Rebrews

i'm reposting this because i'm going to pick up the posting of the hebrews commentary. it should be fun. please comment to correct, rebuke and admonish as you'd see fit.

Hebrews chpt. 01

01:01- God spoke through prophets (God spoke through man).

01:02- God spoke through his Son (God now speaks through God).; through his son in the fact that JC speaks/spoke audible words that we can now read/hear --> also, through his Son in the sense of by means of (the whole JC being our mediator thing); the same words that God spoke through JC to create everything we now see (and don't see), God speaks through JC to us (pretty frickin' cool!!); the only reason that we now hear God is because of what JC has done for us by being ransomed for us.

01:03- That Son we see is in fact God! He's the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's nature. JC beat death, took his rightful place of Honor and popped His collar;

01:04- "having become much better than the angels..." why is that said --> because angels are also in Heaven. If you don't say that, then one could wrongly assume that just like the angels are in heaven, so now is JC. The author wants to make no mistake that Jesus isn't just in heaven as the angels are, he's in a higher place of honor then they are. This now starts a chain of things/people that JC is better than; JC inherited a better name than the angels do --> we get to be co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8) --> we inherit this name as well, the only reason that we get access into heaven is the fact that we inherit JC's name!!

01:05- The author then proceeds to lay out from the scriptures why JC is better than the angels; the first cross reference in this verse is from Psa 2:7, the context of this Psalm is the nations are taunting God, but God ain't stressin' because he has set for himself the King that will lead to their ruin, namely JC (king of the universe is more lofty a title than an angel, chalk one up for Jesus); the second cross reference of this verse is from 2 Samuel 7:14, the context is that David wants to build a temple for God, then Nathan hears from God and God says that David is not the one to build the temple but that He will establish David's house forever, also that He will be a father to David's son (Solomon) and will not leave him. The author is seeing this promise as a promise for Jesus (the son of David, who's kingdom will be established forever) as the one in which this promise is fulfilled.; both verse's speak to JC's sonship and kingship; JC is better than the angels.

01:06- Basically, the first day JC is on the scene, he's the man; "firstborn"--> preeminence, over everything, so angels as well (see Col. 1 as well); JC is so much more higher than the angels that the angels all worship him; we see that first off when JC was born all the angels were singing Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:9 and following);

01:07- The cross reference in this verse is Psa. 104:4. This Psalm is pretty much just ascribing God crazy worship. This cross ref. is thrown in their to contrast how much more better JC is than the angels; the contrast is that the angels are basically God's messenger boy but JC is the heir to the king of the universe (which gets laid out even further in the following verses), and we also know that JC is actually God himself, so again we see how much higher JC is than the angels;

01:08-09- The cross reference in this verse is Psa. 45:6-7; this is taken as more promises that are fulfilled in JC. this also speaks to God's sovereignty in all this ("...throne forever and ever..."; "...God has anointed you..."); remember the author is putting this against what the angels are, hammering in the theme of this chapter--> JC is better than the angels;

01:10-12- The cross reference in these verses are Psa. 102:25-26. This Psalm is talking about how they were destitute and God is going to show off his Glory through them and that God hasn't changed or diverted from the plan of showing himself off; this cross ref. reaffirms JC's deity, and reaffirms JC's preeminence and JC's steadfastness/durability;

01:13- The cross reference is Psa. 110:1. The Psalm is basically more glory ascribing to JC!; The Psalmist is talking about God, but the author of Hebrews references it about JC-->, again reaffirming JC's deity; It pits this verse against the truth that this promise isn't for the angels, its for the Son;

01:14- The angels are "ministering spirits"; it says that they minister to the those who will inherit salvation; what does that mean? it seems as if thats speaking to the co-heirs with Christ, God's church; i don't think that it is saying that we lord over them and they are at our beck and call. I think it means that they will minister to us as a part of serving God. Angels serve God, not us. They are at His beck and call, not ours;

Chapter 1 Quick Wrap-Up:

Jesus is better than the angels; JC is better because of His preeminence, Kingship and the fact that JC is God. The author hammers those theme's in as well.

