I'VE MOVED

Thank you for taking time to look at my blog!

I want to let you know that my blog has moved to a new location! You can now find my new posts at: The Zach Hayes Blog.

I hope you enjoy the new site!

Zach

Genesis 1-11 Essay

In the book of Genesis, chapters one through eleven, lies a great deal of content. Genesis opens with the creation account, when God created all things ‘ex nihilo’ (out of nothing). Genesis also tells stories of people, places, and events that range over an incredibly long period of time. However, Genesis is not just a history textbook, to be read for scholastic purposes only; rather, Genesis is part of the living Word of God, and offers insight into the character of God, the doctrines of man, as well as man and his relation to God. In addition to that, Genesis offers teachings on the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization.

In the book of Genesis one finds that a lot can be learned about the natural world and man in his fallen state. Before the fall, Adam and Eve had no sin nature, and were not enslaved to sin the way humans are today. R.C. Sproul writes in the Reformation Study Bible, “God made the first man (Adam) representative for all his posterity… This divinely chosen arrangement, whereby Adam determined the destiny of his descendants, has been called the ‘covenant of works.’” When Adam sinned and did the one thing God commanded him not to, he was bonded to and enslaved to sin, and passed that sin nature on to his descendants. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5). The natural state or nature of man is ultimately an evil one (Romans 3) that desires sin over the things of God. Another thing that can be gathered about the nature of man from Genesis is that we are deceived by sin. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…” (Genesis 3:6a). This verse says displays the human desire for what is not of God but what seems good to us at the time. Eve desired to eat the fruit and falsely saw that it was good, thus proving the desires of the human heart are evil. I think what is even more horrible is the next part of the verse, “…and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6b). According to this passage, Adam was with Eve, his wife, the entire time she was being tempted and did nothing. It also never says Adam was deceived like Eve, he knew what he was doing was wrong, yet did it anyway. This shows the deliberation of fallen man to sin. Thus, one can conclude that natural state of man is one in conflict with God and against the things of God.

Genesis also gives understanding of human identity. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God created us in His own image and likeness. What does that mean? Essentially that means that we are able to reflect a mere microcosm of God’s character. The unique dignity and ability that God did not give to any other creatures He made, is the human ability to reproduce, on a creaturely level, the ways of God. Human identity began in God’s image and every person still bears the image of God. That is why the Christian worldview teaches the sanctity of human life, both born and unborn. Not only is man’s image in God, but also in Adam. Originally, because of man’s sinful nature, man’s identity is in Adam, humankind’s first father. But for those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and have been born again and imputed with the righteousness of Christ, their identity is now in Christ (Romans 5:12-21).

One can also gain a great deal from Genesis about human relationships. First, it is made clear that relationships are vital to life itself, as it says in Genesis 2:18, “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”” This verse also communicates the value of a marriage relationship. God created man and woman to be separate persons that come together and form one flesh (Genesis 2:24), and in a small sense reflecting the intricate relationship that the Trinity shares. This mystery is profound but beautiful. In Genesis 2:24, it says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This verse makes it clear, that marriage is between one man and one woman. Also, the institution of marriage was created and defined by God. God alone is definer of marriage and we, the people, have neither the right nor the ability, to change the definition of marriage. God created humanity and human relationships and is sovereign over them.

The Scriptures in Genesis even teach us about civilization. “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4).” What we learn from this verse is that civilization is selfish. Certainly, society is capable of doing amazing things in the eyes of man, but according to God’s standards, due to the sinful nature of mankind, civilization is man-centered and not God-centered.

In the first eleven chapters of Genesis, we begin to see how much these truths affect our worldview. Based on the knowledge of man’s sinful nature, I believe that man is totally and utterly depraved and is in full need of Jesus’ righteousness to ever be found pleasing in the eyes of God. Based on the knowledge of man being created in the image of God, I believe in the sanctity of human life, and am against abortion entirely. Based on the truth of human relationships found in Genesis, I believe marriage is vital to human life and that marriage is between a man and a woman. Finally, due to the teaching of civilization in Genesis, I believe that all people are created equal in the eyes of God, but also that society and civilization are fallen, and utterly depraved.

Therefore, Genesis is not just a history textbook that is meant to be read for scholastic purposes only, but offers teachings on the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization; and is part of the living Word of God, and capable of shaping and affecting one’s worldview.

Reformation Day: A Tribute to Martin Luther

Happy Reformation Day! Exactly 496 years ago today, Martin Luther boldly nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the chapel door in Wittenberg Germany, outwardly condemning both the selling of indulgences and the Catholic Church as a whole. Little did he know that this would spark, arguably, the most influential event in church history since the Apostolic Age and forever change the church of the future.

As a tribute to Luther's legacy and in honor of this special day, here is a brief history of the events surrounding Martin Luther's involvement in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 16th Century, a law student by the name of Martin Luther experienced a close encounter with death, being nearly struck by lightning. After this near death experience, Luther, in an effort to repay God for sparing his life, left law school and became a monk.

For years,  Luther dedicated himself to monasticism. He spent long hours in prayer and confession, but still felt far from God. It wasn't until he was pointed away from continual focus on his sin, but on the imputed righteousness of Christ. Luther began to feel less guilt for his sin, and recognized that man is saved by faith alone.

In 1512, Luther left the monastery and went to teach theology at the University of Wittenberg, where his old friend Johann von Staupitz was the dean. It was here that Luther started to question a lot of what the Catholic church taught about salvation.

By October 31st, 1517, Luther had finally had enough. In an act of spite, he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg Germany. In this document, Luther criticized the current practices of the church at that time, most significantly the selling of indulgences.

Luther had written his theses in Latin, desiring more of an intellectual discussion with others in academia, but in January of 1518, some of Luther's friends translated his Theses from Latin into German and printed mass copies of the document, then sent it out. Within only a few weeks, Luther's Theses had spread all throughout Germany. After only two months, Luther's Ninety-Five Theses had spread throughout all of Europe.

Eventually, word spread to the Pope about what Luther had written, and on June 15th, 1520 he warned Luther of excommunication with the papal bull. Luther, in response, publicly burned the papal bull in defiance of the Pope.

In the year 1521, Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms, an assembly that was conducted over a period of time for approximately four months.

On April 18th, 1517, when asked to recant his writings, Martin Luther gave this quiet but famous response:

"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason, for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they often err and contradict themselves, I am bound to the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. May God help me. Amen."

Luther had refused to recant. Over the next five days, a series of meetings was held to determine Luther's fate. On May 25th, the Emperor declared Luther an outlaw and demanded his arrest and punishment as a heretic of the church.

Even that couldn't stop Luther. By the help of his friend Frederick III, he fled Wittenberg and went on to continue to write and even translate the Bible into German so that everyone, from the clergy all the way to the common man, could read the Bible.

Martin Luther was a remarkable man, used by God to restore Biblical truth to the church. If not for Luther, the church as we know it today would be very different. Let us celebrate this day and remember just how important the Protestant Reformation was then and still is today! 

