"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe…For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:18-21,25).
It has been a long time since I blogged. I don’t know how many people read it or care, but I am going to get back into it. I am going to try to be more concise in my entries so it doesn’t take people too long to read it.
I started this entry with a verse from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 because this is going to be the theme of my blog in the near future. No matter how hard I try to not get sucked into it, apologetics, or defending my Christian faith, is something that is very near and dear to my heart.
First, I feel this way because God’s truth has set me free. Second, I see too many people enslaved to the mindset described in the above verses. Scripture doesn’t make sense to those who do not wish to know the Lord. It is foolishness, superstition, and emotional paranoia in their eyes.
These people not only feel this way, but they go to great lengths to try to prove their point, boasting in their “logical” and “scientific” enlightenment and maligning the word of God. I could go on and on about examples of arguments and flat out lies that these people are so convinced are logical and free of emotional paranoia, but I want to honor my attempt to not be long-winded.
Therefore, I plan to use my blog to honor the word of God and that truth that has set me free. My goal is not to insult agnostics or atheists because there is a very fine line with the written word. However, scripture is very blatant about such ideologies; look up Psalm 14:1.
My hope and prayer is that if people feel offended by these entries, the offense will be due to Scripture, not me. I do not want to be defensive or nasty. No name calling on my end. Defense of truth and God’s deserved honor only. I am not rattled when people mock and scoff at me for my beliefs, but that does not mean that I am not going to reply and give you my opinion.
I thank God that we live in a country where we are free to discuss these things. My prayer is that God will be glorified through it and that some might come to know Him, His truth, and the true freedom that comes from abiding in that truth. With all of that said, my next entry will be about freedom and oppression as far as ideology is concerned.
Remember how I said I was going to try? I don’t think I was successful.
I have been a fan of hip hop for a long time, at least since junior high (early 90's). Being raised in a Christian home, I listened to some of the early Christian artists, ETW (End Time Warriors), PID, Michael Peace, and, yes, DC Talk. As I got older and was more influenced by the kids in my neighborhood and school, I started listening to a bunch of garbage with foul language that promoted sex, drugs, disrespect of authority, and narcissism. The music really affected me deeply, and I regret the stupid decisions I made based on this indoctrination of "hip" worldliness. The sad and subtle thing about rap music is that a lot of these rappers would claim to know God and have a relationship with Him; it was the church and society that didn't understand them. They would have a song about heaven or a song that was some sort of a confession to God. Then, the next song would talk about their sexual exploits. What a distortion of what it means to know the Lord! I soon bought into this subtle lie, that I was a good person because I "talked" to God and asked Him tough questions about life. He was a God of love, and, at the end of all of the chaos, sinfulnees, and unhappiness, He would receive me into heaven because I believed the Bible was true and could quote it.
When God brought me to repentance (We are called not only to believe, but to repent also!), I had a half-hearted approach to walking away from all of that garbage. For the first time ever, I realized all of the hopelessness and futility in the words that I once thought were truth. However, I still loved the music from an artistic standpoint.
I tried to find good Christian rap. ETW and PID were outdated; DC Talk was on their fourth or fifth genre of music. What I found were a bunch of artists who were just trying to be like everyone else in the world without cussing and being sinful. Rappers were talking more about the hood than they were about Christ and the gospel. A certain rapper who has amazing skill made it a point to talk about all of the violent things that he could do to the devil and demons. I thought that I might as well listen to secular stuff, not Christian music that was trying so hard to sound like secular artists. This was an area of compromise that God has graciously broken me of in the past year thanks to a new movement called Holy Hip Hop.
I have written my own rap songs since junior high. After high school, I was in a rap duo with a great friend, but our music promoted all of the things for which Christ died. After Christ transferred me from darkness to light, I was compelled by the Holy Spirit to walk away from our rap pursuits just when we were finally starting to get good. I tried writing some Christian lyrics shortly after that, but there were no truly sound artists from whom to draw inspiration. About six years later, I started writing lyrics again. They were better, and they reflected spiritual growth and a better understanding of Scripture and Christ's centrality in redemption. The old narcissism that is so prevalent in hip hop was slowly dissolving away.
