(resonance of reforming) » Bible Study » Page 2

Bible Study

Posts that involve personal exposition of parts of the Bible.

…post-postmodernity and fig trees

1
3 years ago
by Jerry in ,

Current Tunage: Matthew Good – Metal Airplanes
Quiet, reflective, and quite broken… Matthew Good at his finest, I suppose.

Steph was sharing with me this morning about a passage in John she found rather interesting. Specifically, John 1:45-51:

John 1:45-51 ESV
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Specifically, she was wondering about the significance of the fig tree. What was it about being seen under this tree that caused this kind of rapturous and, dare I say, salvific response from Nathaniel?

We received a little help from our good old friend C.H. Spurgeon on this one. You can read his sermon on the passage [here]. Here is the portion relevant to answering Steph’s question (which by this point had become my own as well):

But what was Nathanael doing under the fig tree, according to our best surmise? Well, as devout Easterns are accustomed to have a special place for prayer, this may have been a shadowy fig tree under which Nathanael was accustomed to offer his devotions. And perhaps just before Philip came to him, he may have been engaged in personal and solitary confession of sin. He had looked round the garden and fastened the gate that none might come in—and he had poured into the ear of his God some very tender confession under the fig tree shade. When Christ said to him, “When you were under the fig tree,” it brought to his recollection how he poured out his broken and his contrite spirit, and confessed sins unknown to all but God. That confession, it may be, the very look of Christ brought back to his remembrance and the words and look together seemed to say, “I know your secret burden, and the peace you found in rolling it upon the Lord.” He felt, therefore, that Jesus must be Israel’s God.
-Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Nathaniel and the Fig Tree (emphasis mine)

With our question essentially resolved, I found it quite remarkable to peruse the remainder of what Spurgeon had to say in the remainder of this exposition. Here’s another meaningful excerpt which struck me as so very true of our present age just as it apparently was in Spurgeon’s over 100 years ago:

Nathanael was just the very opposite of all this. He was no hypocrite and no crafty deceiver. He wore his heart upon his sleeve. If he spoke, you might know that he said what he meant and that he meant what he said. He was a childlike, simple-hearted man, transparent as glass. He was not one of those fools who believe everything. But on the other hand, he was not of that other sort of fools so much admired in these days who will believe nothing, but who find it necessary to doubt the most self-evident Truth in order to maintain their credit for profound philosophy. These “thinkers” of this enlightened age are great at quibbles, mighty in feigning or feeling mistrust concerning matters which common sense has no doubts about.

They will profess to doubt whether there is a God, though that is as plain as the sun at noonday. No, Nathanael was neither credulous nor mistrustful. He was honestly ready to yield to the force of Truth. He was willing to receive testimony and to be swayed by evidence. He was not suspicious, because he was not a man who, himself, would be suspected. He was true-hearted and straightforward—a plain dealer and plain speaker. Cana had not within her gates a more thoroughly honest man. Philip seems to have known this, for he went to him directly, as to a man who was likely to be convinced and worth winning to the good cause.
-Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Nathaniel and the Fig Tree (emphasis mine)

I can’t count the times, as I’ve sat in my post-postmodern university classes where, having dismissed both God and Relativism, my peers and profs are left grasping for the proverbial straws to try and come up with some meaningful basis for ethics and metaphysics and life and existence and all of the deeper questions and things about which human inquiry has always revolved; they are too numerous to… number. I’m always amazed at the lengths to which men and women will go in their attempts to absolve themselves of their culpability before Christ who is both merciful and just.

May we be much more like Nathaniel, believing Christ for who He truly is… than like the fools who really believe in nothing – and where I say nothing we might insert alternately “themselves” or “science” or any other human construct or concept that is not the one true God of the Bible.

After all, all other explanations will always leave us cold and empty in the end.

…and with the Apostle to cry out:

1 Peter 1:3-9 ESV (emphasis mine)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

…second reformation part one

1
3 years ago
by Jerry in ,
THE SECOND REFORMATION
[part one: introduction]

Welcome to my first proper blog series, entitled “The Second Reformation”. A heavy title, if ever there was one. I don’t claim to be the new Martin Luther… far from it! There are much better contenders to take up that mantle. Some of them were instrumental in shaping and influencing my thoughts of late as I have struggled with some questions; some troubling, “preoccupying questions”. These questions have formed the basic root of what I hope to address in this series. I will share them with you shortly.

In his 2007 book Everything Must Change, author Brian McLaren began with his own set of troubling, “preoccupying questions”. I won’t go into much detail about McLaren or his book here, as that’s not my aim. I probably won’t surprise anyone reading this by saying that I’m really not much of a fan of his work. As best as I can discern, the book is an attempt to re-cast and re-new his reader’s understanding of what it is and what it looks like when we follow Jesus Christ. No small or insignificant task.

McLaren approached this task by setting a foundation of two “preoccupying questions” which have formed the basis from which the book issued forth. Respectfully, they are:

01. What Are the Biggest Problems in the World?
02. What Does Jesus Have to Say About These Global Problems?
Brian McLaren, Everything Must Change pp. 11-12)

I can agree with McLaren’s title with one addition: A subtitle. It should read “Everything Must Change (But God)”. Brian McLaren attempts to deal with real, difficult issues, but he starts in the wrong place – both of his questions are human-centric. From the language of his second question (labelling the problems as “Global”), it doesn’t take an expert in modern textual criticism to gather that he feels the biggest problems in the world are the ones that affect “everything” – or, perhaps, everybody? At first, this seems sensible… after all, aren’t the most important problems the big ones that affect everybody?

I’m inclined, after getting past “at first”, to disagree.

After all, who is Brian McLaren? Who gave him the knowledge, understanding, and authority to decide what the “Biggest Problems in the World” are? To the best of my knowledge, the answer to both is “nobody”. The same is true of me.

Before I get into the difficult bits of unravelling my grey-matter about subjects to which I’m probably not qualified to wax prosaic, I have something very deep and important to admit: I’m nobody. Consequently, what I think the big problems of the world are is rather irrelevant.

