Faith is not the focus -- Christ is

Christ must always be the focus. Unfortunately, the predominant focus even among Christians is faith, which is evident through sayings such as "My faith is important to me". On the surface, it seems like a good thing to say, considering how much the Bible talks about faith... The problem described is not new -- after all, Jesus' disciples had the same wrong mentality as narrated in Luke 17:

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. -- Luke 17:5-6

The disciples came to Jesus asking for more faith because they realized that their problem was insufficient faith.  But, Jesus' reply is surprising but not in the way I've always thought.  I used to think that his reply was primarily that of affirmation to let the disciples know that they needed just a little bit more faith (and it's certainly true).  However, I'd always missed the main point: faith must be to me like a grain of mustard seed, that is, barely noticeable.  Why?  Because as soon as faith becomes my focus, the object of faith becomes faith itself, not God who moves mountains.  That type of faith drives men mad.

Instead, my eyes (i.e. my faith) must be fixed on Jesus:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. -- Hebrews 12:1-2 (emphasis mine)

It is better to lose the body than the soul...

Inspired by 1 Corinthians 11:30-32: ‎

Father, if I were to deny Your grace and make a shipwreck of my faith, may Your loving hands break my body for my soul's sake.

Farewell to Gateway Baptist Church

As I say “farewell” to you, I expect to be reunited with you at a later time – whether it be here on earth or in the glory of our Savior. As my “good bye”, I would like to remind you of a simple truth that is at the core of our faith. My intent is that you would be encouraged and that your faith in the completed work of Christ increase.

There are many passages in the Scriptures – both in the Old and the New Testaments – that testify to God’s faithfulness. For example:

Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments...

-- Deuteronomy 7:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

-- 1 John 1:9

As you read the Old Testament, you see that God’s faithfulness was met with unfaithfulness on the part of His people. As a result, instead of blessings, God bestowed the promised troubles upon His people. While God’s faithfulness is without question, since with Him there is no variation or shifting shadows, the faithfulness of God’s people has always been found lacking.

While the Old Covenant was made between God and men, the New Covenant is made between the Father and His Son, who represents mankind. God does not make a covenant with you or me – simply because we are not able to keep our part of it. Instead, the Father makes a covenant with His Son and the blessings of the covenant are then bestowed upon Him. We become one with the Son when we are united with Him in His death. He is raised from the dead and we are raised with Him. He is seated in the heavens with the Father and we are seated with Him. His very life now fills us. The Son’s faithfulness is now our assurance of the Father’s faithfulness to us because we are one with Christ.

As you grow in your faith, God’s many blessings will also be accompanied by many trials so that you will not become so enamored with the gifts that you miss out on the joy of knowing the Giver. All our needs are created by Him for the very reason that He might satisfy them and, in the process, bring joy to us and glory to Himself as we thank and praise Him. Now when we pray and ask anything of God according to His will, He answers us – not on the basis of our, but His Son’s, keeping of the covenant. When you read that God is faithful to do “such and such” and you have a need, you should thank Him – because Jesus has fulfilled the covenant and you can freely ask anything in His name. The next time you feel unworthy to ask something of God, recognize that you are unworthy but ask on the basis of Christ’s worth. We do not deserve a single good thing from God, but He made a way for us to ask and receive His blessings by approaching Him through His Son.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

-- John 14:12-14

Ultimately, Jesus Himself is our treasure and our all in all. Even when I am stripped of everything in this world, as long as I have Him, I am the richest and most blessed man in the world.

Therefore, above all, treasure the Son of God in your hearts. May God’s grace and His peace be with you until we are united in complete fellowship with our glorious Savior.

Jesus is not a moral teacher...

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."-- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Today I went to see "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" movie. I thought it was well done -- at least considering the purpose for which it was made: to promote scientific inquiry. The movie is obviously very controversial and there has been a great outcry from the supporters of neo-Darwinism. Just googling "expelled the movie" shows several sites/blogs that have been set up to discredit the movie. One of the sites is ExpelledExposed.com, set up by the National Center for Science Education (which clearly states that its purpose is to defend the teaching of evolution in schools, etc.). So, it is good that the movie is creating a stir...

Something that I've been thinking about are the all-to-common responses from the neo-Darwinists. I'll note a few of them here with my comments...

