January 2012
18 posts
what is Christian worship?
In light of the EFC ‘11 winter retreat.
Growing up in the church, I usually associated ”Christian worship” with songs we’d play on Sunday morning. For me, it was a time of deep emotion, being a crybaby, feeling guilty about my sin, resolving to be a better person, and feeling good about God.
But proper worship is not just singing songs at church or retreats (cf. Romans...
December 2011
21 posts
to those going on retreats:
Especially to those who have experienced “retreat highs/valley lows,” who would rather not experience them again.
Something to think about, and hopefully encourage you:
All our knowledge of the truth—who God is, the gospel of what he accomplished through Christ at the cross, and how we are to respond—is derived from the bible, which is his divinely inspired word. All our...
just be faithful with what you have
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s really easy for me to want more
—more influence, more people to love, more opportunities to teach, more chances to evangelize—
and to daydream of being as holy and above reproach as John MacArthur is, of being as good a steward of my time here as Paul was, of having as much fear of God as Stephen did, of helping my local church...
lifeonthereef:
In light of the Christmas season,...
"how can I pray for you?"
I don’t know if you guys do this, but I do it all the time.
me: “So, how can I pray for you?”
brother/sister: “_______”
me: “Alright, awesome. Hey, thanks for sharing; I’ll pray for you. In fact, I’ll write it down so I don’t forget. In fact, I’m so great, I’ll pray for you right now.”
number of times I actually pray for...
not on my watch
We went shopping at an outlet today, and my little sister (Raychel [not a typo], age 7) needed a new swimsuit. Or is it a bathing suit for girls?
The first stop was Quiksilver, but they had nothing but two-pieces. So I refused to let my mom buy anything.
The second stop was Carter’s, but apparently they provide clothing for kids 6 and under. They found the biggest swimbathingsuit they...
when you face temptation (be like Joseph; be like...
It’s a narrative almost all of us have heard in Sunday School before:
So [Potiphar, Joseph’s master] left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to...
despite me
I think about my siblings
and I am filled with determination to do better
determination because I want to proclaim the glories of Christ
but filled with dread because I am such a sinner, and they know it
dread because what if they don’t get saved because of me?
In these moments, I must remember:
it is not up to me; Christ saves, not I; if he uses me, it will be despite me
and soli Deo...
new blog: days by grace
This is what the bible, the word of God, tells us:
God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, is holy and calls me to be holy. But I am a sinner who falls woefully short of the standard. I was created to be in worshipful communion with him, but because of my sin I was—from birth—alienated and hostile to him. For my transgressions, I deserve hell.
But Jesus Christ, both fully God...
so you think you know your stuff (part 2)
continuation from part 1.
5. There is a difference between intellectually knowing and having faith. And we walk by faith, with our direction guided by the bible. cf. 2 Cor. 2:7, Psalm 119:105
Therefore, fight to take God at his word. Fight to just surrender and simply believe what he says. Because all the while, our flesh whispers that he is not who he says he is—that he is not sovereign,...
so you think you know your stuff (part 1)
An exhortation to submission before God and his bible. Preaching to myself—truly the foremost of sinners and the most arrogant among us—but I hope it clarifies and humbles for your sake as well:
1. The bible is the divinely inspired word of God, and so is the sole authority regarding all truth. cf. 1 Thess. 2:13, Hebrews 4:12-13
Therefore, read it. Work to understand it correctly....
the mammoth nature of grace
A story.
For the past few years, right after the close of Fall Quarter finals, a group of people from AACF@UCLA have headed up to Mammoth for a week of awesome snowboarding (for some, like myself, “snowboarding”) and fellowship. I went last year and met, was encouraged by, and grew closer to a number of fantastic people. So it was with much anticipation that I planned on going again...
"I'm just not made for school"
or is that just an excuse for my lack of self-control, discipline, responsibility, and humility?
Probably.
Maybe, somewhere down the line, it’ll turn out that God—in his sovereign predestination of all the works I would do (cf. Ephesians 2:10)—has actually ordained that I will drop out of school and become an incredible songwriter/itinerant preacher/world-renowned...
it's not about the storms
For some reason, it seems that
as far as we’re concerned, the reality of God’s sovereignty, the necessity for good stewardship, the weakness of our condition, and our ability to surrender all
seem to reach their apex during finals week
and, barring extenuating circumstances (cf. Job), rarely otherwise.
Oh, that we would constantly be fighting.
That we would understand...
fraught with lots of thoughts
when your mind is filled with philosophical ponderings and questions about this life we live—ponderings and questions that are beginning to become the center of your obsession
the answers you find, every so often, open dozens of doors that you hadn’t seen before and behind each is yet another unanswered question, yet another spot of grass to chew on, another thought to mull over,...
“The new gender-inclusive NIV was published earlier this year. It contains...”
– Mary Kassian | 10 Reasons Why the New NIV is Bad for Women (via forchristsnamesake)
galatians 2:20
In the face of finals, it’s so easy [for me, at least] to get trapped into that hopeless mindset—
this “well, looks like this quarter’s down the drain, but I’ll work hard and start off on a good foot next quarter, I’ll be starting fresh with a clean slate, then I’ll be a good steward and get it together…” sort of attitude—
but since...
better get on that
In conversation with my sister:
rc (after noting that I just turned 19): “I’m going to be an aunt soon!”
me: “what”
me: “how”
rc: “well you’ll grow up and get married and have kids”
rc: “so I’ll be aunt by the time I’m 10”
me: “…”
(my sister is currently 7 years old.)
I might have to...
theology
You cannot feel deeply and truly if you do not think deeply and truly; fight to know the God of the bible, and your affections will accordingly grow.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the...
the candidacy
During a conversation between dstevens and myself:
djs: “I was reading a blog on the Gospel Coalition and there was this quote from a youth pastor who said something like, “you can make a pretty girl holy, but you can’t make a holy girl pretty.”
djs/me: (laugh out loudly, but somewhat uneasily)
me: “…”
me: “well, let’s just hope we...
did you do your devos today?
“Daily devos/quiet times” can be a misinterpreted notion, because every waking moment ought to be devoted to the purpose of worship and ascribing glory to Christ (Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 10:31).
So we ought to constantly, constantly, constantly pray, kill sin, read the bible (the authoritative word of the living God), meditate on it, commit it to memory, preach the truths...