Is Jesus (Really) Calling?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/october/sarah-young-still-hears-jesus-calling.html?paging=off


This is a very interesting article. Despite the fact that Sarah Young is a Reformed Presbyterian, and we agree (for the most part) theologically, some questions have definitely been raised in my mind regarding her bestselling devotional, Jesus Calling.

Some of Young's claims have come off very mystical and and alarming to me. I am not ready to make a claim for or against Young's devotional, but I am definitely more critical of it now than I was before.

I realize I might be offending some people who have found Jesus Calling to be helpful and a great inspiration. Please know, that is not my intention. I simply want others to look into this for themselves and not to have a blind leap of faith in Sarah Young's Jesus Calling.


What others have said (both for and against) about Jesus Calling:

"Her writing is based on what she has read in Scripture and through prayer. If you really get into Scripture and let it speak to you and come with a willing spirit, the Spirit will speak to your heart." - Laura Minchew, Senior Vice President of Specialty Publishing at Thomas Nelson

"...she puts her thoughts into the first person and then presents that 'person' as the resurrected Lord. Frankly, I find this to be outrageous. I'm sure she is a very devout, pious woman, but I'm tempted to call this blasphemy." - David Crump, Professor of Religion at Calvin College

"It seems that what she's doing is illumination, [giving] insight into the meaning of Scripture and its application to you. She's unfolding Scripture's meaning by the way that she's rephrasing and explaining and elaborating on the existing content. A paraphrase is a perfectly valid form of scriptural interpretation. More important, it's one that fits well with Young's Reformed theology." - Michael Farley, Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology at Covenant Theological Seminary

"Christians should be concerned about the book on two different levels, in terms of both the method Young uses and the content of her book." - Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California

What is Worldview?

What is a worldview?
A worldview is an overarching belief system that serves as a standard for what is right and wrong, and includes every area of study such as theology, politics, ethics, morality, philosophy, science, economics, and so on. It also guides our decision-making and acts as a comb through which we filter all that we say and do, as well as believe.

What is my worldview?
My worldview is first and foremost a Christian worldview, one that begins with the fact that there is a God, He is personal, and His character is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. I believe in absolutes or absolute truth. In all areas, Scripture serves as the standard of my worldview as well as faith and reason. I believe both elements come together to form the basis for all that is true. As Martin Luther put it, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture or by plain reason… I can and will not recant.” My worldview is one that is held “captive to the Word of God” (to quote Luther again) and that essentially, all truth is God’s truth and Jesus Christ is the ultimate truth.

Why is “worldview” important?
Worldview is important because it, in many regards, makes us who we are. What we believe ultimately affects what we do, so it is crucial that we know what we believe and that what we believe is true! Its been said before and I’ll say it again, “if you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.” That statement sums up, in my opinion, why it is so important to know what you believe and to stand for it. We do not want to be a generation with feet “firmly planted in midair” as Francis Schaeffer so eloquently put it, but we want to be a generation that stands firm on the bedrock of truth, found in God’s Word, and we can only do that if we know what we believe. That is why, I believe, worldview is so incredibly important.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of God

Let me preface with this, because I do not want anyone reading this to have any incorrect misconceptions. I love my country, and am proud to be an American. In no way do I want any of you reading this to think for one second that I am criticizing America, I simply want to challenge the philosophy of modern Evangelical Christianity in America. That being said, I will now begin.

We as a country have gravely confused our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and our view of government.  Because we feel so strongly about our libertarian freedom from governmental tyranny, we have developed a sense of entitlement from God because of this volitional autonomy in respect to our governing authorities.

All of this comes back to the three rights we possess that our government has no right to infringe upon. These three rights are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. This is true in America. The three inalienable rights we possess as Americans are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what is theologically wrong with this statement? The problem is that God doesn't promise any of these, at least not in the same way our country has come to. News flash: there are more Christians (and non-Christians) in the world living without these rights than there are living with these rights. We as Americans own these rights proudly (as we should, we fought for them), but as humans, none of us are entitled to them by God.

From a Biblical perspective, God owes none of these freedoms to human kind. Biblically, we as humans are not alive, rather we are spiritually dead; nor are we free, rather we are enslaved; and finally we are not entitled to the pursuit of genuine happiness, rather we are creatures of wrath and will only ever pursue our own selfishness, ultimately resulting in wrath. The inalienable rights of humanity are actually: Death, Enslavement, and the Pursuit of Wrath.

 All of this is due to our sin. This is our punishment by a Holy and Just God. And there is no way around this. It is not as if we are sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. We at no point can actually choose not to sin, thus claiming these rights. This is because sin is not something we do, but something we love. Apart from God, we can do nothing but sin. We are utterly consumed by and enslaved to sin (Romans 3:23).

However, God did not leave us in our state of total and utter depravation. He has actually provided a means in which we can receive these "inalienable" rights, and that is through Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior.

At the Cross of Christ, there is life, there is liberty, and there is the pursuit of genuine happiness in God our Father. The Cross of Christ takes the dead, the enslaved, and the wrathful, and transforms them into the living, the free, and the hopeful. The Bible is clear that belief in Jesus Christ, results in life (Ephesians 2:4-5), liberty (Galatians 5:1), and the pursuit of God (I Timothy 6:11). All of this is done by the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, humanity, because of sin, has rightfully earned death, enslavement, and wrath. But God being rich in His mercy, decided to send Jesus Christ, and only through Christ can we obtain life, liberty, and the pursuit of true happiness, which is found in God our Father.

Who's Image is on You?

Jesus said, "render to Caesar that which is Caesar's and render to God that which is God's." (Matthew 22:21). He said this because someone asked him if he should have to pay taxes, and Jesus responded the way He did after He pointed out that Caesar's image was on the coin.

Did you ever think about the fact that God's image is on you? So when Jesus says "... render to God that which is God's," that means you.

We owe God everything.

Grace: If Only We Understood It

It has become very common in the Christian world today, at least in America, to act one way in church on Sunday, then act completely different the rest of the week. Too many Christians, including myself, have become very good at putting on a good face and pretending to have it all together, as if they're earning their right standing before God, while lying to everyone around them. The sad thing is, this practice is destructive to the church as a whole, and begins to bury the truth that we are saved by grace alone and that nothing we can do will ever entitle us to the grace of God.

If more Christians (most definitely including me) truly began to understand grace- that theres nothing we can do to ever be good enough for it, but also that we can never be bad enough that God withholds it based on our lack of merit, rather that it is freely given based on His good, sovereign pleasure- I think we would see an incredible and obvious resurgence in Christian holiness and godliness.

Mission Trip Summary: Nicaragua 2013

For those of you that did not get a chance to read my summary letter to those who supported my trip, this is a very large excerpt from that, explaining all that my team and I really experienced while serving in Nicaragua.

This summer, I was able to be part of and help my team run a summer camp for underprivileged children in Managua, Nicaragua; as well as build relationships with many kids in the poorest parts of Rivas, Nicaragua. Through this trip, we built some amazing relationships, grew spiritually, and got to experience the culture of Nicaragua in a very humble manor. This trip was special in so many ways, but the three significant factors that made this trip so memorable were the running of the camp in the beginning of the trip, the ministry in the town near the camp, and then living at Campo Alegría.