Psalm Salad

*IMPORTANT, NOT HOLY SCRIPTURE; MY PARAPHRASE


Psalm 01

01: happy is the man who doesn't roll with the wicked and give them his ear or stand up against the wall with sin all around him yet doin nothin or even worse sittin up in the peanut gallery, too afraid to be good or evil that he just sits up there doin nothin but takin podshots at everybody else;

02: but this guy is mad into everything that god has to say; he feens for it like a mug.

03: this guy is like a tree thats right in between two flowing rivers; it never dries up and always has succulent fruit sprouting off of it; just like its supposed to.

04: the wicked aint got it like that, they are like a tumbleweed scorched by the desert sun, the slightest wind blows it effortlessly along

05: the wicked will not bear the intensity of judgement or hang with the godly

06: god knows how the righteous roll but aint got ish to do with the wicked!

Theology Of Jeezy

i was prayin with my peeps the other night, and i was just askin god to speak. i really just wanted a word from him. i really didn't wanna go through the motions, ya know, i just wanted to hear god and say what he put on my heart to say to him. i wanted it to be real, natural, organic, conversational, all that. well, he kept refreshing in my mind this song 'put on'- young jeezy ft. kanye west. and it was just the chorus, '... i put on for my city, on, on for my city...'. i was just vibin with it and then i'd be all oh yeah, i'm praying, hey, god, i wanna hear ya and then it would be all '... i put on for my city...'; it went like that for 20 mins. it was almost as if i was feeling guilty about having a song in my head during 'prayer time' and i was kinda asking god to speak out of obligation, not really a desire to hear from him, but i did desire to hear from him, its weird like that sometimes. well, the song wouldn't leave and thats when god made it click. thats what he was telling me; he wanted me to put on for my city, on, on for my city.

so, the song itself is talking mainly about 2 things: reppin' for where you're from and flossin what you got. in other words, jeezy was saying, 'hey world, i'm from the dirrty, dirrty; the dirrty is great and hey, world (including the dirrty, although, i would claim that the 602 is the real dirrty south, but i digress) look at how amazing i am and how much money i got.' but god was tellin me rep for your city --> pray for your city, intercede for your city, bless your city, pour time into your city, gospel your city, claim your city, put on for your city and floss what you got --> show off jesus, really wear your 'jesus piece', proclaim jesus boldly and accurately, put on for your city. the verses that came to mind were matt. 5:13-16 and as i was reading them, i was totally thinkin, 'put on for your city, on, on for your city'.

see, even in my desire to hear from god i was making a costly mistake. i was presupposing that if god were to speak, it would be in some crazy 'spiritual' way. even though i really did want to hear god, i think part of my motivation was wanting some prescribed spiritual experience as a type of pick-me-up. how ghastly and evil that i would approach his throne that way and totally trample on the priviledge it is that the all-powerful god would even hear us let alone give us himself! i was forgetting a truth that i so fervently believe that god uses all things to glorify himself. i was forgetting that god ultimately pursues us, we don't ultimately pursue him. i was forgetting that all throughout history god has spoken in ways that his children can hear. i was forgetting that i am a sheep of the great shepherd and the great shepherd speaks to me in a way that i hear, namely, through music. in my experience, god usually talks to me in loud ways; not while i'm kumbaya-ing out in the forest, with the dandelions. if you're a kumbaya-er, praise god, it just aint me. i'm a club banger hearer of god. i hear god best in the noise, in the flow of life. god usually tickle my ear with sweet whispers, he drops it like its hot. more and more that i actually hear god, the more and more i'm convinced that i gotta do me, i can't expect to do what i would think it should be because it works for other people. praise god for the diversity of his people and the gajillion ways that he speaks, may we have ears to hear!

pursue hearing god. check your motivations. be open to finding out 'how' you hear god (granted, it prolly won't look the same everytime, but over a broad history, there will prolly be some trends). grind what you hear through the word of god; if it contradicts scripture, then you heard wrong. if there's some one you know who hears god often/well, ask 'em to teach you some schnazz. we have a great resource in jesus, why do we so often try to reinvent the wheel! jesus' got this, simmer down!

