She Said Yes!

On the 28th of March, in the 2007th year of our Lord, in the mountains of Colorado, as the snow fell softly on our tent, Jennifer Uhre agreed to be my wife. I am now officially the happiest man in the world.

We have created the following blog to keep everyone up to date on our planning and progress, and we will also post pictures soon. So add it to your favorites and check it often.

http://jasonandjennywedding.blogspot.com/

An Emcee's Gentle Word

Curtis "Voice" Allen was invited to John Piper's church, Bethlehem Baptist Church (BBC), to share his testimony and to perform last October. All seemed to go well until word spread that John Piper had a rapper rap at his church during worship and people flipped out. Because of his performance, many people even called his conversion into question.

It would be understandable if Mr. Allen was upset, or even if he let loose a little well founded criticism of the current state of evangelicalism in America, but instead he wrote this article. It is a response written from a humility I fear that I may never find. It almost brings me to tears. God grant me and other Christians to respond to adversity and criticism in such a way as this.

Again, read his response here: An Emcee's Gentle Word

Also check out other thoughts on the situation from Justin Taylor and Steve McCoy.

Who Was St. Patrick?

Sometime around 400 AD, Patrick, a sixteen-year-old Briton, was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. He had previously rejected the Christian faith of his parents, but during his six years of captivity, he repented and gave his heart to God, praying constantly as he tended sheep alone in the hills. When he escaped and returned to Britain, Patrick was far behind his peers in terms of education and never really caught up, but he worked hard to receive the theological training he needed so he could return to the Irish as a missionary--to the very people who had enslaved him:

I must take this decision [to return to the Irish], disregarding any risks
involved, and make known "the gifts of God and his everlasting consolation."
Neither must we fear any such risk in faithfully preaching God's name boldly in every place, so that even after my death a spiritual legacy may be left for my
brethren and my children, so many people in their thousands whom I have baptized
in the Lord.

Thanks to Patrick's love and service, within a hundred years, the country was transformed from an illiterate, pagan nation of war, slavery, and human sacrifice to the guardian of the literature of Western civilization as Rome crumbled. After the dust settled, it was the Irish who traveled into Europe to plant the seeds of spiritual renewal and learning through the creation of monasteries that protected the ancient manuscripts and re-evangelized Europe.

God began all this through a man who felt decidedly unqualified for service, but who loved God completely, believed He is true, and was willing to give his life for others:

[God] stirred up me, a fool, from the midst of those who are considered wise and
learned in the practice of law, as well as "persuasive in their speech" and in
every other way and, ahead of these others, inspired me who is so despised by
the world, to be fit to help (if only I could!) faithfully and "in fear and
trembling" and without any complaint that race of people to which the love of
Christ drew me and thus spend the rest of my life, if only I might prove worthy;
simply to serve them in humility and truth.

Patrick was adamant, particularly at the end of his Confession, that nobody who reads his words should ever attribute the work he describes to his own abilities and power. But rather, they should glorify God who was the One working in him and through him, a humble former slave. He reminds us that everything accomplished through him was a gift from God. The irony of this holiday is that Patrick would be horrified to learn that not only is there a special day now devoted to him, but that day is cluttered with leprechauns, gold, and good-luck charms--the kind of paganism he worked so tirelessly to rescue people from in the first place.

Instead, I pray you'll see this day as a reminder of the value of bringing Christ to the lost through prayer, suffering, sacrifice, and loving your enemies. And above all, I pray it's a reminder of the value and glory of God Himself who loved a small country of barbarians enough to make sure even they would come to know Him.

So let Patrick's words now be ours:

At last I came here to the Irish gentiles to preach the gospel...Now I was able
to hand over the freedom of my birth for the benefit of others. And should I
prove worthy, I am ready and willing to give up my own life, without hesitation
for his name.

(I encourage you all to read Patrick's story in his own words in The Confession of St. Patrick and see how the God he loved changed the world through him in How the Irish Saved Civilization.)

Source

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Prayer of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock
.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

John Calvin's 500th

July of 2009 will be the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. In honor of this, there will be a series of celebrations, seminars, and conferences. Calvin500 is a good resource for these events, which are described more below:

The Calvin Quincentenary is an international, interdenominational, and interdisciplinary commemoration of the life and work of John Calvin (b. 1509), which left such an indelible impression on the modern world. Climaxing with conferences in multiple locations in 2009, this celebration combines history, spirituality, and culture to recall appropriately the life and work of the Genevan Reformer.

Esteemed leaders, scholars, and ministers will serve as your guides to learning about this influential man, his vibrant city, and the cultural, religious, political, and economic impact flowing from a movement. This multi-faceted approach seeks to introduce many people to one of the most important thinkers (links to Calvin bios) in history.

The Quiet Time

Joe Thorn has some really good thoughts on a quiet time/devotional time/private worship. I really recommend reading the series.