The camp in the beginning of the trip was the primary reason for the trip in the first place, that was what most of our preparations were for, and that was what we were most excited about. Not only were we right to have such high hopes for the camp, but I believe that I speak for my whole team when I say that it totally exceeded our expectations. When we first got to Campo Alegría, it was a Thursday and the kids were arriving on Friday, so we didn’t even have a full twenty-four hours until the kids would be showing up, so we waited with eager expectation. When the kids arrived in time for lunch on Friday, we were all just so excited to see them pile out of the vans. After lunch we kicked off the camp. I was on the arts and crafts team, so that was what I did for the most part of the camp during activity time. But when we weren’t doing activities, we were playing with the kids, doing team activities (we had divided the kids into three teams, I was on the red team), eating with them, helping them brush their teeth, talking to them, and just getting to know them. We also did a great deal of swimming. Most of the kids had never left Managua, so they had never seen a body of water the size of the lake that the camp was on, so we swam a great deal of the time! We had a perimeter of lifeguards surrounding the kids because safety always comes first, but if we weren’t on lifeguard duty, we were playing and swimming with the kids. We also had chapel times, which included singing (in Spanish), skits, testimonies or faith stories, and then lessons. The kids really seemed to enjoy every part of the chapels, but especially the singing because all the songs we sang had fun motions to go along with them. It was fun watching the kids jump around the room when they would get into the dance moves. On Saturday, we had a movie night and we watched the third ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ movie (in Spanish) which the kids loved. Being on the crafts team was really awesome because we were able to make fun crafts with the kids but also make crafts that incorporated the Gospel in it, like a craft that had the ‘Footprints In the Sand’ poem on it that they decorated and we translated into Spanish. We also had them make information cards that they could decorate, that had Scripture on it about being special in the eyes of God, and that they were made in the Image of God. The hardest part was when we had to say goodbye to them after lunch on sunday, it was a sad moment, but also very sweet because that was when we saw just how attached we had become to the kids and how much they loved us and were quick to call us their brothers and sisters. Essentially, the camp was a huge success and such a wonderful opportunity for everyone that participated. 

Working with Geo (one of the missionaries that was part of Campo Alegría) in the nearby town of Rivas was amazing because we were with a group of kids that he had already been working with in areas like teaching them English, teaching them Bible Stories, and just getting to known them. When we were with them, we played baseball. In fact, we donated a large amount of baseball equipment for the kids to keep, which they were so incredibly thankful for. Many of us expected them to be decent at baseball because of the sport’s popularity in the country, but these kids were amazing at baseball! They had only been practicing with sticks and stones but when we gave them real balls, bats, and gloves, their true abilities showed, and they were good! It was so much fun building relationships with these kids, getting to know them more, and just showing God’s real, tangible love to them by playing baseball. We all enjoyed it.

Living at Campo Alegría was an amazing experience but sometimes a nasty one. SInce we were on the water, we almost always had a nice breeze coming in and keeping us cool. It was quite comfortable, until the breeze stopped. Once the breeze stopped, the bugs came out and it became unbearably hot. If we even opened our mouths, we would have a full course meal of bugs. But as long as that breeze was around, it was pretty nice. Also, the food at the camp was delicious! Until a few of us got sick, and even though we eventually recovered, I don’t think we ever regained our appetite to what it was before... at least I didn’t. We also got to know the people that lived at and worked for Campo Alegría, which included some really amazing people. The Willards were our hosts at the camp, and they were great! Mr. and Mrs. WIllard were so nice, and we got to know their kids really well as well, which was sweet because they were both pretty cool people. We also got to know Geo, one of our leaders there, who had established the relationships with the kids we played baseball with. He was a really cool guy who just a big heart for God and ministry. The other people we met were the Saenz family, which included Oscar, who was one of the staff guys there, his wife who was a cook, and their son Jasser, who was one of our translators, and he became part of our group in no time. He was pretty funny and just a cool dude, so we all got along with him. I don’t think I could end this without mentioning the fact that we all milked cows. There was no real purpose in doing so, the camp just wanted us all to for the experience. It was honestly one of the more disgusting things I’ve done in my life, but it wasn’t as hard as I had expected. I got it on my first try, which was more than some people can say. All in all, living on Campo Alegría was quite an amazing experience we enjoyed getting to know everyone living there or working there as well.

Therefore, although this trip was special in many ways, the three significant factors that made this trip so memorable were the running of the camp in the beginning of the trip, the ministry in the town near the camp, and then living at Campo Alegría.

Saint Augustine of Hippo: Pioneer of Philosophy and Theology

In the 4th Century, one of the greatest and most influential men that ever lived was born. Aurelius Augustine of Hippo was born in the year 354 AD, on November 13th. Augustine was born into a wealthy family and was well educated through out his young life. When he reached the age of 17, he went off to study in Carthage and began an incredible intellectual journey that, little did he know, would take him to great places. Around this same time, he renounced his Christian faith, which he was raised up believing, and joined the Manichaean religion. This upset his mother, Monica, who was a devout Christian and wanted that same devotion for her son (AmericanCatholic.org). During this time, Augustine lived a life of hedonism, indulging in the more sinful pleasures of life, including sexual affairs (Augustine of Hippo).

In the summer of the year 386 AD, when he was 31 years of age, Augustine was prompted to pick up and read from his Bible. He opened up and read from the book of Romans, specifically chapters 12 through 15. The specific text that had an increased amount of impact on him, was Romans 13:13-14, which talks about turning to Christ rather than the lustful passions of the flesh and the world. It was through this experience that Augustine was converted to Christianity and believed in the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ("The Confessions of St. Augustine").

Shortly after that, Augustine was baptized, returned home, sold everything he had except his family home (he actually turned his home into a monastic foundation for himself and others) and became an ordained priest and began a career of preaching in 391 AD. He was eventually made Bishop of Hippo in the 395 AD. He remained in that position until his death, in the year 430 AD (Saint Augustine of Hippo). Although Augustine had an incredible impact on just about every discipline of study, he is most famously remembered for his influence of philosophy and theology.

First, Augustine had a significant influence on philosophy. He was no stranger to the various schools of thought, having dabbled in Manichaean, Neo-Platonic, and Christian philosophy. Just about every student of philosophy has or will at one point read Augustine. He has covered topics such as anthropology, astrology, ethics, issues of war, issues of sexuality, and so many others. One of his many contributions of study in the realm of philosophy, is his work on epistemology. Epistemology is the study of how we know what we know, or simply one's theory of knowledge (Ligonier).

In Augustine's day, there was a great debate between the skeptics and those who weren't so skeptic, on the reliability of the senses or, more specifically, sensory perception as a means of understanding truth. The skeptics argued that since our senses can be wrong (i.e. we can perceive something to be true that in reality is not true), then they cannot be trusted at all. 

Augustine, being a man of certainty rather than skepticism, refuted this claim that our senses cannot be considered trustworthy at all, with a wonderful illustration. He used the example of a person in a boat paddling with an oar. When the oar is in the water, the man in the boat can see the oar up until the oar is in the water. Now, if the water is clear and the man can see into the water, then he can see the whole oar, but the half of the oar that is in the water appears to bend, but in reality it remains straight. This means that what is perceived is not entirely true, because the oar is not bent. But it is partially true, because there is an oar and it is in the water (R.C. Sproul, The Consequences of Ideas: Augustine).