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p.s. heres the song, if you want some context.

p.p.s. what are some ways that god speaks to you? i'm always interested in seeing peep's process for hearing/discerning god, so whats yours? do you wanna hear god? please comment with your answer.

Life, Liberty & The Pursuit Of Happiness

*i've since learned that my last post wasn't as clear as i thought it was, so be sure to read the comments under them and they'll really help you understand what i meant.

abortion and gay marriage, lets go...

these issues are not as cut and dry for me, as they seem to be, for so many other people that share my allegiance to christ. for most in my camp, it is very clear. every single person should have afforded to them the gift of life. heres my question, is that same insistence given to convicted felons (and maybe even muslim extremists or radical dictatorships)? you may say, 'they are guilty, they deserve death!' oh, be so very careful, how we swing the condemnation stick! apart from christ every single person has the same exact chance of escaping just condemnation, namely, zero! if you find yourself in christ, it is not because you are innocent and deserving life. no, it is the grace of god extended to you by jesus through the cross. 'innocence' and 'deserve' aren't even in the equation because we are evil and our just dessert is the full, unbridled wrath of god. so, i never, ever wanna be the one to pull the trigger on another persons life, be that in the womb or on death row.
i don't know how so many people can be pro-life yet pro capital punishment. i never can believe that someone is outside of the grace of god. i look at all the evil that is in me and was mine to claim apart from christ and i exclaim 'god, i know you can save them, you did it to me; god please, if you can rescue me, then i know your grace is big enough for them!'
legislation is not our salvation! abortion is a symptom of the real illness that goes down to the pit of our soul. lets say abortions are completely illegal to perform. if those women aren't redeemed by christ, their sin is still on them. don't you dare vilify these women. if you are apart from christ, then your sin is just as evil and its still on you too. instead of heaping unending scorn on these women, why don't we labor to see how we can show love to them and live out the gospel in front of them. we can pass all the legislation in the world and it will not convict sinners of their sins and bring them to repentance; this will only happen when the light of the glory of god in the face of christ is revealed to them and the veil is there no longer. it seems that all we have done is made our voices so ugly that these people don't hear it. they have been hoodwinked by an inaccurate perception of what the gospel is; lets show them the gospel and its effect of life, culture, creation, etc instead of constantly picking the same ole fight. if these women die in their sin, then they will receive the punishment for their actions, but i don't think that we have to take that as our battle, let god handle that.
for gay marriage, i think a lot of what i already said applies here. legislation is not the solution. for those who say 'marriage is sacred.' i believe that the purpose of marriage is to glorify god by showing off the relationship between christ and his church. so, if its a man and a man not serving that purpose, it appals me; if its a man and a woman, not serving that purpose, it appals me. it is very hard for me to go to weddings where both people are not actively seeking the glory of god and his purpose for marriage, it feels like the sacred covenant god created is being prostituted out. so why when its a gay couple it bothers you more (again, check your scorn and reread the aforementioned in christ/out of christ part). shouldn't we be asking these same questions as before? how do we show love to a group of people that 'we' have alienated and vilified? their sin also is still not outside of the grace of god.
so, i think a lot of people are trying to win a very small victory that really isn't a victory, through legislation. like leslie, a woman in my missional community, reminded me that we cannot impose our convictions and beliefs on those that aren't god's children. the bible says that and experience has proved that its not an effective way to show off the glory of god.
to summarize:
i think the killing of any human is wrong. i think that marriage is a covenant with a man and a woman both living for the glory of god and both seeking to show a lost, dying world the relationship between christ and his church. should we as followers of christ be looking to our secular government to impose these beliefs on a people who do not live for god; no, it is not effective nor does it deal with the real issue of human depravity. should we as followers of christ be begging god for the safe the passage of every human life through the birth canal and the salvation of every human living apart from christ and freedom from the sin that finds so many people enslaved, yes. may we not get so distracted by our politics that we forget our evil apart from christ. may we not follow the flinch to heap scorn or hate but let us follow jesus' example (rom. 5) and pauls instruction (2 cor. 10). legislation does not equal salvation or even righteousness! may we not get so concerned with politics that we forget that these people are made in the image of god and that they are not outside of gods grace. may we beg god to reveal himself to these people.