Therefore, here are my troubling, preoccupying questions, which form the basis of everything I hope to touch on from this point:

00. Who is God?
01. What Does He Say the Biggest Problems Are?
02. What Does He Say is My Responsibility?

I feel it’s important to set the stage in this way because otherwise it’s too easy for me to give commentary and amusing detours without really accomplishing much. Nothing I can say about my topics will really mean much unless I’m building on a firm foundation of who God is and what He has revealed to us in His Word(s).

Allow me to expand on my first question:

00. Who is God?

Without intending to avoid the most important question of all, I feel this one is best answered elsewhere. Most of my readership knows what I believe and (hopefully) why I believe it, but for the sake of reference, I generally align myself with the Reformed Theological tradition and the Doctrines of Grace. I believe that God is real and that He has revealed as much of Himself as we can handle in His Word, the Bible. Inclusive in that, I believe that He has also revealed Himself most completely when He came in the person of Jesus Christ and that the Bible gives us the fullness of what we need as to His story. Specifically, I believe that all of History hangs on the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ – all of these capture the heart of Scripture, which is that God’s primary aim is always to bring glory to Himself. I believe that there is far more to God than is in the Scriptures, but that they give us everything we need – thus anything beyond that is mystery and intended as such.

In short, and very generally, I believe in the evangelical distinctives and orthodox tenets of the Christian faith inasmuch as they belie a careful and Spirit-led understanding of the Scriptures. There is no one writer or person who has it all correct, and anyone who claims to is probably very far off the mark. That being said, my influences have included such men (past and present) as John Piper, Mark Driscoll, CJ Mahaney, CH Spurgeon, JI Packer, Francis Schaeffer, Timothy Keller, DA Carson, and many others. I don’t agree with any one of them in all areas, but I agree with all of them in some areas.

I think that’s healthy, and I could be wrong. For the most part, my theology isn’t up for grabs and is the result of years of studying, hearing, and seeing God’s word interact with myself and many others. It will always be evolving in some aspects as I learn and grow and study and see more of life and Scripture. Essentially, though, this is where I’m at, and will be at.

If you aren’t familiar with this understanding of God, either from a Christian perspective or from that of someone who is “outside” and has no idea what half/all of what I just said means, I would point you in a few directions (which tend to have the same endgame):

First, a presentation of The Gospel by Mark Driscoll.

Second, a general plug for the views shared on these fine websites: Desiring God and Mars Hill. There are loads of other good resources, but those are a good starting place if you have no idea where I’m coming from.

That about wraps up the most basic foundation of all that is to come – after all, what we think about God is our most defining characteristic as human beings. If you (for the most part) share in my beliefs about who God is (or even if you don’t really agree about the whole Reformed theology bit, but are on board with “The One True God is the God of the Bible and He revealed Himself as Jesus”), then I invite you to join me for what is to come.

And here is what is to come, what I’ve promised to write about, and what I’ve been delving through these past few months (years?):

01. What Does He Say the Biggest Problems Are?

There are many things God lays out in His Word, the Bible, as being “Big Problems”. Things such as my Sin and all the myriad branches and effects thereof, the World I inhabit, and many other things. Most likely, all of them will touch and affect the one I’ve chosen to discuss (revealed in a few lines!).

02. What Does He Say is My Responsibility?

This is kind of what we’re all getting at: What do we do when we know things are broken and messed up and definitely “not what they ought to be”? What am I supposed to do/think/pray/feel/be about this? And so on.

I believe, along with many of you, and maybe even Brian McLaren (ha!), that right now – perhaps even all the time, one of God’s biggest “problems” is the Church, both local and universal. It is my intent to explore this topic of Ecclesiology (the study of the Church) through the utilization of these two questions applied to it:

01. What Does God Say the Biggest Problems with the Church are?
02. What Does He Say is My Responsibility?

It is my intent over the coming weeks and months to delve into these questions. For my sake and yours, and most of all for the Glory of God.

The title of this series is going to be “The Second Reformation”. I’ve named it that because, as we’re about to explore together, I believe that a second reformation of the Church is coming, probably within my lifetime (assuming that, Lord willing, I live for a normal lifetime). The first Protestant Reformation saw a reformation of theology, doctrine, and organization revolving around the five “Sola’s”: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria. The coming Second Reformation, I believe, will build on that foundation – once again reforming the church, this time reforming Protestantism itself, which in the West and elsewhere has become just as faulty, unbiblical, and often counter-productive for Christ as the “Catholic” church of Europe was in its time. Its emphases will be the same, but with additions. Once again, theology, doctrine, and organization will play a primary role. This time, however, there will be a variety of new elements of church which receive the reformation treatment: methodology, missiology, worship-ology (is that a word?), and various other smaller aspects. It will serve as a reaction in some ways to both the “emergent church” conversation/movement, as well as the “house church” movement, though (despite the role those two movements will play as touchpoints) hopefully not a complete pendulum swing to either. There’s a lot of things it might be, and some of it may not happen yet. I’m no prophet, just a nobody… and “The Second Reformation” is, I think, a fitting and perhaps subtly self-deprecating title. In truth, I might as well entitle it “The Second Trillionth Reformation” since, through sanctification, we are reformed daily and even “second-ly”. I’ll never live up to the heights of its demands, but hopefully this title will spur both you and I on to following and serving Christ as a part of His church more effectively, efficiently, faithfully, actively, and sacrificially for His glory. May the Reformation begin in my heart and yours.

…queer theories

20
4 years ago
by Jerry in , ,

Current Tunage: Smoke – Mudd
Oldominion ftw.

John 8:3-12 ESV
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

One of the courses I’m taking currently is entitled “Advanced Critical Theories”. Put simply, it is a kind of… for lack of a better way to explain it… “language and linguistics theory on crack” course.

Anyways, the past few weeks we’ve been going thoroughly over a series of theories (how’s that for a tongue twister?) concerned with gender, sex, sexuality, and such things. For example: Feminist Criticism & Theory, Queer Theory, Gender Criticism… and so on.

It has been interesting material to go through, but ultimately all the discussion has simply served to highlight much of what Mark Driscoll spoke about in his recent sermon on Sexual Sin, which you can watch here:

Religion Saves & Nine Other Misconceptions Week 5: Sexual Sin

I’ve posted/blogged about this topic to some extent before:

Keep Your Head Above The Water

I suppose I haven’t changed my mind much, other than I’ve further clarified and (perhaps) simplified my positions on this issue. Of course, they’re best explained in person, but for now, here’s a rough summary of the key points:

1. Deriving simply from the NT usage of the Greek word πορνεία [Porneia], which is essentially a junk-drawer term for any sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage… Sexual immorality is any sexual activity that isn’t between two people, man and woman, who are married to each other. Love isn’t the standard, covenant monogamy is. Sex is not about a boundary or line, but about a starting point (heterosexual marriage).