Evolutionists claim...
ID (Intelligent Design) proponents have not put forth any credible evidence (i.e. peer-reviewed articles supported by research) and thus argue that there is no evidence for ID. They dismiss the notion of the Evolutionary Establishment (i.e. a dogmatic system that promotes evolution) by stating that new scientific ideas that challenge the mainstream scientific beliefs still make their way through after the ideas have been scrutinized by the scientific community...

However...
The fact is: ID challenges the very premise (i.e. there is no God, deity, intelligent designer, etc.) on which the entire particles-to-man evolution theory rests. The challenge is much more extreme than the claim half a millenium ago that the Earth is round and not flat. Because of this, it is practically impossible to get peer-reviewed because any premise other than the evolutionary one is rejected. Therefore, it's a catch 22: they argue that there are no peer-reviewed articles by ID proponents while articles that support ID are not peer-reviewed on the grounds that the premise contradicts the established evolutionary beliefs.

Evolutionists claim...
The theory of evolution is a scientific fact that has been proven.

However...
There is not a single evidence that supports that

1. natural selection has ever caused increase in the genetical information (as the term "selection" implies, it only selects from what's already available)
2. mutation has ever created new genetical information (not just recombination of already available information)

All in all, the evolutionary theory is a theory of origins and thus is not demonstrable. It is one thing to demonstrate gravity at work, it is completely different to hypothesize about what happened in the past.

Added a picture...

I just added a picture of me and my wife to make this blog a little more personal :-).

Every True Christian Is a Former Atheist...

This may sound surprising but every Christian is a former atheist... without exception (defining atheist as "one who denies the existence of deity"). You might say that there are those who are agnostics (i.e. those who do not accept or deny the existence of God). However, if we consider that "believing" means "following" (as in following with actions) as well, there are only two types of people: theists and atheists. What we commonly refer to as faith is just a set of religious or otherwise notions -- true faith is determined by what we do and the motives behind our actions. Every Christian had been a rebel before he/she was drawn by the saving grace of God. I suppose some would disagree that absolutely every Christian is a former rebel. You and I probably know someone who seems to always have been a good person. Do not be deceived: all have broken the greatest commandment to love God with all one's heart, with all one's mind, and with all one's strength. There is not a person in this world (apart from Jesus Christ, of course) who is not guilty of loving something or someone else more than loving God.

So if you are an atheist, do not suppose you can say that Christians just do not understand where you are coming from. However, I, by no means, imply that everyone who calls him/herself a Christian is indeed one: the tree is known by its fruit -- if he/she is nothing like Jesus Christ, there is nothing CHRISTian about him/her. However, there is hope for that person too -- to repent and believe. Such "nominal" Christian is actually worse off than an atheist: he/she will shove "the gospel" down your throat and will condemn you -- all in order to appear righteous. Ultimately, this is the worst form of rebellion as is confirmed by Jesus' reproof of the Pharisees.

If you are an atheist, true Christians are your best friends. They are humble and non-judgemental because they've been where you are and, though it might be hard to believe, the only reason they believe God is because He initiated the transformation -- they did not get to this point on their own apart from Jesus Christ.

Seven Days of Einstein: Day 7

"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing." -- Albert Einstein

Seven Days of Einstein: Day 6

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." -- Albert Einstein

C.S. Lewis on Prayer (from Shadowlands)

This is an excerpt from the dialogue between Harry Harrington and C.S. Lewis from the movie Shadowlands...

“Christopher can scoff, but I know how hard you’ve been praying. And now God is answering your prayer.”

“That’s not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because… I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping... It doesn’t change God. It changes me.”

Seven Days of Einstein: Day 5

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." -- Albert Einstein

Seven Days of Einstein: Day 4

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity." -- Albert Einstein

Seven Days of Einstein: Day 3

"The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible." -- Albert Einstein

Seven Days of Einstein: Day 2

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -- Albert Einstein

Seven Days of Einstein: Day 1

"Two things inspire me to awe -- the starry heavens above and the moral universe within." -- Albert Einstein

Are you creating your own god?