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p.s. a great snippet from alistair begg that is relevant.

Life As A Pro-Choice Follower Of Christ

most of my life i haven't really fit in the demographic that i find myself in. i'm a card carrying democrat who happens to be madly in love with jesus. as an observer, you'd probably categorize me as a 18-34, white male, evangelical, democrat. being white is weird for me. its weird because its a demographic that should be natural yet its really not. i guess i say this because i don't really understand the ethos of white people generally. the things that tend to concern white people don't really concern me; and the things that they assume, i don't really assume (generalities, obviously, calm down). evangelical is weird for me too. for instance, what does evangelical even mean. i think its supposed to mean something like not just the common church goer but the real christians. i guess, but it really just seems like todays versions of the wasp's. when i hear evangelical i think the same people who handed the current president 2 elections in a row or anti gay or anti abortion or joel osteen and rick warren or using faith as a crutch or 'put god back in our schools', etc. with the people that i'm currently doin life with they are by and large, republican (almost as a birthright). for people who don't know me politically, its probably assumed on me that i'm a republican as well (which bothers me a little more than it should, i need to let go of it and get over it to some extent, so hold me to that if i lash out on someone that assumes me right, when i'm left). so again, i find myself out of place.

in these highly charged political times i find it appropriate to let you know where i stand. i'm a pro-choice democrat follower of christ. i know, james dobson must be somewhere spitting out his ovaltine all over the place. i don't care. i'm unashamedly pro-choice. i feel completely free from condemnation in stating it. my shoulders even feel a little lighter as i speak. it feels good to just, say it, ya know. i am absolutely, 100% percent, postively convinced that god is completely sovereign, just and loving in his choice of his children. it is not god gets one vote, satan gets one vote and we get the third vote, no! its completely up to the pleasure of god as to whom are his children. he rescues us from absolute torture and anguish and adopts us as his own completely apart from all of our evil and provoking him through the life, death and resurrection of jesus christ. see, the choice that i'm pro of is god's. we cannot have choice! if we had choice, we would choose evil at every opportunity. but as it is, god chooses; and i'm so thanful that he does. with god having the choice, it frees us from a legalistic view of salvation where we feel we have to hold on to it so tightly because we may lose it at the next bar, porn site, water cooler gossip session, etc. with god having the choice, we get to worship him freely and rest in all that he has done. its the best thing ever: god gets all the glory (because he did everything), adoration, exaltation, and honor and we get complete joy, fullfilment, purpose, passion, love, excitement, inheritance. we get to live with jesus! we get to be known by the all-magnificent/powerful/wonderful/creator of the universe! we get to share this wonderfulness with everybody, not because we have to but because we are so overwhelmed with the truth of the gospel that it just come out. see, under god's choice, duty flys right out the window. in the kingdom of god, you don't hear things like, "well, i gotta go out and share the gospel" or "i ought to get up early tomorrow so i can do my quiet time" or "i should go give that raggedy lookin fellow by the freeway ramp some food". those words go right out the window. instead we say things like "get to" or "want to" or "honored to". life in the kingdom is kinda like a fire hydrant, when the top is popped off, it has no other choice than to flow freely with water. in the same way, when the chains of slavery to sin pop off there is no other choice but to live freely for the one who has set us free, we are compelled to. praise god that he has made me to be a pro-choice follower of himself!!!

