have a conversation? It will be a place where my friends might be touched by your words--words they might never have seen otherwise.
The idea only came to me today, and I am sure that it will grow and change as time passes. For now though, let me share with you a few things that stood out to me from my Bible reading tonight that seemed particularly appropriate to this endeavor:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. -Hebrews 9:23-25
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has x a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. -Hebrews 9:32-36
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. -Hebrews 9: 39
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