2. Christians and the Church need to take serious steps to deal with the heterosexual immorality that seems so pervasive even as they address the issues surrounding homosexuality. We need to be able to bring something to the table like this: “I love you, but what you’re doing is wrong according to God’s word. That being said, I’m just as much a sinner as you in my own heterosexual immorality and yet Christ has worked in my heart to free me from my sin in those areas. Just like you, I was born with a tendency towards sexual sin, and though the object of that sin differs for us, Christ’s goal according to the Bible is identical in each of us: sexual purity and conformity to God’s sexual standard… which is freedom from sexual activity outside of covenant heterosexual monogamy or free enjoyment of sexual activity within it.”

3. So-called “Tradional” gender identities are, for the most part, supported by Scripture – both in terms of their original conception (ie. Genesis – “God made them Male and Female”) and in terms of the application of that principle in the New Testament by Paul and Peter.

4. Sin corrupts everything – not only our natural sex drive (which is meant to direct us to faithful covenant monogamy with one person of the opposite sex), but also our natural gender identity. Our biology and our physiology, sociology, emotionology, and intellology are all inextricably interconnected and though sin seeks to mar the image of God by corrupting and distorting the clear and God-given genders, or by suggesting that our biology (ie. our bodies) and everything else about us (ie. our so-called “gender identity”) are separable… I don’t think such a case can be made from scripture. Point of clarification: Culture dictates what “male” and “female” mean and are, when for the believer it should not – we must turn to scripture to illumine what it means to be man or woman, not to the world. That’s the standard to which I’m holding this against, not the social constructs “male” and “female”, but the Biblical ones – whatever that may be (which is another discussion).

I must say that this morning in class they certainly made some impassioned appeals to my sympathies and the idol of blind tolerance today though. Fact is, men and women were created different in so many myriad and mysterious ways… destabilizing gender will only serve to destabilize everything, and destabilizing sexuality (as our culture has done, and indeed many before it have done) only serves to further the very reasonable argument that man’s default religion is Sex, not Christ. When we’ve got acronyms to throw around like “LGBTQQ” (as I saw in the recent Trent “Queerlines” supplement to the university newspaper the “Arthur”)… what does that say except that a holistic outright rejection of God’s design for human sexuality (ie. covenant heterosexual monogamy) has occurred and occurs daily – and it’s not a new thing, it’s just more visible now than ever before in recent history.

In the midst of all this, I have a great deal of respect and love for my very small handful of friends who identify themselves in those camps. Particularly when they identify themselves as a believer also. It must be hell – to face rejection from Christians for identifying as Queer, and to face rejection from Queers for identifying as Christian. It’s the catch between a rock and a hard place, and I haven’t really figured out how I can help or be an encouragement. I want to help, but I can’t condone. I want to show love but I don’t want it to be misconstrued as endorsement. I want to speak truth and life and at the same time be anything but harsh and unfriendly. I want to say that “Christ delivers me from my sin and He wants to deliver you from yours” but I don’t know how to say it so that it will make sense.

I want to love Christ, and I want to love my Queer neighbours the way Jesus does. I want to love them without casting the first stone (or any) because of my own guilt, and yet still somehow find the strength to say “Go, and sin no more” or “Repent, and live”.

Ezekiel 18:30-32 ESV
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

I’ll close with this, a thought from a song that summarizes one side of the tension I feel – namely the desire to be a voice that speaks out and says “This is so wrong!”. Understand that feeling is only one side of my tension, but a very strong one.

And now you want to try to separate independence from your bonded state?
-Project 86 “Independence?”

…heart campaign and the stage war

2
4 years ago
by Jerry in , , ,

Current Tunage: Common Children – Stains of Time
People missed this band. Late 90s. Alt/Indie/Emo/Whatever. The frontman went on to co-write “God of Wonders”, one of a handful of modern worship songs that isn’t utterly out to lunch. I’m tempted to suggest that most of this album (DelicateFade) trumps that anthem in leaps and bounds, this song included.

In the past, I’ve written extensively (to painful lengths) on the subject of singleness. After all, as one brought up amidst a functional and healthy nuclear family as well as a loving evangelical community, singleness in some ways is an anomaly. An anomaly in the sense that the importance of quality marriage and lifelong covenant were emphasized not only in speech but in the excellence of action all around me. This is not for a moment to suggest that there is something wrong with single people, far from it, but throughout those days there was always with me an unease at my state. Not because it was wrong, simply because it was not the best or most healthy thing for me (as some who are close to me might very well be able to testify). One of my most profound fears during those times was simply that, in the end, I would have to just go it alone. I can recall one particular night, lying awake at 4am with the weight of the world on my mind, wondering in prayer if God and I would make it through the whole ordeal. If my faith would survive the mess of singleness. I knew what I was looking for, but whenever I found it there was always the catch of the person embodying those qualities having no interest whatsoever. Few and far between are those who are called and created to live a life of permanent singleness, and I’ve never once felt I numbered among them.

Revelation 3:15-16 ESV
“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The gospel is an offense, and I mean that in the most magnificent way possible. The gospel requires all of me, and if I’m not willing to give everything, then (at least if I read those verses in Revelation correctly) I may as well just be a moral hedonist and ditch this whole Jesus trip. I know numerous people who have done just that, and to some extent I respect them. At least they counted the cost and dealt with it in a straightforward manner. How much of my life have I wasted claiming to follow Christ but really not giving a rip? And on the train of thought goes.

Christ wants everything, and when it came down to it for me, I came to a point where I realized that I didn’t have it in me to give everything without tangible support… simply because I’m not strong enough to go it alone. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, more likely just a part of human design to a large extent. I want to be all-in… whenever I’m not all-in with Christ, life loses something utterly and intangibly excellent.