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Metronome

i was feeling the urge to blog it out, so i started to bust some stuff out about america and the craziness that is happening right now and it wasn't really flowin right. in the midst of this i felt the need to email my friend (for security reasons, lets call him favid frivings). he's had some drama going down where he is at and i was just prayin for him and asking god what to email him. i was thinking something like, hey favid, thinking of ya and prayin for ya. god had something quite different to say. so i implored god for what to say and god was like heb. 12. i was like cool, lets check it out. god completely opened his word to me!!! ridiculous! and just so happened to use this passage to minister to where i was needing some lovin'. i just really needed to be reminded of what god's doing and his faithfulness to his name and his renown. and also understand that my yearns are ok and will be fulfilled teleioo (complete) when jesus comes back. so from heb. 12, i went to heb 11 (you gotta have context, baby) and settled on heb. 11:32-12:6; heres what i felt god was saying in and through that passage...


its set in the backdrop of the "hall of faith" where the writer of hebrews mentions these great testimonies of faith. its so cool. in spite of all these great things, they (pre jesus) weren't complete (the nas and esv translate teleioo as perfect but in english the word is better understood as complete.) they didn't even get the ultimate reward in their time, namely the sent messiah that has come and made his bride, past and present, teleioo! and he does that through us! the expression that is given to prove their uncompleteness is that we were not there yet (not inherently because of us, the point is that jesus isn't done setting his dinner table yet, there are more sheep who aren't yet a part of his fold that will be a part of his fold. so it makes sense that in chapt. 12 he says hey, look at this great cloud of witnesses (aka god being faithful to his task and his name by using his people) and just run. don't be bothered with nudging your fellow runners for position, just keep your eyes on the finish line (jesus; note that the finish line isn't necessarily the task being accomplished, but it is jesus; its always jesus, remember that). and this jesus, faith par execellence, has ran this race and he kept his eye on his finish line (upcoming joy and glory), which if you think about it we get the utmost joy and glory (jesus). when reading this romans 8:18 pops in my head in tandem. so, in summary let us not focus on the struggle of the race but let us focus on the joy of the finish line. let us be encouraged by jesus' example of running, overcoming every obstacle, which in turn wins our race for us.


this whole exercise has been very enlightening. while setting out to minister to my own hurts via bloggin' it out, god sidetracked me with the burden of my bro and in the midst of battlin for my bro, god absolutely knocks my socks off and ministers to me. kinda sounds like the church being being the church, huh!
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September

words of christ have never seemed more alive in my life. Matt. 5:23-24- "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." This whole week something has been holding me back from going to the mosque and after talking with my bro and god, i realized why. going to the mosque was my act of worship but i had to be reconciled to my brother. i was so nervous/anxious about talking to my bro that i was really distracted and couldn't hone in. what this verse is showing me is that we need each other. to worship god fully, i need my bro. the context of our worship to god isn't individuals living their life and doing their religious acts next to other individuals doing the same but that its the whole body together offering worship as one. god deserves this of us. he is worth a united, unified body praising his name forever. thats what was happening before the creation of the world, god being fully worshiped in the trinitarian community and it will happen as it fully should when jesus comes back; jesus come back quickly! for whatever reason the whole is more than the sum of its parts and god deserves and is worth the whole adoration not just added up adoration. praise be to the god of reconciliation! i can't wait till god is getting all of the glory of every knee bowing and every tongue confessing and a redeemed creation. i can't wait to with one voice give god all that he is due. so the point of that verse isn't a good way to handle conflict but its yet another way of living your life that gives god the utmost glory and us the utmost joy! and even more proof that this life with christ isn't about a do's and don't list or even a force-feeding of principles but that its a complete removal of our dead flesh by means of the complete impartation of the gospel. as the gospel drano's our pipes and removes the gunk and filth, the living water of christ can flow freely through the body.

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p.s the reason for the title is that one of my favorite "i'm excited songs" is September by earth, wind and fire. since its also september, then it makes sense on that level as well.

Come Jesus, Come

I had quite the troubling experience this past weekend. I was at a house party and I was in this conversation with A and B. A said something to the effect of we’re all called to live like missionaries. B said what about all the places in the world where people haven’t even heard about Jesus. Then A said well, I can’t really carry that burden. Me and B were like ok, where is A going with this… Then B said the Bible clearly states that people are going to hell, I’m not going to lose sleep over it. There’s nothing that I can do about it, so I’m not going to carry that burden.