Then came an email from a friend with a link to Shai Linne's myspace page. I clicked it right away and heard the song "Where You There?" It was similar to a song that I had written entitled "Still Screamin'", only Shai Linne's was so much better. Below is a link to a youtube video that includes a slide show with the song:
I eventually purchased a copy of "The Atonement" by Shai Linne. It was the first sound Christian hip hop album that I had ever purchased. I have heard a number of testimonials about people who totally despised rap music (people who are a generation removed from hip hop music), but were so blessed by the content of "The Atonement." It is a must have for all believers, in my opinion. It will change your life if you will just sit down and listen carefully to it. If you just can't bring yourself to listen to the music, please check out his lyrics at the following website:
http://www.lyricaltheology.blogspot.com
Over the past year, my Holy Hip Hop collection has expanded greatly. I could go on and on about each rapper or group that I listen to on a regular basis, but I will just talk briefly about one group and then provide links to the music pages of some groups that I fully endorse.
116 Clique is out to magnify the Savior and His Word. 116 Clique includes Lecrae, Sho Baraka, Trip Lee, and Tedashii. These guys are all about the Lord and His gospel. They are not about themselves. They are not trying to sound like anybody else. Their music is an inspiration, first and foremost, to help people live their lives to the glory of God, and they are also a blessing to serious hip hop fans who crave solid and God-glorifying content. Their music is amazing from an artistic standpoint. These four are on tour right now on the "Don't Waste Your Life" Tour. The video at the top of this post is of Lecrae performing the title track. I was blessed to see part of this concert two nights ago in Phoenix (the non-air-conditioned venue was a little too much for me and my four-year-old son). I walked away from the show somewhat disappointed that it was overwhelmingly hot but thankful for the hearts of all four of these men, living their lives to the glory of God and touring the country to encourage other people do the same.
Check out the webpages for the following God-glorifying record labels:
This is probably the best quote I have ever read or heard regarding God's heart in election. I am looking forward to responding confidently (with humility and grace) to the next person who knocks on predestination or election without having any semblance of Biblical understanding. The quote is taken from a sermon delivered by Scott Maxwell this past Sunday at Grace Bible Church in Tempe, Arizona:
"There is nothing cold about election or predestination. There is nothing mechanical about predestination or election. There is nothing fatalistic about election or predestination in Ephesians 1 and if anyone tells you otherwise, you can rest assured that they haven’t read Ephesians 1. Christian, there is no greater display of God’s kindness to you than in His predestinating work of adoption, to make you one of His own through His privileged Son."
Click on the link if you would like to listen to the whole sermon. It is amazing. I am really going to miss sitting under Scott's preaching, but I am thankful that I will still be able to listen to him online on a regular basis. The message is from July 5th and is titled "Ephesians: Boasting in the Father Who Chose Us!"
Today, Sarah Palin has resigned as the governor or Alaska. I know it is only a matter of time (if it hasn't happened already) until the media creates round two of Give-Palin-the-Hatchet. O how joyful they must be right now. I personally think it is very sad how many people judged Sarah Palin based on the way that the ridiculously biased media portrayed her. They were unfair and never gave Palin a chance. I don't think anyone can dispute that regardless of how they feel about Palin. It is a shame how many voters made their selection on slanted news coverage which found every fault they possibly could with Palin, but purposefully ignored faults related to Obama and his vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden (the media liked to call those faults "distractions").
Sarah Palin is the object of so much hatred, and I think that it is hypocritical of people who pay such lip-service about tolerance, equality, and fairness to rave the way they do about Sarah Palin. Is such treatment only sexism when it is directed at a women who views the world left-of-center? I don't think so.