What Augustine was arguing, was that when dealing with issues such as these, there are three things to consider: what is true, our perception of what is true, and how we feel about what is true. He made the point that even though our senses cannot be considered an autonomous, dogmatic means of recognizing truth, it can still play a part in it. Or in other words, Augustine was arguing against full skepticism and arguing for the basic reliability of sense perception. This helped silence some of the skeptics of his day and played a part in mending the two opposing opinions on this issue, also leaving behind a tremendous influence in the area of epistemology (R.C. Sproul, “The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts That Shaped Our World”). 

Second, Augustine was a pioneer of, and had a great influence on, theology. Unlike Calvin, Luther, Knox, Zwingli, or any other well noted theologian, Augustine didn't really have anyone behind him that he could build from doctrinally. Despite that, he took on the responsibility of paving a wide road for people to follow in with regards to just about every theological issue or doctrine imaginable. He wrote on topics such as ecclesiology, eschatology, mariology, theology proper, pneumatology, the theology of sin, and just about every Christian doctrine. Two of his many significant contributions of theology are his sacramental theology and his soteriology. 

Augustine was a strong advocate of the belief that the bread and wine in the Eucharist became the literal body and blood of Christ and that Christ was in the literal bread and wine (Augustine, “Sermons to the People”). This belief had a great impact on the Roman Catholic theology of transubstantiation. This was not as widely believed by Protestants, who maintained that it was not the physical presence of Christ in the bread and wine, but the spirit of His presence in the sacrament as a whole (Augustine, “Explanations of the Psalms”).

His most significant influence in Protestant/Reformed theology, is his soteriology. During his time, there was a significant controversy called the Pelagian Controversy. The Pelagian Controversy was started by a man named Pelagius, who came out with some preposterous views of salvation, views that were contrary to the teaching of the Bible and of the church. He believed that the fall only affected Adam, and that there was no imputation of original sin to the rest of mankind. He argued that anyone born after the fall, retained the ability to live holy, and righteous lives apart from the grace of God. He stated that grace could have "facilitated" righteousness but said that it was not necessary to live a sinless life. He taught that man was not enslaved to sin and was actually morally capable of choosing God, apart from God's sovereign grace (R.C.Sproul, “The Pelagian Controversy”). 

Augustine refuted this by stating that man is totally and utterly depraved and is in full necessity of God's sovereign grace for salvation. He argued that the very cooperation with grace was the effect of God, by His sovereignty, empowering the sinner to cooperate. Augustine insisted that all of those who were numbered among the elect were given a gift of grace that brought them faith (R.C.Sproul, “The Pelagian Controversy”).

This served as the precursor to the Reformed doctrine called monergism. Monergism teaches that salvation is one handed. It presents salvation as God reaching down out of Heaven, saving spiritually dead sinners by Himself, giving them life with Christ (Theopedia). This doctrine was very much influenced, inspired, and coined by St. Augustine, making him an incredibly influential church figure.

Therefore, although Augustine has been remembered as many things, and for his influence in many areas of study, he is most famously remembered for his influence of philosophy, specifically epistemology, and theology, specifically sacramental theology and soteriology.

The Truth about "Marriage Equality"

Marriage (as defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary) - the formal union of a MAN and a WOMAN, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife [emphasis added].

Marriage (as defined by the Bible) - "Therefore a MAN shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his WIFE, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

Here is the tough truth: marriage was, is, and always will be defined as ONE man and ONE woman. (There have been exceptions to this in Biblical history, but that is for a different theological discussion.) 

Also, marriage was first defined by God, just because others have taken the reigns and tried to change the definition, doesn't change the fact that GOD is the CREATOR of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, designed specifically to reflect the relationship between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church. Also, when a husband and wife unite and become two persons of one flesh, they mirror the intricate relationship between the three persons of the Trinity.

Now, I am not so biased and blind to the think that government should retain the ability to legislate Biblical morals, because that is not their role. That would be the role of the church to keep those under their individual membership in line. I don't think the government has any power to tell anyone who they can and cannot form a union with. Otherwise, years down the road, I see our government taking preposterous actions with that kind of power. 

My point in all this, I am so tired of hearing about marriage equality. Marriage is defined and recognized by God and His people for it is a religious, specifically Christian, sacrament such as baptism or communion. 

Here is what I propose: we start calling "gay marriage" what it really is, a union of two individuals in the eyes of the government. I am all for equality in the eyes of the government, but do NOT call it marriage. Because it is not and never will be marriage.

I know I'm stepping on people's toes and have just built my house on a field of eggshells, but whatever. 

Also, I am not one of those "Westboro Baptist Haters"! I have many dear loved ones who are either gay or in full support of marriage equality, and this is not an attack on anyone, just me stating my opinion. I'm not even suggesting a change of anything our government is implementing, just what we are calling it. Please do not be offended; and if you're feeling like a big and brave online "debater", do not waste your time. If this post turns into an annoying debate that floods my notifications, I will delete it. If you have a problem with this and would like to talk about it, please message me and we can talk!

Meaning in Life: Christianity vs Nihilism

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a well-noted German philosopher, once said, "to live is to suffer." He then went on to say that "...to survive is to find meaning in suffering." Nietzsche was a strong advocate of nihilism, the belief that life is meaningless. Sadly, this is a very popular belief in our world today and has been since the fall of man. In Oedipus, the King, the chorus makes the statement, "Now as we keep our watch and wait the final day, count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last." These statements cohesively drive home this nihilistic belief that life is altogether painful or unhappy. Although I believe that those who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior will never know true happiness or joy, I disagree with this position of nihilism. I believe there is inherent value and means of happiness in life, specifically embodied in creation, relationships, and life itself.

First, creation has inherent value and is capable of producing happiness for us. Creation has value and brings us happiness. Commodities are mere 'things' (creation) that we believe to have inherent value. We trade goods for gold, silver, or other precious metals because those metals have value as well as the goods being traded for them. We are trading one valued item for another item that we value more highly than that which we are trading it for. This also brings us happiness. We are happy with the result of our trade for a short period of time. We do not get joy out of material objects, for joy is eternal whereas happiness is temporary (like the object we are happy about), but nonetheless exists. This is the basic point of economics, and economics rises and falls on the basis that there is value in this life and that these valuable objects of creation bring us happiness.

Second, relationships have value. Any relationship, whether it be marriage, dating, friendship, family, etc... has particular value and brings happiness into our lives. The word particular is important because that word is the underlying reason that relationships bring us happiness through their value. Obviously, most people would not rejoice in the death of a person, but how many people mourn the death of a stranger as much as they would that of a close friend or family member? Not many! That is because the value of the close friend or family member has particular importance to you that the stranger does not. The friend or family member had particularity that brought about a happiness to us that we valued, thus the loss of such particularity would not match the amount of pain brought about by that of a complete stranger. So, relationships do hold particular value and bring about happiness in our lives.