Lately I have been discovering and re-discovering how numerous the benefits of being responsible for leading (and being in) a relationship are. The thing that stands out in my mind most often is simply how impossible it is – that is, how completely impossible it is for me to do it properly in and of myself. Unless I’m relying daily on Christ, I can and most likely WILL fail miserably at each step.

I’m leading into a few practical observations. After all these past years of what I like to call “Theorycrafting” (ie. figuring out all the mechanics of how a relationship should work and be worked on), I’ve met the crucible of actually doing what I’ve theorized. For the most part I’ve found my past conclusions correct, though as with anything, the reality tells a lot more than the theorizing.

So, here are two of my observations a month or two into an intentionally clear and fairly quick-paced relationship. I call them “Heart Campaign” and “Stage War” (I’m a big fan of battle – tactics, strategy, mashing stuff in the face… all that good warfare-type stuff):


Heart Campaign: Provided you’ve made your intentions and thoughts clear as regularly and often as possible (and whenever they change or progress even slightly), a crucial component of pursuit is what I like to call a “Heart Campaign”. Essentially, this is the regular practise of anticipating and answering potential questions from the mind of the one you are in pursuit of. By means of example, anticipating her questions: “Do you find me beautiful?”, “Does you like/love me?”, “Will you fight for and defend me?”, and other such questions. Develop the practise of considering them carefully and with great trepidation. Ask yourself if you find her beautiful, if you like/love her, if you are prepared to fight for her, and the like. Answering her questions for yourself and for her before she gets to the point of needing to ask them is the final step. The whole idea is that you set her mind at ease regularly and before it is troubled. Ultimately, the Heart Campaign is a cycle that is repeated whenever you anticipate a new question that will arise from developments in the relationship. The foundational idea is that in doing so you train yourself into the habit and pattern of compensating for potential issues before they are able to solidify. Why is this a heart campaign? Because you’re trying to, among other things, win her heart. Feel free to call me on this, but unless I’m mistaken, heart capture requires stability, clarity, and transparency. This is one way of establishing and maintaining all three.

Stage War: If someone had asked me three months ago if I’d even consider going out with someone at a different “life stage” than I’m at, I would most likely have said no. Obviously, my opinion has changed since. I realized that such a restriction was *extremely* counter-productive and definitely not a “deal breaker”. Taking stock, I looked at those around me and saw all manner of combinations of people… and realized that most of them weren’t at matching life stages when they met, nor when they married. I’m not really talking about age here, after a certain point (somewhere between being a teenager and not being one anymore) age is more or less inconsequential. What really matters is life stage. What matters, not what prevents or disables. I’ve been dwelling on this a lot lately, since I’m a fully intentional participant in a relationship which features a glaring and obvious case of mismatched life stages. Allow me to explain. I’m in my third of four years at University, studying stuff I love, paying the bills (or rather, the tuition and books), and generally with no money to my name as a result. The place where I’ve managed to break the “studential mold” is that I’ve managed to completely avoid debt. How I’ve managed to do that is rather simple and rather complicated at the same time – it’s a combination of continuing to live at home (thus avoiding rent or residence fees as well as most food costs) as well as working part-time year round. It hasn’t always been “pleasant”, but most of the time I get along far too well with my fam, and enjoy my work a great deal, so it’s not painful by any stretch of the imagination. My dear Steph, on the other hand, has been teaching primary grades for some time now. As in, she’s done school. As in, completely different and non-studential stage of life. Mismatch! Oh no! When the possibility of pursuing her first crossed my mind, that was the first thing I thought about. And, indeed, it’s a big deal. How on earth could I hope to provide for the emotional and financial needs of someone who is already well established? How could I maintain my personal commitment to quick-paced and intentional relationship building if by necessity that would mean being in a place to provide for a family conceivably before even being done school? How could I hope to lead and be the (pro)visionary for someone at such a different phase, a phase beyond my own scope of reference? A lot of heady questions, to be sure. I don’t have a thorough and all-encompassing set of answers, but the bottom line is this: Stage is a big deal, but it is by no means a deal-breaker or an insurmountable challenge. It requires give on both sides; an absolute commitment to clarity in the relationship, and it definitely requires both parties be set on upholding the biblical pattern for such things as headship, submission, intimacy, child-rearing, and the mechanics of procuring and handling finances in a way which honours God. What does this look like? Well, for me it means, among other things, finding work as soon as possible (I don’t regret my decision to leave CH for one second, it was one of the best calls I’ve ever made, difficult as it was and as much as I love it there). It means “growing up” on a more intentionally rapid pace than I’d perhaps followed in the past. It means constantly evaluating my own maturity and ability to lead effectively in what could concievably be a rather complicated relationship… and also it meant choosing to pursue someone fully capable of helping and encouraging me to do all those things to the best of my ability by God’s enabling. I did choose that. I’m glad I did. In the War of Stages, I’ve found myself fighting alongside a close friend and the God of the universe. So far, victory cries are the norm.

Conclusion: And so, those are my observations thus far. Theory was fun, practice is funner… and a lot more difficult/strenuous/hard/deep/rewarding. I wouldn’t trade this phase for the past one for anything, but I couldn’t do what I’m doing now were it not for that phase. Both are vital and necessary. If you’re single reading this, keep fighting. There are wars ahead you need to be ready for, and most of them are in your head, your heart, and your unrealistic expectations. Look to Christ, press on, and keep waiting actively – not sitting around, but working hard toward the family goals you have in mind. Play the man.

When the sunshine burns the darkness
Remove the veil that lingers on Your face
The stains of time still mark us
Standing in the aftermath of grace

Do you want to hear these stories
Of love and our mistakes?
Will you show us all Your glory
To soothe and to erase
The stains of time
-Common Children “Stains of Time”

…soteriology and pursuit

4
5 years ago
by Jerry in , ,

Current Tunage: Further Seems Forever – How To Start A Fire
Catching the fruits of our labors, Holding our hearts in our hands.
Waiting for you to sound a prayer in the form of an anchor
Replied by holding you up, in red skies bound by love.
We’ll learn how to start a fire, shine so bright we burn in eyes.