I personally don't think that Sarah Palin's move is a good one politically. She gave her reasons why she is leaving, and the media should respect that and report that, not editorialize it. They also shouldn't, but probably will, consider this a moral victory for themselves. They will attribute Palin's resignation to not being able to take the pressure that they threw at her in a lopsided fashion. They view her as the enemy and have criticized her for having the audacity to give birth to a child with Down Syndrome and to allow her unwed teenage daughter to give birth as well. What a horrible reason to criticize: because she is pro-life and dissimilar to Hillary.
Once upon a time, I desired to be a journalist, but when I discovered how so much of journalism is about slaughtering people with ink, I figured I would do something a little more fair and constructive to society and democracy.
I finish today's post with a quote from an excellent read regarding the left-wing's utter loathing of Sarah Palin, a woman whom I consider honorable and who possessed a certain strength and resolve that could really help our nation if both sides could learn how to coexist. The media doesn't ever want to see such cooperation between the parties take place. The quote is from Bernard Goldberg:
"What makes these liberals foam at the mouth is that this "white trash," pro-gun, pro-life, church-going woman, who didn't go to Harvard or Yale or Princeton, but who flitted from one second-rate school to another before she wound up ... at the University of Idaho, became the most prominent woman in all of America! They hated that. It wasn't supposed to be that way. It drove them crazy with rage. She wasn't one of them. She wasn't even really a woman, as those feminists told us. She was... a conservative!
"Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You." --Psalm 119:11
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." --Philippians 4:8
I am convicted that I do too little when it comes to Scripture memorization. I was pretty good at it when I was little. Some people claim that it gets harder as we get older, but I haven't come to that point yet. So, what's my problem? I'm lazy! Also, most importantly, I am choosing not to do what I am called to do in Scripture.
We are bombarded with songs, commercials, and catchy phrases in our society, and they fill our hearts. Soon, the mouth starts to speak out of that which fills the heart. Honestly, society is not putting out anything that is worthy of filling my heart. I figure that it's time to start bombarding my heart with the Bible, the immense fountain of transcendent treasure, the book that is full of what is true, honorable, right, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise.
In Psalm 119:11, the psalmist states that he has "treasured" God's word in his heart. As I reflect on those words, I get the Treasure Island idea of pirate searching for buried treasure. When that treasure was initially buried, somebody (1) took time to place the treasure in a special place, and that person (2) also created some sort of means to retrieve that treasure or help others find it like, possibly, a map.
To treasure God's word in my heart, the little five to ten minute devotion is insufficient; my heart goes bankrupt. I have to first view God's word as a treasure, something worthy of taking the time so that I can bury that treasure in the special place of my heart. I have to treasure it enough so that I don't forget that it is there also.
Some people automatically label Scripture memorization as legalism, another thing to add to the to-do list. It is possible to memorize Bible verses because they are Sunday school assignments and never really ponder the words; it becomes a mantra or mindless chant. However, who's to say that at some point in a person's life that person will not have that verse become a blessed treasure in his heart, giving him hope during a trial or words of life to encourage or exhort another believer. Also, memorizing Scripture does not have to be a mindless chanting or "religious" chore; it should be our means to treasuring God's word and our method we use so that we can dwell on all of those positive adjectives that the apostle Paul describes in Philippians 4:8.
The pastor of our Arizona church challenged people to start memorizing the book of Ephesians in anticipation on a new teaching series. I have been working on that this week, and I have been thoroughly blessed by it. In my Christian life, I have been challenged from the pulpit many times to memorize Scripture and have ashamedly ignored such exhortations. I have sucessfully memorized all of Ephesians 1 (in the NASB) and the first ten verses of chapter two. I must say that these words are perfect treasure to hide in my heart in a place where I can summon them to my mind time and time again. Chapter one deals with "the riches of His (God's) grace" and "the praise of His glory." All of these treasures (like election, adoption as sons, redemption, a spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of God, etc.) are brought about "in Christ." Chapter two basically reminds me that God is rich in mercy and grace; I brought nothing to the table when he saved me, and it is He who prepared all of the "good works" before I ever did a single one as a regenerated believer. These are the things that are pure, good, right, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise.