The Quiet Time Series
1. Not a Cleansing Rite
2. Defined
3. My Failure
4. What is it good for?
5. Advise

From the Archives - Are Luxuries a Sin?

I am here going to do my best to give a Biblically faithful answer to the question:
Is having luxuries in a world full of preventable suffering a sin?

Before I go any further, I would like to first define luxuries for my purposes here. I define a luxury as anything above and beyond meeting basic needs, basic levels of comfort, basic responsibility, basic ability to function well in your culture, and basic ability to do your job well. I get the impetus for this definition from Proverbs 30:8. I suppose I could go on and further define basic needs, basic responsibilities, etc., but that could get a bit tedious, so for now we will let this definition stand alone.

So now, where to begin? Let's start with Matthew 10:29-37:But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

I gather that the point of the parable is this: Your neighbor is anyone who needs your help that you have the ability to help. Furthermore, we are obligated in love to go out of our way to provide that help where we see a need. So, how do we apply this to our current situation as educated, fairly affluent, Western Christians in a world that is still repleat with enough preventable hunger, disease, and suffering to bring any thoughtful and loving Christian to tears? Here is my train of thought:

• Is it a sin to disobey a clear teaching of Jesus? Yes
• Is it a clear teaching of Jesus to show mercy when you are able? Yes
• Therefore, it is a sin to not show mercy to your neighbor when you are able, and in this day and age, almost everyone is your neighbor according to Jesus' definition.

So to bring back our original question: Is having luxuries in a world full of preventable suffering sin? My answer is this: If luxuries prevent you from showing mercy and love to your neighbor, then they are a sin. If you could get by with a car that is several thousand dollars cheaper, then it seems that vanity would be the only reason to have a nicer one, especially if that money could be used to advance the Gospel or alleviate preventable suffering. The same could be said of clothing, recreation, food, Dish satelites, second homes, etc., etc. This obviously wouldn't look the same for everyone. One man was told by Jesus to sell everything he owned, another was moved to sell half and commended for it, still another sold a field, and still others in Scripture sold things "as others had need," and yet still others used their possesions themselves as a way to advance the Kingdom without actually selling them. James 2:16 is also a scripture that could be looked at here, but this is getting a bit long already.

In general, perhaps it is the "entitlement mentality" that is sinful. Just because you can afford something, doesn't mean that you are justified/entitled to have it, especially if your resources could be better used in some Kingdom capacity. I am fully aware that if I am correct, then my life is far from this ideal, and I pray that God will help me to do some pretty heavy duty repenting so that I will not be like the man "desiring to justify himself."

An immediate, and almost cliche, objection to this line of reasoning usually go like this, "David, Solomon, and Abraham were wealthy, and they were considered righteous men of God." My answer to this objection comes in several layers.

First, I am not saying that luxuries, in and of themselves, are sinful.

Second, just because an OT character portrays a certain attitude, action, or lifestyle, that doesn't necessarily mean that Christians would be justified in immitating it. Abraham, David, and Solomon were wealthy indeed, but they also did many things that it would be sinful for the Christian to do that we don't see them recognizing as sinful. Solomon's many wives pop into mind.

Thirdly, Jesus and the Apostolic witness shed new light, in many ways, on how the Children of Promise should live. Jesus himself updates (I'm not sure what the best word would be here) many practices that were seemingly endorsed by the OT. Divorce comes to mind. Moses said it was OK with a certificate, but Jesus gets straight to the meat of the matter and draws out a previously unseen way of viewing life and choices, one that is radically God centered. The New Testament, along with other things, seems to give Christians a new and higher view of possessions and money than the one given in the OT.

And the last reason that I don't think Abraham, et al. , are a good example for the Christian of how to use wealth is that their lives were foreshadowings of deeper truths. The material blessings belonging to the Old Testament heros of the faith were pointing toward the deeper, truer, more eternal spiritual blessings that we enjoy here, and will enjoy even more in Heaven. As the Biblical revelation moves from "type" to "reality" we see less and less material possesions and more and more spirtual possesions.

In conclusion, I am not saying that all rich people are necessarily any more sinful than poor people. I am saying simply this: If luxuries prevent you from showing mercy and love to your neighbor, then they are a sin. Ultimately, anything that does not spring from a love for God, His Glory, His Kingdom, and your neighbor is sin. God help us. Soli Deo Gloria!

Funny Fact

According to Amazon, "The Very Best of Sting and the Police" is the top-selling album in Kazakhstan right now.

Interesting Fact

The word "leader" is used only seven times in the New Testament. The word "servant" is used 178 times.

Something You Can Do To Change The World - #1

From this point forward, buy and drink only organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee.

Why organic? No herbacides and pesticides are used which could pollute the soil and groundwater.

Why shade grown? Shade grown means that the coffee plants were grown in the midst of the existing forests instead of deforesting to plant coffee.

Why fair trade? The workers who grow and harvest the coffee will recieve a living wage for their work.