Subject: Pursuit.
Or, “How does a Single Man pursue a godly woman?”
(All Scriptures quoted are from the English Standard Version)
[Introduction]

Well, after “setting the stage” a couple days ago… it’s time to move on to something new, but related. As I said, [Thursday's Post] is the product of months of struggle, study, listening to godly men, reading various works, processing, and ultimately God working and moving in and through his people. The stuff I’m sharing today is quite different; in that it is not the result of months of such things, but rather the result of very recent processing… and again, ultimately God at work to bring glory to Himself.

The core ideas were conceptualized yesterday during the Men’s Breakfast at Westmount, tempered and roughed in as a result of thorough discussion with Shane on the way to Orillia, and have now been fleshed out more completely after some study of my first year soteriology notes and definitions as well as relevant passages in the Scriptures (with prayer throughout these processes, inevitably). As always, I’m indebted to John Piper, Mark Dever, and CJ Mahaney (DesiringGod.org) for the honing of many of these thoughts, and to the Lord for words and wording and His Word through which we understand such things. This isn’t by any means a full consideration of these concepts (or even a good one arguably), but it’s the beginning stages of unearthing what I think is some pretty relevant and useful/practical truth. Some of it will be slight repetition, as there is definitely some carry-over from previous stuff, but the core concept is new to me. It is challenging me, and I pray it will challenge you also.

Update from the next day: I must emphasize that the following stuff is pretty raw and is only a starting point for exploring the implications of extending the biblical marriage metaphor into the time preceding marriage. I’ve refined many of these points even in one day since so take them with a grain of salt.

[Foundation: The Basis]
So, let’s introduce where we’re coming from, and get started. Start here:

Ephesians 5:22-32
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Building on what I talked about a couple days ago, I’m working under the following conclusion from this passage in Ephesians 5: The Scriptures clearly lay out an analogy wherein Christ’s relationship with the Church reflects on the biblical institution of marriage. By making use of this Biblical analogy, we will examine Christ’s pursuit of relationship with fallen man – what attitudes and practical actions did He use to win his Bride? In analogy – what did Christ do in order to save people from the severance from God caused by their sins and reconcile them to Himself in Salvation (thus entering them into membership as a part of the Church)? I believe that looking into His example of pursuit, we will find guidelines and standards which we can then justly and intently apply to our own pursuit of a godly woman. This is not a series of specifics or a “checklist” of things to do, but rather we will be examining the overarching attitudes and mindsets which we as Single Men must adopt if we intend to pursue a godly woman.

[Approach: Before Initiation]

Our first extension of the analogy comes from this truth: Christ’s relationship to the individuals who comprise the church began before they were a part of the church – ie. before salvation. I’m basing this claim from here:

Ephesians 2:4-7
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

There was time when each member of the Church was not a part of the Church – ie. we were not yet saved/converted, we were dead in our trespasses. Nor had the Spirit of God begun the work of regeneration wherein he enables people to come to understanding of the mysteries of the Scriptures and of the Lord. Prior to God initiating regeneration within them, Believers were utterly cut off from Christ.

Similarly, in a Single Man’s pursuit of a godly woman, there will be time before they marry. This includes, but I believe is not limited to, “haven’t even met yet”, friendship, relationship, and engagement. Until a woman is in fact your wife, she is first, foremost, and primarily your Sister in Christ and your obligations to her flow out of that prioritization. I base this on the fact that one is either entirely saved and therefore a part of the church (Christ’s “bride”), or is completely neither. We are either alive in Christ, or dead in sin. She’s either your wife or she is not your wife. There is no middle-ground positionally.

So, what does such a prioritization of our Sisters in Christ, put into practice, look like? Or, How did Christ pursue believers before they believed?

Having examined the precursor stages, let’s now move into initiation and pursuit, which are marked by two key attitudes – Sacrifice and Servanthood:

[Initiation and Pursuit: Sacrifice and Servanthood]
[Sacrifice]

In Romans 5:8 Paul establishes to believers that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This strongly implies that Christ loved the Church and died in order to reconcile it to Himself, before he began to regenerate them (and indeed before 99% of them were even born onto the earth). This love and reconciliation takes place in the context of a relationship, one which evidently existed in spite of those who are now believers not being aware of it, or even being physically alive yet to take part in it. Furthermore, it must be emphatically emphasized and magnified that Christ DIED ON THE CROSS; In this infinite sacrifice which is exempt from any chronological boundaries, Christ appeased and removed the wrath of God against the sin of each person whose personal and individual sins would be placed upon Him (ie. true believers; the Church). In doing so, he performed the penultimate sacrifice; enduring the suffering of infinite punishment and death in his infinite deity – in a finite period of time but infinitely effective for all time and eternity. Thus, He created the objective basis whereby God might forgive sins, justify sinners, and redeem the elect into an adoptive, sanctifying relationship with Himself.

Similarly, in a Single Man’s pursuit of a godly woman, you are to, in essence, love your wife before she is in fact your wife. You begin by “Seeking Christ and Finding your Everything in Him”, and by doing so with a sacrificial attitude: give expecting (preferring?) nothing in return; being willing not only to do whatever He asks and believe whatever He says, but also being willing to “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). Being willing to sacrifice pet sin, habitual sin, and ultimately anything which hinders our walk with the Lord. Giving Him our everything… as Derek Webb reminds us: God wants all the things we “just can’t” give Him. The starting point for pursuit is sacrifice – cutting all the fat and destroying all the debris in our spiritual lives. This attitude is to drive the Single Man as he begins and progresses through the stages of pursuit. As Christ, through sacrifice, laid sin to rest at the Cross, so we must also be living sacrifices and put sin to death. There is no greater enemy to a Single Man in pursuit… than his own sin; live sacrifice. This is the key not only to true life, but also to accessing the wisdom and guidance of the Lord which is vital in the pursuit of any relationship. We are to live “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship … be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1, 2)

To further make this point, I must re-emphasize and make much of the fact that Christ died for the Church before it was saved. In the same way, as we approach a godly woman we must recognize that doing so places a call on us to sacrifice not only before marriage, but before it is even clear to us whom the Lord would have us marry: To sacrifice sin in our lives, to sacrifice impurity of all sorts, to sacrifice selfishness, to sacrifice foolishness… to maintain an attitude that anything that we are which does not conform to Christ is expendable.

[Servanthood]

What does this sacrificial approach look like in practical terms? Selfless Servanthood.