I encourage anyone who isn't working on any kind of memorization to work on memorizing the book of Ephesians. Let's do it, Grace Bible Church.
I am convicted by the power of God's word to help me fight against sin and focus my feeble, ever-distracted mind on Philippians 4:8 criteria. I am blessed by the illumination of the Holy Spirit who allows me to savor and delight in what I am memorizing. I am encouraged to make memorization a lifelong discipline through dependence on the Spirit which I am confident will help me in fighting my war of the mind and battles with my sin nature.
There once lived a young man whose world was turned upside down. A speaker sharing the gospel seemed to read this young man's mind. He walked away a changed man. A Vietnam veteran, he started attending college and met the love of his life. He asked her to dance. They started to fall in love. He asked her to marry him; she was afraid, but not of him. He waited for her to say yes. He wasn't going anywhere. On a road trip, one day, she finally said yes.
Almost four years into their marriage, they had a son. Two and a half years later, they had another child, a girl. This now grown man worked so hard for his family. He also was a living example of a godly man. All you had to do was contrast his words and deeds with his relatives' at family reunions and get-togethers. It stood out to his son that he was probably the only man at those family functions that wasn't drinking or smoking.
This man's son loved church too. He loved it so much that he decided to throw a fit one Sunday evening when it was time to go home. For over half of the trip home, his son protested vehemently, insisting that he was not going to go home. Well, then the man pulled over to a dark street corner at Walnut and Nora and let his little son have a choice. If he wasn't going to go home, he could get out of the car. The son thought that he would certainly convince his parents that he was right if he got out of the car, so he did that very thing. To his shock, he watched as the yellow car pulled away and the tailights got smaller and smaller, heading westward, the opposite direction of church--and him. Now, his son just wanted to go home. The man's wife fought back the desire to flagellate him for leaving her baby boy alone on some dark street corner. He accelerated more quickly than usual, driving completely around the block to get back to his son, who was more than ready to get back into the car and go home.
There are so many stories of this man, and they are not all as controversial as the previous. There is the story of his crazy friend who always had an interesting way of helping him celebrate a new birthday. A knock at the door followed by a flying pie to the face brought his little son to tears; the man got the joke and enjoyed it immensely--after he comforted his son. Other birthday memories include a t-shirt buried in a cement block, a bag of manure, and some kind of gift enclosed in a small wooden casket for his 40th birthday. It might seem harsh, but this man was just getting back what he always liked to dish out. This is, after all, the same man who folded his ear up tightly into a rubber band and told his little kids that his ear had been cut off and the same man who, to this day, goes out of his way to pull pranks on friends, co-workers, and family and loves to engage in a little friendly trash-talking.
There are more serious memories too. There was the time that he wandered all around the West Central Spokane neighborhood, looking for the juvenile who had asked if he could "borrow" his son's basketball, the devastated look in his son's eyes when the ball never returned driving him from park to park until he retrieved it. There were all of the nights that his father showed amazing patience when his son would run terrified into their room night and night again. There were the talks about God being in control and watching over their family that sunk into his son's head right before the man would pray for two things: first, that his son would grow up to be a man of God and, second, that his son wouldn't have any bad dreams or be afraid of scary noises. There was a night were he stayed up all night with his son--now thirteen--to play Magic Johnson's Fast Break on the family's new Nintendo Entertainment System. There was the time that his son heard him really cry for the first time after he tried to share the hope of Jesus Christ with a dear family member, who replied by scoffing in a fit of drunkenness and bitterness. There was the time when he prayed that God would let him die in the place of his father, who was dying from cancer and didn't know the Lord. There was the time that he took his hormonal, know-it-all son aside in high school and said that he had "been there too."
