One Year in Louisville

Just over one year ago today, our moving truck pulled into Village Manor apartments (amazingly with our car still in tow) and we began our life in Louisville. In some ways it is hard to believe that a year has passed, and in other ways it seems like we have been here a lot longer.

God brought us to Louisville to learn to trust him more. A year ago, while I knew we were trusting in God when we came down here without a job, we still had so much to learn. God has used the past year to teach us a great deal about trusting him. One of the biggest lessons that I needed to learn was that this lesson is one that never goes away. Trusting God is meant to be a continual occupation of the Christian. This is something that really struck me as I studied for the lesson that I taught last Wednesday night at church. We are going through the Psalms and last week we were on Psalm 62.

 

Glory Will Shine

I recently had the opportunity to teach through Romans 8 in our adult Sunday school class at church, and I may have mentioned listening to Jason Gray’s new CD on more than one occasion. I have been thinking a lot about the middle portion of that awesome passage of scripture lately.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:18-23 ESV)

 

The Revolutionary Gospel

I just recently came across some quotes by JD Greear on the gospel. He has written a book titled, The Gospel: Rediscovering the Power that made Christianity Revolutionary. I have not read the book, but based on these three quotes that I am going to share, it seems like it might be a good read.

“Being able to articulate the gospel with accuracy is one thing; having its truth captivate your soul is quite another. The gospel is not just supposed to be our ticket into heaven; it is to be an entirely new basis for how we relate to God, ourselves, and others. It is to be the source from which everything else flows.”

What an awesome reminder that we all need from time to time. The gospel must captivate our soul; it is not just our “ticket to heaven.” How often though, do we live as if that were what we believe, that knowing the gospel is my way in and that is all I need. The right understanding of the gospel will not allow the “ticket to heaven” mentality to stay with us for long as we are transformed more and more into the image of God. We will see that the gospel enables us to relate in a New way with God, ourselves, and others. It will help us to apply the next quote:

“In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes You love me less.”

In Christ there is true liberty, spiritual freedom from the bondage of our sin. With the proper understanding of the gospel mentioned in the previous quote, we will understand that this knowledge doesn’t encourage us to live how ever we want, but that it enables and encourages us to live God-glorifying lives that point others to our Redeemer.

I think the last quote I wanted to share sums up really well, what I was trying to say.

“The amount which you understand the gospel is measured by your ability to be joyful in all circumstances. If you grasp what a treasure the presence and acceptance of God are, then even when life goes really wrong you will have a joy that sustains you, because you’ll recognize the value of what you have in Him. When life punches you in the face, you’ll say, ‘But I still have the love and acceptance of God, a treasure I don’t deserve.’ And the joy you find in that treasure can make you rejoice even when you have a bloody nose. You have a joy that death and depravation cannot touch.”

That is the power of the Gospel, the power that made and still makes Christianity revolutionary.

 

The Greatest Short Story Ever Written

I am not a literature expert by any means, but I do like good literature, and in my opinion the book of Ruth is the greatest short story ever written (sorry Edgar Allen Poe). The short story that is the book of Ruth has all the elements that make a great short story. It has twists and turns, the element of surprise and suspense, and probably the greatest element in all great literature is the theme of redemption. The redemption theme presented in this story works out on a personal level for a few of the characters, a national level for the nation of Israel, and on a cosmic level as the redemption promised in this book reaches out to all peoples though out all ages.

 

God Found a Way

I am reading through the book of Ruth and listening over and over again to a new CD by Jason Gray called “A Way to See in the Dark.” On the CD, Jason has a song titled “I Will Find A Way” about how Jesus had to find a way to get us to listen and to bring us back to his Father. We had heard the song before on a Christmas CD we have, but until we read the story behind the song in a blog post by Jason Gray on the song we hadn’t fully grasp what the song was trying to say. The song is about how we are all completely closed off to God by nature and that we don’t want to be confronted with our sinfulness. We want to ignore our sin and so we hide within ourselves. Jesus, though, found a way as the song explains as he “will hide in their as well.”

 

O Death, Where is Your Sting

Justin Taylor posted this just recently, and I wanted to encourage you to take the time to watch these videos. If you only have time for one, watch the first one…it will change your day in a good way.

“Just follow God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might.”

 

Pushing Back the Darkness

In relation to my previous post, Andrew Peterson was telling a story at the concert we attended in which he was part of a discussion group that was talking about “How they are pushing back the darkness in the world.” This is when Andrew mentioned that it is his aim to “Tell the truth beautifully” as I mentioned in the last post, and that alone had a profound affect on me. However, his real point in telling the story was that amidst all the stuffy, self-promoting answers of how these theologians and authors and artists were pushing back the darkness, was his wife’s response that she is pushing back the darkness by “loving and raising her children and husband all day long.”

 

Thank You, Andrew Peterson

We went to the Andrew Peterson concert in Louisville this past Friday. We have been fans of his for about three years, ever since I heard him for the first time. I will admit, I wasn’t sure at first what I liked about his music, but there was something special about it. Surprisingly, it took Jessica a little longer to like his music; she is usually much more in tune to the beauty of everything. Anyway, hooked from day one, I have anticipated being able to attend one of his concerts for a long time. He doesn’t make it up north too often, so we moved to Louisville, KY where the chances of seeing him increase greatly .

You have to understand his music to grasp why we like him so much. His music is layered with meaning, so much so sometimes that you have to listen a few times before you understand fully what he is trying to say, even then, you might be left a little in the dark.

 

True Freedom

I am reading through Glorious Freedom by Richard Sibbes. The book is largely an in-depth exposition of II Corinthians 3:17-18.

[17] Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. [18] And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 ESV)

I have heard a host of explanations on these verses, and perhaps the most notable section is the end of verse 17, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” [liberty in the version Sibbes would have used]. I believe a lot of people take great privilege as they interpret (out of context, of course) what that means. As I was reading last night, the depth of what the apostle is saying here really hit me. I was reading the section in which he writes about how we can know whether we are set at liberty or not and he provides some great material in this section. The point that really struck me was that where this liberty of the Spirit is we find a “freedom to do all duties from a full heart.” In other words, there is a freedom to live and act in a way that truly glorifies God.

 

Biblical Theology and the Church

Our pastor, Jim Hamilton, just completed a three week series on Biblical Theology at Kenwood Baptist Church. Some might think that is great for a seminary classroom or maybe even a Sunday School room, but Jim felt it important enough to bring into the worship service, and I quite agree with him. Having an understanding of the theology of the Bible is important for all Christians, not just those studying for an M-div or a PhD. As believers, we are all theologians; this is something that is missed by so many in our churches. I recommend very highly this series of sermons on Biblical Theology as it is something that the church desperately needs to pay much greater attention to. You can check out the audio on the Kenwood Baptist Church link above or clink the audio links for each message below:

In week one, Jim preached a message that gave the overarching story line of the entire Bible

A Story of Stories

During the second message, Jim focused our attention on the use of symbols throughout the Scriptures

A Set of Symbols: Images, Types, and Patterns

In the final message, Jim preached a message on the churches place in the big picture of the story of redemption

A Song for the Lady in Waiting