Finally, life itself has inherent value and meaning which brings about happiness, even joy. The famous Irish writer, apologist, theologian, Clive Staples Lewis once said, "we do not have a soul, we have a body." He was saying that the physical world is merely a microcosm of all that exists in the spiritual realm. Also, that our bodies are mere avatars of who we really are inside. So the question then becomes if there is more to life than that which meets the eye, is there more to the meaning of life than that which is carnal or physical? The answer is yes. An unborn baby, still in the womb, has inherent value. This baby has value, not on a merit of works, for he/she has done nothing right nor wrong, but because this unborn child bears the very image of it's creator. Creation has value but the most valuable piece of creation is that of human life. Human life bears value because human life bears the image of God.

Therefore, despite the nihilism of the Chorus in Oedipus, the King, or philosophers like Nietzsche, tightly clinging to this belief of life void of meaning, I believe there is inherent value and means of happiness in life, specifically embodied in creation, relationships, and life itself.

Mission Trip Summary: Jamaica 2012

For those of you that did not get a chance to read my summary letter to those who supported my trip, this is a very large excerpt from that, explaining all that my team and I really experienced while serving God in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Thank you so much for supporting my mission trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica this summer! Thanks to you, I was able to have the opportunity to build a house for a family of six and minister to the people of Jamaica. It truly was an absolutely amazing experience and I cannot thank you enough. While I was in Jamaica, God really made me work outside of my comfort zone. My team was in a different county, a different culture, eating different food, and doing many things we were not used to. Despite all the these obstacles, God used our team, as well as myself, to really affect the family we built the house for and the people we ministered to all throughout Jamaica. While I was in Jamaica, so much happened. I worked with Homes of Hope, I lived at the YWAM base as well as got to know all the staff and people living there, and I was taken all throughout Jamaica, doing various ministerial duties. 

Working with Homes of Hope was such a great experience! This was actually the second time I had worked with this specific organization, but it was a completely different experience. It was a new location, new builders, and a new family. The family we were building for consisted of a single mother, named Sheriffa McLaughlin, raising five children. Sheriffa and her children were so sweet and so kind. Her children were even able to help us build the house, which was a cool experience in and of itself. We were told that we were only going to need three days to build this house, which seemed impossible. However, God worked through us and proved the impossible to be possible, and we did finish in three days. On the first day, the heat was unbearable, and the work was extremely hard, but for the most part we were on schedule. Day two was a little different. The prep team who had prepared the sight for us to build, had made some architectural flaws, and the house was not centered on the foundation. So we spent an hour or so actually moving the house over a few inches (definitely not an easy task). However, we were still able to "roll with it" and actually finish day two on schedule. By the end of day two, all that was left was finishing the roof and painting the inside of the house. As day three came around, the team was exhausted but absolutely motivated, and we spent almost the whole day on the roof putting the shingles on. Several of us actually pushed lunch back about an hour and a half in order to finish the roof. It was a lot of work, but it was done. Once we finished building, we ate lunch in the house we had just built and then handed the house over to Sheriffa and her family. We all gathered in front of the house and passed the key around, praying for a blessing on the house, Sheriffa, and her children. It was very emotional, many of us were in tears during the whole thing. After we were finished dedicating the house, we all hugged Sheriffa and left her to move into her new house. Words cannot describe the experience of watching this woman go from having little to nothing to having her own house to safely raise her children in. God heard Sheriffa's prayers and sent His people to be His hands and feet. Getting to be a part of that was so incredible. Even more, EVERYTHING we did for Sheriffa, we did in the glorious name of Jesus Christ.

Living at the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base, and getting to know the staff there was such an awesome experience! The base was located on a mountain in St. James, just outside of Montego Bay. Which meant, we had the most beautiful view of the entire city from where we were staying. The base actually used to be a plantation, and then several owners later, was donated to YWAM. Everything about it was awesome, except for one thing... There was no Air Conditioning! It was SO hot the entire time we were there, and we had nowhere to escape the heat! Luckily, the base had a pool, which made all of us very happy. In fact, we swam in the pool just about every single day after we were done with our duties for the day. Basically, we would go somewhere and pray with people or feed them, then we would come back and swim, then we would have group devotions (we worked through the prayer life of Jesus throughout all four gospels), and then we would play MAFIA! Mafia was almost a must after devos and after we had bought some snacks from the store at the base. One night, a couple of us decided we would try a famous Jamaican drink called Malta. I went in with an open mind, but it did not matter. Malta was arguably the worst thing I have ever tasted. It was so awful! Nobody on our team actually liked it. One thing that made this trip so awesome was how much we bonded as a group and with the people that lived on the base. Our guide, Shashana, was so cool. She was with us just about the whole time. God bless her soul for handling so many Americans for so long! Another person we met was Junior. Junior worked with Homes of Hope, and was hilarious! Our entire team came to love Junior. In fact, we all made fun of our leader, Matthew McNutt and even got Junior and several other staff members in on the fun. We called McNutt "BIG Bird" because the second day on the build site, he wore a yellow shirt and very closely resembled Big Bird from Sesame Street. Junior and a guy named Mr. Grey would only refer to him as Big Bird or just Bird. McNutt was bitter towards the name at first, but definitely came to find the humor in it as well as love it. Another person we came to love, was a man named Arlin. He was actually from Pennsylvania and was a huge Philly sports fan! He worked with Homes of Hope, and we got very close to him during the trip. Another thing that was cool was while we were there, there was a group of almost 50 Canadians there building three houses. Getting to interact with them on the base was so much fun! What still stands out to me when I think of what life was like on the base, is how much personal interaction we had all day and every night. Since there weren't a whole lot of extras to do there except swim, our group spent so much time together enjoying each other's company. We really did bond so much on this trip. Also, when we weren't spending time with each other, we were spending time with God, whether it was in prayer or reading His Word. This trip definitely brought out great group interaction and great personal devotions. Living on the base and interacting with the missionaries was a truly fantastic experience.

The various ministries we were able to help with while in Jamaica, were some of the hardest but best parts of the trip. We went to a place called Hope Hospice, where we met two very interesting people; Mr. White and a woman named Cynthia. Mr. White was the kind of guy that none of us expected. We all went into his room expecting to preach to him and to minister to him, but instead he preached and ministered to us. He was such a loving and godly man, and a truly exceptional Christian role model. He prayed for so many of us individually, he definitely touched the hearts of our group. Cynthia, was also a real gem. She was one of the sweetest old ladies I've ever met. About ten years ago or so, she came to the hospice and had both legs amputated due to diabetes. She had literally been in a bed for the past ten years, and she was without a doubt in my mind, one of the happiest people I've ever met. The way she talked about Jesus melted my heart. She truly loved her Savior and trusted in Him in every aspect of her life. We also went to so many other hospitals, soup kitchens, homes for the poor, etc... But the one that still sticks out in my mind was this house for orphaned children. This place housed almost a hundred kids ranging from all types of ages, but no one over say the age of 12. I met and interacted with some of the cutest and coolest kids! While we were there, we put on a VBS (Vacation Bible School) for the kids. It was so much fun getting to play with the kids and entertain them as well as share Jesus' love with them. It was such an amazing experience, and I will always remember it. To top the whole trip off, everywhere we went, we had our own driver, who we all got very close to. His name was Mr. Chambers, and he was such a cool guy. By the end of the trip, he really was part of our team and it was very hard to say goodbye. Overall, the ministry we did in the various parts of Jamaica was truly an amazing experience.