Philippians 2:1-7
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

As, through sacrifice, sin is removed and with it all barriers to the Lord’s guidance and enabling, the Single Man enjoys the inevitable process of conforming more and more to the likeness of Christ. In this, he will find himself more and more predisposed to the attitude and “mind” of Christ Jesus – the form of a servant. Selfishness dies in pursuit, and with it many of the problems that plague so many. As selfishness in a Single Man dies, so likewise dies falsehood and forgery, unwillingness to communicate truthfully or be vulnerable, and many more things too numerous to list here. Christ, the ultimate Servant King, presented to mankind the “fullness of deity” (Colossians 1:19), in other words: the full reality of God’s character and person. Similarly, as a servant in pursuit, the Single Man is to present himself truthfully and vulnerably – not shying away from sharing his heart, as it conforms more to the likeness of the heart of God, recognizing the destructiveness of residual sin. Such clarity and heart-sharing must be done carefully though, as Philippians has shown us the necessity of understanding the “interests of others” and 1 Peter 3 has shown us the vitality of preserving, protecting, and guarding them. We are not to smother, over-reveal, or impose emotional attachment by any means, but to deal honestly and in a manner which portrays who we truly are in an accurate manner, and in a way which honors the Lord and also the one we pursue.

[Addendum: Two Further Applications]
[Purity]

Certainly, there is a progression from complete darkness to the moment of salvation, and likewise there will be a measure of progression in the relationship between a couple as they move towards marriage. This progression will include increasing vulnerability, prayer, commitment, and understanding. However, relational progression leading up to marriage does not include progression of any of the positional benefits exclusive to marriage. Just as one who is not saved does not partake in the benefits of salvation until they are, in fact, saved. In practical terms, I believe this primarily speaks to the physical relationship, since that is the most explicit exclusivity to the marriage relationship. Christ’s relationship to a future member of the Church is not one of union or any kind of partial union; it is only once we are saved and become a part of the church that such a state is reached. In other words: prior to marriage, there shouldn’t be a physical relationship, other than what is appropriate for a brother and sister (A brother and sister in Christ).

Song of Solomon 4:12
A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed.

Increasing vulnerability, prayer, commitment, and understanding does not allow for a parallel increasing of physical intimacy.

[Commitment]

Finally, we understand through passages such as this that the members of Christ’s bride (the Church) are eternally secure in that status, as a result of the fullness of His work. Eternal Security is also ours as a result of the incredible manner in which He finishes what He begins, and sees every one of His covenants, promises, and commitments through to the end:

Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Similarly, in a Single Man’s pursuit of a godly woman, I believe we are called to be committed to see things through; to whatever end the Lord may have in His mind. Whether His plan is mutual and amicable severance, or a continuing friendship (just friendship), or marriage itself. Our primary concern is the execution of His will and doing that which brings Him most glory as He leads us. We are not to be like the world and to believe in maintaining “Options”, but rather as we understand the exclusivity of marriage, when we place the affections of our mind upon an individual, in doing so we must also commit to devoting ourselves to that singular pursuit – being focused, and refusing to entertain the possibility of other options as we seek to progress in sacrificial and selfless servanthood: vulnerability, prayer, commitment and understanding.

[Conclusion]
[Seek Christ and Find your Everything in Him]

In essence, the pursuit of God’s relationship with his Bride, the Church, was characterized to the core by sacrifice and servanthood. This is seen not only in the manner He approached and initiated, but also very much in His eventual pursuit and salvation of our souls. These twin themes of sacrifice and servanthood underlie every facet of application. Our pursuit of a godly woman (and indeed our pursuit of any human relationships), from the moment of first contact until the instant we die, should be marked by these two mind states, these two attitudes – the mind/attitude of Christ Jesus in his pursuit of us unto salvation. Sacrificial Servanthood. Additionally, until a person is a member of the Church, they have no union with Christ – in the same way our pursuit of a godly woman should be marked by complete purity. Finally don’t be split-minded and distracted by options and possibilities; focus, purpose, and commit to seeing the Lord’s will realized for your pursuit – whether that purpose is amicable severance, continuing platonic friendship, or marriage itself.

Titus 2:6-8
Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Titus 2:11-15
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

As always, such things as these we have just examined are impossible, apart from the power of God at work within. Let us understand how incapable we are, as Single Men, of realizing these things in our lives apart from throwing ourselves into the grace of Christ and asking Him to lead, guide, and empower us to sacrifice, serve, exude purity, and commit to seeing His will accomplished and Him glorified ultimately through our pursuit.

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

May we accurately reflect the way He pursued us.

“I should go to sleep, I’m running out of
Time waits for no one.
I might not wake up next to you…
Excuses, excuses, excuses, excuses make excuses for eating your young:
Let’s lick the wounds and find out where we came from.
When Copperas has faded I hope you’ll still be by my side
This is not dystrophy but desire, desire for comfort in the dark
Call me a mockingbird, and it’s done.”
-Further Seems Forever “The Deep”

…set the stage

5
5 years ago
by Jerry in , ,

Current Tunage: Mars ILL – Alpha Male
“Cause I’m the Alpha, called and destined, the leader of the pack.
I’ll listen when you talk because I’ve got it like that.
Matter of fact, I’ll protect you with my life because I love you,
And carry you on my back through everything we have to trudge through.”

Apologies in advance for the length of this, but the following is essentially the product of about 6 months of struggle/reading/study. Some of it is the result of really, truly, and finally processing and “getting over” my previous relationship… which is now three years behind me, and part of it is the result of some recent developments in the strange path I call my life. Though a lot of it comes from me, I can’t really take credit. For a lot of the wording and much of the honing and sharpening of these thoughts I’m indebted to John Piper and CJ Mahaney (DesiringGod.org) and Stu Weber (“Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart”). Ultimately, I’m indebted to the Lord for his patience and faithfulness to me in my wanderings and the measure of wisdom he’s seen fit to share with me in realizing these truths through the Scriptures. I shared the bulk of this at TCF last night and I know it challenged a lot of people (myself very much included), so I wanted to capture the essence of it here as a hard copy.

So, let’s get down to it. Let’s talk singleness.

Specifically, how do we approach singleness in a way that glorifies the Lord? What does His Word say about it? Since I’m a guy, most of this will be aimed directly at the hearts of my brothers, but I trust that these truths will impact those of you who are not male also… singleness has many common threads on both sides.