This man, the hard-working, godly, family man, probably went through years of wondering what he did wrong as a father as his son was capsized by a torrent of debauchery. He yelled at his son for his son's own benefit. He cried for his son. He pleaded over and over again for his son. Everything that he had done to train his son in the right path the son had rejected. The son lived recklessly and irresponsibly, feeling so free in his vices, his chains. This man could do nothing else but pray. And pray he did.
The man made a point to hate the sin but love the sinner that was his only son. Yes, it is possible to do that, and praise God for the people who do it. When all of his son's pursuits left him empty and forlorn, his father wasn't there saying, "I told you so!" He was there giving him rides to work since he was too irresponsible with money to have a car or keep one running. He would take his wayward son to breakfast on Friday mornings, where the man always met with godly men to dig into the Bible and pray for one another. Of course, the man would always treat his son.
This man may have never known that he was still fully engaged in the process of making a disciple of Jesus Christ in his son just by the unconditional love that he showed him. It may have taken 21 years and ten days for true repentance to take place, but this man never backed down from the process. All of those years of modeling the light of Christ at those family functions, praying with his son when he was young and for him when he ran off on his own, and reading the Bible with and to his family were not years spent in vain. The immovable devotion to his wife that stood in stark contrast to the broken marriages plaguing his neighborhood, on top of everything else just mentioned, are a few of the evidences of God's grace in this man that the Lord used to bring his son to grace in 1999.
Many men make huge impacts, but they don't know it. They speak to their children as toddlers and wonder if they are processing a single word. They speak to them as teenagers and wonder if their words mean anything to the kids in the midst of all of their teenage drama, their hormones, and their unfounded confidence and self-assurance.
Time is the greatest teller of whether or not words spoken have made an impression. It is not just the words that mattered for this man. It was the deeds that backed up the words. It was wrestling matches, the hot breakfasts, the first time his son ran Bloomsday with him, the practical jokes, and many other things.
It should be pretty obvious who this man is. He has been married to the love of his life for almost thirty-five years. He says that one of the happiest accomplishments of his life is having two children who love God. He loves little children in a way that models Christ, and he now has three grandchildren of his own. His one friend who gave him all of the crazy gifts still brings around morbid gifts--this year, a buzzard named Murdock? He still works his tail off to care for his family today, at the age of sixty.
This man is my father, Jim Gilchrist. He is not just my biological father, but he has been my spiritual father and one of my dearest friends. I wanted to take the time to let him and everyone else know how amazing of a father he is by the grace of God.
I am reading through the Bible chronologically right now. I am currently reading about David's trials and persecution under King Saul. It is very refreshing to read some of the Psalms that David wrote after reading about the context in which they were written.
David was basically a fugitive in 1 Samuel 20-24. Saul had sent men to ambush him at his home, so he took off and wandered around, living in caves and hiding from Saul. He had no home and no food; he had to ask a priest for consecrated bread. David was real in the midst of these trials; it is obvious that he was upset and hurt by his trial. However, David's desires in the midst of this trial absolutely floors me. He could ask for restoration to his home and his wife. He could ask for peace between himself and Saul. But this is what David requests: "One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple...I would have despaired unless I had believed that I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:4,13). These verses really affected me as I read them this week.
David was not saying these words in some state of royalty and ease, but in one of desperation, loneliness, and poverty. It could be so easy for Him to have just said, "God, I just want this trial to stop. Please restore me to my home. Let me have something to eat. Enough is enough." No, David asked for God's presence and goodness, and he had unwavering confidence that he would experience that "goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
There are so many things that I find myself asking the Lord for over and over again: a job, financial security, the joy of bringing my son home from the hospital for the first time, and many other things that are not bad in and of themselves. I don't have anyone trying to kill me, and I am not having to live my life in hiding as David did. I wish that we all could have the heart of David, having only one object worthy of our ambitions and pursuits, the God of immeasurable beauty within whose "presence is fullness of joy." Those other things, even the joy of looking at my precious little boy as he sleeps in my arms, cannot give such joy. But, they can be enjoyed all the more when God is our everything and His gifts, like Jonathan Edwards said, are like the "beams" of "the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17b).