So, in the twelve days that we were there, we built a house with Homes of Hope, lived with some amazing people and got to know them on a personal level, and shared Christ Jesus' love and compassion with all of Jamaica. What an incredible trip! I truly came back with such an incredible perspective on just how blessed we as Americans are, and just how much we take for granted. 


IMPORTANT: Although we made it home safe, there are still hundreds, if not thousands who are living in extreme poverty in Jamaica, and all parts of the world, who don’t have the luxury of coming to the United States and living in safe towns and safe homes with a bed to sleep in every night. I ask that you please keep these people and these ministries in your prayers. We really saw the immense power of prayer while we were there, and we got home safely because of it, but they still need to remain in our prayers. Thank you so much for your support! God bless!

Transcendentalism: Defined

This is for Kitsa.

Transcendentalism is the belief that everyone is born good and that true knowledge comes from nature. It states that society and other means of epistemology apart from the metaphysical or transcendent world distort true knowledge and corrupt man entirely.

This belief was advocated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century philosopher.

The Simplicity of the Gospel: Confess, Believe, Saved

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9 (ESV) 

This short verse shows, just how simple the gospel really is. That salvation is as simple as confessing sin, and believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord. This verse so eloquently identifies that Jesus Christ IS Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, and that, in its simplicity, is one of the most beautiful things we will ever read in scripture.

I think, as Christians, its very easy for us to become numb to some of the things we have grown up hearing in Sunday school, like this verse. Sure, we know that this is all we must do to be saved, but do we really believe it?

God sent His Son; that Son, Jesus lived and died a perfect life; and three days later, rose from the dead pronouncing victory over sin and death, and reconnecting the intimacy that man at one point had with God, but had disconnected due to sin. That is the gospel.

We as Christians should never grow numb to something as beautiful and awesome as that! Jesus died, but He lives! He really lives! Now, the question is asked to us… do we want to live?

Romans 3:23: For ALL Have Sinned

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23 (ESV)


 This verse, in its simplicity, addresses one of the most intense, and terrifying truths in all of Scripture. The fact of the matter is, that God has established a law in which all men must abide by or be destroyed. God has made it very clear that if anyone does not live up to these standards or this specific law, they will be eternally damned and cast in to eternal hell. This is one of the most gruesome truths we will find throughout the whole Bible, and it should cause us to tremble before the throne of God Almighty. There will come a day, when every person will stand before the throne of a Holy God, high and lifted up, and they will give an account for every sin they have ever committed. When they are finished, they will be cast out of the presence of God, and into an eternity of excruciating pain and suffering.

 Although God had made it very clear that He will destroy anything that breaks His commandments, He has made a way out. He has sent His Son, to die the death we deserve, so that we might not spend eternity in hell. God has established a covenant of grace amongst His people, in which we have redemption and unity with and through Christ. Jesus Christ came and satisfied the wrath of God, so that we would not have to. Jesus bled and died for a group of sinners whom God had chosen before the foundation of the world, and promises to redeem these fallen sinners, and bring them into the eternal glory of God Almighty. What an awesome God we serve that He would do such a great thing out of such great love for such an evil group of god-hating sinners. Praise be to the God of our Fathers who truly had blessed us with every spiritual blessing, especially that of our salvation.

Jonathan Edwards: Preacher, Theologian, and Writer

In the 16th Century, England experienced some theological reforms. They switched from Catholicism to Anglicanism. This movement won the hearts of many, but not all. There was a group of people intermingled in this reformation called the Puritans. The Puritans did not necessarily oppose these reforms, but they wanted to take these reforms further than the Anglican Church had taken them. The Puritans believed that the Anglican Church was still too much like the Catholic Church and had not been reformed nearly enough (from a personal opinion, I have to agree with them). The Puritans were considered “Calvinists”, meaning they held to the teachings of John Calvin, a 16th Century theologian. Ultimately, the goal of the Puritans was to integrate their Calvinist theology into the Anglican Church, and become more “reformed”.

Sadly, the Anglican Church never subscribed to Calvinism, and the Puritans were actually forced to either conform to the teachings of Anglicanism or be imprisoned. This was all mandated under “The Acts of Supremacy and Conformity”, created by the English Parliament. After this was established, the Puritans fled England and came to America, where they could exercise religious freedom.

The Puritans developed their own colonies, once they were in America. Because of the immense focus and emphasis on the Bible and their personal relationships with the God of the Bible, these colonies were theocratic. The Puritans were very dedicated to right living, modest behavior, and sound theology. The Puritans had many great historical figures amongst them, and they have actually gone down in history for that, however, one of the most famous names to ever come out of the Puritans was a man named Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan preacher, and also one of America’s most influential and all around greatest theologians. Edwards was a strong advocate of Reformed theology and/or Calvinism. In his writings and sermons, he focused on God’s absolute sovereignty and had strong Christocentric themes. He was a devout man, very much committed to living a life of purity and honor.

Jonathan Edwards played a very critical and important role in the First Great Awakening, one of the greatest revivals in Church history. He preached countless sermons during this great revival and is still remembered for some of those sermons. Edwards is most noted for his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, a literary work that is still read in schools today.

Edwards was also a prolific writer and the president of The College of New Jersey (Princeton University). Edwards, was one of the greatest figures of American history. Edwards was known and loved for so many different reasons and occupations. However, Jonathan Edwards was an amazing preacher, an incredible theologian, and an exceptional writer.

On October 5th, in the year 1703, Timothy Edwards and his wife Esther had their fifth child. A boy, named Jonathan. Jonathan, the only boy in the family, had ten sisters. All throughout his years as an adolescent, his father and some of his older sisters trained him for college. In 1716, he enrolled into Yale College at the age of 13. Edwards was profoundly interested in philosophy and science. He kept journals and notebooks focusing on “The Mind”, “Natural Science”, “The Scriptures”, and some containing miscellanies studies. He was very much interested in science and actually was drawn to theism by his studies of science. What is interesting is that most students of science tend to lean toward deism or evolutionism because of scientific conclusions; ironically, Edwards went the other way with his views of God through science. He claimed to see God’s wonderful, sovereign design in the natural world, and actually was so impressed with nature that throughout his life, his favorite place to pray was the woods because of its natural beauty.

Edwards, at the age of 17 years old, graduated from Yale College in 1720 as valedictorian and top of his class. After his years at Yale, he decided to pursue the ministry and chose to study theology for the next two years. Even though he was so fascinated by science all throughout school, he felt called by God to preach, study, and write about the Word of God.

From 1720 to 1726, Edwards recorded in his diary that he spent a large portion of his time wrestling with some theological reflections and did some self-searching. A specific example of a doctrine he wrestled with was that of Election, the belief that God chooses some for salvation and lets the others remain in their sin resulting in eternal damnation. Edwards writes, he saw this doctrine as “horrible” but then after stressing over this and wrestling with himself, he came to quite the opposite conclusion. Edwards eventually considered the doctrine of Election to be “exceedingly pleasant, bright and sweet.” He suddenly had an immense, new joy in the wonderful beauty of nature, and was delighted in the allegorical interpretation of the Song of Solomon.