The Bible deals very slimly with what the Single life ought to look like (directly at least), but it has a lot to say about what married life ought to look like. I have to begin by stating that I firmly believe that singleness needs to be seen, in some ways, as the “training ground” for marriage. For example: If we can’t be content in the Lord as single people, what makes us think we will be content in the Lord when we’re married? Most single people’s “training” for marriage consists of a long series of divorces: Date, Break Up. Repeat. Unfortunately, most Christian single people’s training looks like this too. Is it any wonder the actual divorce rates are similar across the board? So, if we consider our singleness preparation for marriage… Let’s start here, guys:

1 Peter 3:7 ESV
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Hindered prayers? Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t recall hearing about anything else that hinders prayers directly… serious stuff. Even more serious when we examine the ways in which we can apply these thoughts from Paul to our “training” in singleness.

We have to endeavor to understand women in general. Yes; their brains, chemistry, biology, and physiology are utterly and completely different from ours. Yes, attempted alone this is an impossible task… but who made woman? God did. I have a sneaky feeling He’s more than willing to aid us in this as we walk with Him. We can do “all things” through Him – especially the things that show our weakness and magnify His strength. This, I believe, is one of those things. Lean on Him and work towards making sense of them, frustrating and insane as it may seem at times. Not only do we need to “get” them, we need to live with them in a way that shows them we “get” them… to “live with them in an understanding way”. Who are the women in your life? Mother, sister(s), Sisters in Christ? Live with them in an understanding way. That’s a part of your duty as a single man. Seek the Lord and do it.

“It’s our duty to implant wisdom and patience in our stance
And it’s true that woman was made from man’s rib, so oddly
When you sin against your wife, you sin against your own body”
-Mars ILL “Alpha Male”

Let’s have a look at another passage, which ties in well to the whole notion of showing honor to the woman as a “weaker vessel” and “co-heir of the grace of life”:

Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Now, we come to the whole “issue” and “problem” of leadership/headship. It’s become a problem because… well… men haven’t been being men. We’ve allowed ourselves to become tyrants, abdicators, cowards, brutes, dunces, know-it-all’s, loners, and smotherers… not the servant kings, tender warriors, wise mentors, and faithful friends God has called us to be. We’re told to love our wives “as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her”… how did Christ do that?

Romans 5:8
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

We’re to love our wives sacrificially, and with the attitude and predisposition of servants. This is to be reflected in our leadership. Headship isn’t about bossing people around or telling people what to do… headship is about leading by example and going ahead. Going ahead and being the first to apologize, to “talk feelings” and be vulnerable, to pray, to self-deny, and to initiate prayer and study of the Scriptures. We’re to protect, guard, and serve in doing these things.

How does this look for those of us who are single? At the most basic level, it’s a call for us to be the ones who initiate relationships. Beyond that, we are to seek to guard the hearts of our sisters in Christ, both from things which might damage or hinder their walk with the Lord, and especially from ourselves. We are not to be wife-hunters or predators among the flock, but Christ-seeking shepherds who oversee and guide and encourage and edify. It means that as servants and brothers, we make ourselves vulnerable and put our hearts in the firing line, so that even if it means our own heart being broken, that our sister’s remain intact and untouched. It means we see Christian women not as potential wives, but first, foremost, and primarily as Sisters in Christ… and not only to see them as such, but to behave towards them as such: with respect, dignity, honor. It means we live with them in an understanding way.

I won’t be touching the whole “submission” side of things because, as Manchild from Mars ILL puts it:

“For she was made in God’s image, so I’m inclined to put her desires
And needs before me daily and see my lady as a queen
Her submission is a calling that isn’t enforced by me.”
-Mars ILL “Alpha Male”

So, in this one verse from 1 Peter 3, we have some pretty serious calls on our lives as single men: to understand women and to sacrificially honor them in all we do.

What about, you know, actually finding a spouse? I think that, taken the right way, the following verse captures the essence of what ought to be our attitude towards that “problem”:

Psalm 37:4 ESV
Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The catch being, when you delight yourself in the Lord, His desires become your desires. You could almost read the verse like this: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of His heart (for you).” What does this mean? Search the scriptures and seek to understand not only your own role as a man, but also seek to understand what the Lord desires in a godly woman. Again, not to make you a more effective predator, but because what the Lord desires is what you will come to desire and delight in also. While doing that, don’t worry about finding someone. If the Lord chooses to give you someone, fantastic. If He hasn’t yet, wait and continue finding your completion, contentment, confidence, and security in Him. Give it over to Him and let Him work it out according to His will… just be ready to follow and take the lead when He makes things clear.

These things are, again, impossible for fallen man to accomplish – every single one of them. However, if you know the Lord, then you have everything you need (and more!) to accomplish these daunting tasks. Seek Him, chase Him, follow Him, love Him, know Him… and I am convinced that, by His grace, we can understand women (including our wives one day, Lord willing). Similarly, seek to know Christ who is our model of sacrificial honor and love. He went to the infinite extreme to save us, and we likewise in our dealings with women need to go to lengthy extremes to protect them from lies and deception, those who would harm them, and especially from our own attraction to them which can easily distort our behavior. As Christ put himself in the “firing line” of God’s wrath and took our punishment upon himself… whenever possible seek to do the same: through vulnerability and genuine brotherly love to place ourselves in the “firing lines” of life and take as much upon ourselves as we can to preserve and protect our sisters. Finally, as you walk with Him, wait on His timing and trust Him to direct and guide you in this area… make His desires your own as you delight yourself in Him and His ways.

Paul captures a lot of these ideas in his letter to Titus:

Titus 2:6-8 ESV
Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Self-control. Good works. Integrity. Dignity. Sound speech.

It’s a call on the life. How do we approach singleness in a way that glorifies the Lord? We stop wife-hunting and start Christ-seeking. We stop trying to find satisfaction in women and start finding it in Christ. We stop talking about how nonsensical women are and start listening to them and understanding them with God’s help. We start seeking to honor the Lord and our Sisters in Christ in everything we do, at our own expense and for their benefit – sacrificial self-denial.