I didn’t know how to respond to that. Should I punch him, should I pray for him, should I rebuke him in front of this growing crowd, should I weep… I went with “That is the absolutely most unbiblical thing I’ve ever heard!” (Quick caveat, this is the first time I’ve met A and I really can’t speak to his character or lack thereof. A might be an amazing person who loves dogs and little kids and walks old people across the street. I don’t know. I don’t write this to slam A, but to share an experience and the frustration that came with it)

How could someone claim to know Jesus and think that way! There are facts in A’s statement. People are going to Hell. That is nothing to be blasé about. That’s nothing to take for light fodder at a party. Real, living, breathing people are going to Hell! Moms, dads, best friends, mentors, grandpas are going to Hell! They will be in the kingdom of darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, lake of fire, apart from Jesus, Hell! Because of the evilness that is still on people because of the curse of sin people are going to Hell! This is a big f’n deal! If you have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, adopted as a child of God, eternally enjoying Christ forever, living only to the glory of God, how can you talk like that. If you know how evil you were and that apart from any work you’ve done and in fact in spite of every work you done, God redeemed your life, put his righteousness on you and effectually saved you by dying on the cross in your place for the just punishment of your evil, you must want that for everybody else. You must want God to get the glory from every knee bowing and every tongue confessing. I do not see how you could know those great truths about your now redeemed life and talk like A talked. I do not see how they are compatible. Yes, there is nothing that A can physically do to save anybody, A cannot speak life into dead hearts and he cannot give faith to anybody, it’s completely up to God’s good pleasure. Yes, Jesus has carried that burden. Yet for some crazy reason, God commands us to pray. Jesus himself, told us to ask for laborers for the harvest (Luke 10). In some crazy way, when we call out to God for salvation, he hears. Somehow, God puts it in his children to beg him for the souls of others. Somehow, in all God’s sovereignty, it is not a waste of time to pray for those who don’t know Jesus but it is spiritual warfare.

If I never see A again, I hope someone shows A how the Bible talks about people who don’t know Jesus, I hope someone shows A how God in the scheme for his glory tabnernacled amongst us as the word in the form of flesh and how that flesh was bruised and eventually terminated and how that word ultimately won by the resurrection of King Jesus, I hope someone shows A how to lose sleep over those who don’t know Jesus.

Keller Throwin' It Down

The following is an excerpt from a sermon that Tim Keller taught at the gospel coalition this past April.

To watch, click here. 

Sinclair Ferguson said most preachers not do not preach Christ from the old testament, they don't even preach it from the new testament. The preacher has looked into the text (even in the new testament) principally to find himself and his congregation not to find Christ and he says that you can even do that in the new testament, even in the gospels; the sermon therefore is consequently about the people in the gospels, instead of about the Christ who is that gospel. The more fundamental issue is this question, what is the bible really about; is the bible basically about me and what i must do or is it basically about Jesus and what he has done. Is the bible basically about the objective and the indicative...

there needs to be a way in which you are following the trajectory of the text no matter what that text is to Jesus. You have to show how Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that particular trajectory of that text, you gotta be responsible...

its more like an instinct its not so much right hermeneutic principals, its an instinct; do you believe that the bible is basically about you or basically about him. Is David and Goliath basically about you and how you can be like David and Goliath or basically about him, the one who really took on the only giants who can really kill us and so his victory is imputed to us...

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden, his garden, a much tougher garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel, who though innocently slain has blood that cries out, not for our condemnation but for our acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham, who answered the call of God, to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go into the void, not knowing wither he went.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us all; while God said to Abraham now i know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you loved from me, now we at the foot of the cross can say to God now we know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you loved from me.

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice that we deserved so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace, that wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph, who is at the right hand of the king and forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses, who stands in the gap between the people and the lord and mediates the new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses who struck with the rod of God's justice now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, he's the truly innocent sufferer who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends. Is that a type, thats not typology, thats an instinct.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his peoples victory though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk losing an earthly palace but lost the ultimate heavenly one; who didn't just risk his live, but gave his life; who didn't just say if i perish, i perish, says when i perish, i'll perish for them, to save my people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so we could be brought in, he's the real passover lamb, he's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true life, the true bread. The bible is not about you!

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