On the 15th day in the month of February, Jonathan Edwards was ordained as a minister of the Lord in Northampton. He was the assistant to his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. Edwards served as a scholar-pastor, meaning he spent 13 hours of his day studying and learning, as opposed to ministering to the congregation. Edwards was an exceptional scholar and worked very hard as a pastor.

In the same year, Edwards met the girl he would eventually marry. Her name was Sarah Pierpont. Sarah was only 17 years old and the daughter of James Pierpont, one of the founders of Yale College. Jonathan and Sarah both had an undying love for their God, and their union only brought out the best of both of them. Sarah had rigid spiritual devotion, a quality that strongly inspired Edwards. She truly proved to be a wonderful woman, a wonderful mother to her 11 children, and a wonderful wife to Jonathan.

Sadly, Jonathan’s grandfather died on February 11th, leaving the difficult task of ministering to the church up to young Jonathan. This marks the beginning of Edwards’ career as an amazing preacher, an incredible theologian, and an exceptional writer.

Jonathan Edwards proved himself to be an amazing preacher when he was asked to preach in the town of Enfield, Connecticut. He preached his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in July of 1741, and sparked what will always be remembered as the First Great Awakening, arguably the most intense and mind-boggling outpourings of the Spirit of God in American history. This day that Edwards preached in Connecticut was the height of the Great Awakening, due to the power of God through the sermons Edwards preached. Ironically, Edwards had already preached the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” once before to his own congregation, however, he felt led by God to use it again in Enfield.

What has always amazed historians and students of Church history is that Edwards’ preaching techniques were actually rather unimpressive and what some would even call boring. Edwards would read his sermons in a very flat or even voice, but would do so with great conviction. However, no matter how monotone his preaching style was, or unimpressive his methods were, Edwards always seemed to convict his listeners and be used by God to draw them to salvation. Truthfully, Edwards’ self-stated goal in his preaching was to impress upon the listeners the power of God’s truth and their desperate need for a savior, found in the person of Jesus Christ.

It was no mistake that Jonathan Edwards wasn't just marked in history as a theologian, for Edwards was arguably one of the greatest theologians in American history, as well as Church history. Edwards always included such deep and thought-provoking theological reflections in every sermon he preached and every books he wrote. Eventually, years later, when Edwards moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, he was able to minister to a smaller congregation and also serve as a missionary to a tribe of Indians. It was in this stage of his life that Edwards found time to really focus on his studies of theology and God’s Word, and also to write.

Edwards’ theological persuasiveness in what he wrote and preached, is still remembered and studied to this very day, as well as aiding pastors, teachers, writers, students of theology, and many more. Edwards impacted his culture for the glory of God, and by God’s grace is still impacting people even long after his death.

Finally, Edwards was an exceptional writer. All of his books and/or writings, due to his insatiable love for God and His doctrine, are so wonderfully full of biblical, theological, and Christ-centered themes. He has written an abundance of titles such as, “A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God”, “Charity and its Fruits”, “Concerning the End for Which God Created the World”, “Original Sin”, ‘The Nature of True Virtue”, “A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections”, and so many more. However, one of Edwards’ most celebrated books was “The Freedom of the Will”, published in 1754. Edwards wrote it after he moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he had more time to study and to write.

In his book, “The Freedom of the Will”, Edwards thoroughly investigated the immensely contrasting Calvinist and Arminian views of free will and God’s sovereignty, foreknowledge and determinism, and moral agency. Edwards, as the scholarly man he was, attempted to resolve these topics relying on a large variety of resources such as the Bible and many philosophical works by various enlightenment thinkers. Edwards wrote this book as a very challenging piece of literature due to his insatiable passion and strong emphasis on philosophical reasoning, however striving to properly educate his readers by constantly defining the confusing and intense terms he uses to explain such controversial passages of Scripture in clear and understandable depth. Edwards wrote this book for every Christian who has ever found themselves pondering questions about good and evil, as well as desire and choice.

This book is one of Edwards’ most celebrated works because it so eloquently explains some of the hardest doctrines to comprehend and at the same time provokes some serious adoration to God’s glorious sovereignty in salvation, and also causes its readers to finish the book with a vast, new understanding of God’s Word and decrees. Thanks to this book and many others, Edwards is remembered as not only an amazing preacher or an incredible theologian, but also an exceptional writer.

Sadly, on March 22nd, 1758, Jonathan Edwards died of a fever, shortly after he had been established as president of the College of New Jersey. Although, Edwards’ died, his legacy still lives on, through his sermons, books, and various writings in his journal. All of his wonderful characteristics such as humility, devotion to God’s Word, gentleness, and wise leadership, are summed up and have been captured, leaving behind irrefutable evidence of the great man he truly was. Jonathan Edwards will always be remembered as an amazing preacher, an incredible theologian, and an exceptional writer.

Judgement, Holiness, and Election

This is my reaction paper to a verse I had to memorize for school.

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.” -Revelation 20:11 (ESV)

This verse is referring to Judgment Day. The day that the souls of all men will brought before the throne of a Holy God, and will be accounted for every sin they have ever committed. God will be seated on a great white throne, because He is the Ancient of Days. His throne is white because He is pure and His throne signifies His purity. He is doing away with the old heaven and the old earth to make way for the new heaven and the new earth that He will establish later and rule over for all of eternity.

This verse shows the awesome majesty, Holiness, and authority of God Almighty, and displays His sovereignty over all things. He is seated on a throne and things are trying to flee from Him because of His sheer majestic Holiness, yet they are unable. My God is an awesome God, and while many will dread Judgment Day (as they should), I am looking forward to Christ’s return and God’s Holy Judgment, because I have been bought by the blood of Christ my Redeemer, so I will no longer be turned away from God and have His wrath poured on me, rather I will be welcomed by God with open arms, and that changes everything.

I am no longer condemned by this great Judge on a white throne, because before the foundation of the world, my God made a covenant among Himself, to adopt me in His family, and to go and die for me, so that my sins might be atoned for and I might have eternal life. None of this is based on my merit or good works, rather it is a complete act of grace and love by God. What an amazing gift of grace that is. When I stop and think about all that the God of the Universe has done for me, a wretched sinner, I can’t help but to smile. To know that God has chosen me out of love, and one day I will go home to be with Him for all of eternity, is truly a peace that surpasses all understanding. For me, to live is Christ, but to die is gain.

While I may look forward to the day God calls me home to spend eternity with Him, I will live to spread the Word of God and to tell people of this day that is coming, and its coming quite fast, so I will not take one day for granted.

Mission Trip Summary: Costa Rica 2011

For those of you that did not get a chance to read my summary letter and/or thank you letter to those who supported my trip, this is a large excerpt from that, just explaining all that I really was able to do and experience while I was serving God in San Jose, Costa Rica last summer.

While I was in Costa Rica, several things happened. I got to work with Homes of Hope (Casas de Esperanza), I got to live at the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base and interact with the students and staff living there, and I got to work with other various street ministries in San Jose.