Ultimately, the answer to what the Christian single life ought to look like is simply that it is someone who finds their everything in Christ. All else flows from that. So, in conclusion: Seek Christ and Find Your Everything in Him.

Like I said yesterday, it’s heavy stuff. Let’s make it our battle cry.

“I’ll firmly lead my household and display emotions openly
And show my people what a real man’s supposed to be…
Cause I’m the Alpha, called and destined, the leader of the pack
I’ll listen when you talk because I’ve got it like that
Matter of fact, I’ll protect you with my life because I love you
And carry you on my back through everything we have to trudge through

I challenge Alpha Males to change so you can see
A man standing there where a boy used to be”
-Mars ILL “Alpha Male”

Edit: If you live in Peterborough, or Ontario for that matter, come to this – it’s cheap for students and will be intense and good: Carpenter’s Box [PDF].

Also, Hansen’s post from today is along similar lines, so read that too.
Secondly, this post from a month ago captures some of these ideas also… just in a different form.
Finally, a post from October speaks to some of this as well.

[malachi]

0
5 years ago
by Jerry in , ,

Origin: First year KLBC assignment to turn a minor prophet into a poem. I distinctly remember Digger saying how much he liked good rhyming, so I didn’t do any rhyming… free verse for the win! It’s amazing what you find buried in “C:/My Documents” sometimes…

hear my servant

[1]

a love wasted?
purposed a choice, final
not without my own reasons
though they remain enshrouded
I am beyond you

it bleeds
rivulets flowing from my altar
it bleeds lines of options:
second best at best
not what I deserve, not what I commanded
profane delivery, meaningless offering
rejected.

you play the law-keeper
spotless to irises
while inside,
you are your own whore

and despite the flow of saliva caressing my face
(finding its origin in your mouth)
my name will be glorified, for it is great
(I’ll spit you out, false priest, false follower)

and yet you mock my wrath
laughing all the way to the grave you’ve been scraping up with bare hands

my name will be extolled

[2]

I will give you a reminder:
and I will speak it through my voice
and he will write it down

blessed curses; so shall you know
they fall on you
my condemnation lies squarely on your hands, red and dripping
taste them, bitter

the spiritually deaf spiritual leader

your predecessor stood
yet you fall always
blind blinder leading blinded blind;
blind guide, repent

truth closed ears – truth closed lips
you were such a travesty of representation,
corrupter, corrupter

once few, now many

faithless infidel
infidelity your charm bracelet
once again offering up your gross abominations
cut you off, sever

more, cry
shed your saline like a blanket
does it comfort you?
relief in your downpour?
I say no
you shall suffer the benefits of this distortion
torn my pattern, fool

what you saw as purposeless
and destroyed
I saw of utmost vitality
sever you

beautiful infidelity
burn beautiful,
for she was so much more

she was you

she deserved your everything

yet you mock, and I tire

[3]

once more a messenger

the day of your reckoning beckons you
approaching at break neck speeds
there is no run
there is no shelter
game over
game over, the fire is coming
(yet i will re-establish you)

split second alteration
binge and purge… and purge
you will be cleared
but for now entranced with your misplaced fears

I am static
solid – firmed

you turn
(curses, thief)
you shift
(thief, tenth hoarder)

spectacles of
apparent escape, seeming gain
one day you will watch them die and burn

remember this,
the black lines are drawn sand lines
cutting you from mine
radiant black lines of separation

[4]

inferno morning
shave your face this day
for this day you taste napalm, death
the sand in the tree has become shards of glass
and you have become nothing

however mine bound
taking submersive flight in me
smelling your remains, ashes

a love wasted?
enshrouded, revealed in time

he is coming

cosmic shift; return

…how the [goals] can turn to ghosts before your eyes

2
5 years ago
by Jerry in

Current Tunage: Dashboard Confessional – So Long, So Long feat. Adam Duritz of Counting Crows
It’s taken awhile, but in the end I really enjoy the new Dashboard record. I’m glad he’s gone beyond the pervasive… well… “emoness” of his early work (as much as I loved those albums). Not that it’s absent either. Whatever… it’s good acoustic folk/rock/stuff, and I still likes it. So there.

Friends,

The farther along through life I get, the more I realize how important it is to keep the goal in sight. Philippians 3:8-14 has always been one of my favorite passages, but it’s taken on a new life to me lately…

Philippians 3:8-11 (ESV) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith– that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Everything. Without exception. Wholly, completely, and utterly. All of it – all the stuff, all the feelings, all the people, all the self-(whatever)… everything. Not only are they all “a loss” (ie. not even nothing, but Less Than Nothing) but they are “rubbish”, elsewhere translated “dung”. However, the core idea of the Greek word Skubalon, as some of my first year KLBC friends will likely remember, is most accurately rendered, in terms of intensity and vulgarity, and at least in my personal opinion, “shit”. It can be so hard to cling to sometimes, but knowing Christ compares to EVERYTHING ELSE as if it was a massive festering pile of fecal matter. Why? To be found righteous in Him, to share in His sufferings, to become like Him in His death, and to reach the line finish, the goal: the resurrection from the dead – salvation and eternity.

3:12-14 (ESV) Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

It’s a process of obtaining, it’s a struggle, press on. Don’t get stuck in regret for wasted time, but renew each day as it comes and overcome its challenges for the glory of the Lord. Strain forward to what lies ahead: the goal. It’s the only reasonable response to knowing Christ.

I guess for me, I lost sight of the goal, lost sight of those things which the Lord has placed in my heart to accomplish and be even since a young age. There are some things I’ve always known I’d grow up to be, things that for many years the Lord used to spur me on to know Him more, to seek His will, to follow all of His ways. Those who know me know that there’s also a lot of areas of my life where I still don’t have a clear direction, some are even aspects of the things I know beyond a doubt are essential to who I am and will come to pass… but that’s not (I’m discovering) a cause to lose sight of the ultimate goals that have been laid forth. Instead, those blank areas ought to be things which spur me on also, just as those things the Lord has made clear to me serve as tangible motivators to seek Him, so those things He has hidden from me for a time ought to serve as powerful motivators to chase after His ways and His will through searching the Scriptures, discourse with Him, and searching out the wisdom of those people who follow Him dearly.

It’s good to have the goals in sight again. Come along, it should be a pretty unreal sojourn.

Go to Top