(Hebrews 10:7-10)
THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.' After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The last sentence is the key as it states that no other sacrifice is necessary for our sanctification. That’s what I’d like to talk about…

It is extremely easy for Christians to fall into the trap of offering our sacrifices instead of accepting the perfect one. Do you find yourself thinking that if you only pray more or “do good” or fast more or ______ that God would become to you what you want Him to be? That He would love you more? That He would favor you more?

That’s garbage in its pure form. God is already everything to us that we ever needed. He doesn’t change: He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He loves you unconditionally and His love does not change based on what you do (or don’t do). He cannot change because He cannot become any more or less perfect – He is the perfection itself.

If we find ourselves trying to "change" God, we must repent at once. God never, never needs anything from us as if He lacked something... It is we who need everything from Him. We are to open our mouths wide that He may fill us. We are strictly God's beneficiaries -- never benefactors.

What is God's will for your and my lives?

I might be wrong but it appears to me that the most (or at least one of the most) frequently asked questions by Christians is, "What is God's will for my life?" Even if the question is never voiced, I am certain most Christians want the answer.

There is a lot of literature on the subject but, unfortunately, none seem to give a simple and definitive answer (and it has to be simple because not all of us are intellectuals). From my experience, the answers given usually go like this: "study the Bible, then pray a lot -- you will know God's will for your life." I have nothing against this statement per se but I do doubt its applicability to the question. The answer implies that God's will is something very illusive and only after much study and prayer you may know what His will is. I don't think it is true (although I am all for vigorous Bible study and genuine prayer). Before setting off on a quest to answer this question in the miriad of books and articles, let's ask the Savior Himself. "O Lord, Maker of heavens and earth and all within them, what is the Father's will for my life?" Here's the Lord's reply, "believe in Him [the Son] whom He [the Father] sent" (John 6:29). Indeed, the reply is to a slightly different question, "What shall we do so that we may work the works of God?" However, the difference between our and their question is only superficial. We, too, ask the question so that we may do God's work.

So, the answer is simple, "Believe in and trust Jesus." This is God's will for your and my lives.

Reflection on my visit to Epcot (Disney World)

I was in Epcot yesterday. It was a nice place... However, I came out of it dissatisfied. All the things were great but they only left me longing for more. "Is that it?" was the constant question on my mind. Don't get me wrong, Epcot is a wonderful place. But neither Epcot nor any other worldly joy can satisfy a heart longing to be filled with the magnificent Living Water. Experiencing Epcot was as if I smelled a delicious dinner but the dinner never came. The world is satisfied with the smell, going on for days describing what a joy it was... However, the Christian would become only hungrier to get "the real thing." In his mind, he would be expecting dinner with the smell -- for he has tasted the Lord and nothing less can satisfy. All this notwithstanding, here's a warning to the "Christian pharisee." If he rejects the smell of dinner as being bad, is he likely to partake of the actual meal? I doubt it. The true Christian will delight in all things, small and great, since all of them speak of his first love: "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17) and "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." (1 Timothy 4:4-5).

All worldly joys in themselves are not the end, they merely point to the greatest joy: knowing and savoring Jesus. As C.S. Lewis says, "We are far too easily satisfied..."

The power of pleasure...

"If the heart is satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus, the power of sin to lure us away from the wisdom of Christ is broken." -- John Piper

Dennis is coming

Dennis is on its way into Alabama. It appears the center of the storm will miss Montgomery but we'll still get some strong winds. We won't have power for a day or two -- best case scenario.

"The men were amazed, and said, 'What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'" (Mark 4:41).

God is sovereign over Dennis. Dennis obeys every word that proceeds from God... In fact, it is the power of God that sustains Dennis: "... in Him all things hold together" (Col. 1:17). He is the power that holds atoms together -- if He lets go, all things will simply cease to be.

What is our response to the author of this storm? Will we curse Him or worship Him? In His wisdom He works all things for good of those who love Him.

O Lord, be merciful upon us. Yes, we do not even deserve to live a single moment for we are all sinners and from our hearts proceed all sorts of vile and evil things. But in Christ, you have spared us from eternal punishment by laying it all on Him. We appeal to Your covenant -- spare the righteous and the unrighteous to demonstrate your patience and steadfast love. Blessed be Your name, O Lord! For You are great! Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May Your name be proclaimed in all the earth. Amen.