Homes of Hope was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of. The people that worked with Homes of Hope were really kind, awesome people and I enjoyed working with them very much. When we first started building this house, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but let me tell you, it was insane! Imagine 19 high school students and five adults having little to no experience with building a house or anything relating to that subject. I had little hope, but sure enough, God worked in us and enabled us to build that house in three days! It was amazing to actually be able to see God’s Hand at work and to take part in it! I still cannot get over this experience. Everything that happened was amazing. We were able to work alongside the family we were building the house for. We really bonded with this family even with the language barrier! We walked to the local market (Mercado) with their kids and it was so awesome communicating with these kids through the Spanish we knew and the English they knew. I’ll never forget when the house was finished and we gave this family the keys to their new house, the reaction of the family, the community, and the team. We had watched this family go from having the least to having the most in their community and it was very powerful. The moment they walked in that door, I don’t think anyone was able to hold back their emotions. Almost the whole group was in tears for this family. The hope we gave this family was such a great feeling, and what made it even better, was the fact that we did it in the name of Jesus. That’s what made this experience so fantastic.

Living at the YWAM base was an awesome experience, and interacting with the students and staff that were living there was even better! The base was a very cool building. It had high ceilings, a store, dormitory style bunking, and no hot water! The showers there were really cold. The warmest shower I ever took there was probably about “Luke Warm”, maybe even a little colder than that. Although the showers were terrible, getting to hang out with and talk to the students and staff there was awesome! The students doing D.T.S. (Discipleship Training School), are some of the most godly and amazing people. There were so fun to talk to! Between the 20 or so students there, I believe 13 countries were represented. They had some stories to tell! This one night, a few friends and I spent about twenty minutes in prayer with this student named Scott who was from Australia. This guy had amazing faith! It was so cool getting to know him. Another night, during worship, I was standing in the row in front of some of the D.T.S. students, and this one guy named Peter was getting so into this one song, and it touched my heart how much this guy was being moved by a song about his Savior. Although Peter was an amazing Christian guy, he was hilarious! His whole personality was just so funny. Also, we had some really great theological discussions with this guy Eric, who was just visiting some friends and helping out at the base a little. He was a seminary student, currently on a break from school, just going from place to place serving God. Another guy we met, who was part of the staff, named Trooper, was an amazing guy and had completely given his life to the Lord. He was going from country to country, place to place just serving God, giving Him his all. He was such an amazing influence. I remember something he said to another team member, he said “Home is where the heart is, and my heart is with Jesus, so I’ll go wherever He wants me to be.” That quote moved me in a way I cannot explain. He has totally surrendered himself to God, and it was evident in his lifestyle. Another cool person on staff we got to meet was a man named Giovanny (and his awesome wife and kids!). Giovanny pretty much ran the Homes of Hope organization there. He was such an awesome guy. He had totally given himself to the ministry of Homes of Hope and was living solely on faith alone. Money was tight and he didn’t even care. He was building homes for everyone else, when he didn’t even have one himself! He lived at the base. That was his place of residence. One night, I just talked with Giovanny and his wife Gretel for about an hour and a half. Between the Spanish I knew and the English they knew, we managed to make it work, and I got to hear their story. It was so amazing talking to them even though there was a language barrier. He was just such a fun guy and he and his wife really loved Jesus. I also became close with one of the guys that worked with Homes of Hope named Pedro. Pedro and I would have long conversations in Spanish and whenever I didn’t understand him, I would make some smart remark in Spanish and we would both laugh, it was fun. One of the coolest things about the base though, was that I could feel God’s presence there. God was clearly at work in San Jose, Costa Rica. His Hand was there and He was using this group of people to do His ordained work. Another cool thing was, pretty much every night, we would get a group of us together and just have deep theological talks. We would seriously sit down and systematically and exegetically study the Word of God together. It was so awesome! We developed such amazing unity from this and I will never forget all that happened at the base. I thank God for my experiences there.

Some of the other various ministries we were able to get involved with were really cool. There was this one, called Metro Ministries. It was these two women who drive around the poorest areas of San Jose, and put on an outdoor VBS (Vacation Bible School). It was so cool, because some of the kids had participated with it before and the kids that were new to it loved it just as much! It was like the “Ice Cream Truck for Jesus”! Another ministry that I really enjoyed was called Freedom Street Ministries. This group went into the darkest areas of San Jose, and just prayed and shared the gospel. Most of the time, they would go to one of the biggest brothels in San Jose, and just pray right outside of it. They would pray with the prostitutes, the johns, and the pimps. They literally went into the most seemingly “god-forsaken” areas, and brought the "visible" presence of God to them! We were able to participate in this ministry by going down to the park right near the largest brothel in all of San Jose, one of the most dangerous areas of San Jose, and just pray and lead worship. It was amazing! Everything was so spirit-filled, it was phenomenal. People would stop and stare at us like we were freaks, but amazingly enough, none of us were ashamed of the gospel we were sharing! It was one of the highlights of my trip. Also, while we were praying and singing praises, at different times, two people walked up to us expressing that they felt God’s presence with us that night in the park! The cool part was that one of them had been praying about starting a youth group at his church, and he felt that this was God’s sign that he should do it, and he had us all pray over him. It was so amazing! I felt God’s presence throughout the whole trip, and it was life-changing.

 So, in those ten days, we built a house, met and interacted with some amazing Christian people, bonded and developed unity within the team, and took part in other ministries that were changing Costa Rica for Christ. I’d have to say, it truly was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. I will never forget that trip, the things we did there, and the people we met there.

IMPORTANT: Although we made it home safe, there are still hundreds, if not thousands who are living in Costa Rica who don’t have the luxury of coming to the United States and living in safe towns and safe homes with a bed to sleep in every night. I ask that you please keep these people and these ministries in your prayers. We really saw the power of prayer when were there, and we got home safely because of it, but they still need to remain in our prayers. Thank you for your support!

Soli Deo Gloria

Paul's Humble Example to the Philippians

“Brothers join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” – Philippians 3:17

This verse has always been amazing to me. Paul writes to the church in Philippi, and has the courage to tell them to imitate him. He was so confident in his walk with the Lord; he readily set an example for the people to imitate, and told them to be like him and the many other mature Christians that had set a godly example for them.

It is important to note that Paul is not trying to put the focus on himself; he even mentioned a bit earlier that he is not perfect, but rather he is pleading with them to follow him in his humble adoration of Jesus Christ, and complete dependency on Christ. It is so amazing, the transformation that Paul went through: from killing Christians with the sword, to leading them by his own example! He says in verse 12 that he presses onward because Jesus Christ has called Paul and made Paul His own, so even though Paul has set this amazing example of humility, he still gives all the credit to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. In doing so, Paul just proves how great his example really is! If anyone could have boasted about their accomplishments, it was Paul. But he doesn’t, because he knows that everything that has happened to him was all due to the sovereign grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Paul submits very humbly to his Savior and invites everyone to join in. What a great example Paul is for all Christians. What a joy it is that we, Sons and Daughters of God, really can join Paul in humbly submitting to this amazing God we serve.