A Few Quick Thoughts

Ladies and gentlemen (are those politically correct words to use?)!

Welcome to the final and most awesome rap battle to ever grace this sweet planet we call Earth!  In one corner we have the Son of Man Himself, the Bread of Life, the Rose of Sharon, Advocate, and Lamb of God; itsssss Jesussss!

In the other corner we have the most power angel to ever leave heaven, the father of lies, and prince of darnkess; itssss Satannnn!

Okay, so that’s just a sweet little metaphor I created; sorry to get your hopes up.  We’d all love to hear Jesus spit some rhymes on the mic and show everyone what Godly flows sound like.  The next best thing to Christ rapping would have to be someone rapping about Christ.  Am I right?

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Fellowship with other believers is a gift from God and it should be a joyful activity.  However, if you are like me you have been in a situation where fellowship seems forced, tedious and legalistic. 

It should be a joy to know God is drawing your friends closer to Him.  However, I want to address possible reasons why fellowship can be tough at times, and ways to make it more joyful.

The first reason fellowship is struggle is during times when we are not active in prayer and in God’s Word.  It is tough to get excited by about anything you are not actively involved in.  For example, you walk into a conversation where two people are talking about an amazing game or play they saw from the night before.  However, you have been too busy to even think about sports for about the past week.  Therefore it will be tough to generate excitement about something you have not thought about in a long time.

The same thing is true with conversation about Christ.  If you have not been meditating on God and the grace he has poured on out you, despite being saved, it is easy to feel lukewarm, or even downright apathetic about the gospel. Read the rest of this entry »

Part of the bridge from Chris Tomlin’s song “Made to Worship” has been ringing in my head for the past few days. The bridge goes: “Even the rocks cry out/ Even the heavens shout/ At the sound of His Holy name.” This verse was probably in part based on Luke 19:40. The disciples were shouting praise to the Lord and the Pharisees wanted Jesus to rebuke his disciples. Yet Jesus says: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

I live in a scientific world. Biology is my major and biology is almost all I learn. Theories and lab procedures and exciting new advances in research, etc. get filtered through my brain everyday. I’m definitely not your average science student who is über passionate about science, but more than ever I am amazed at God’s creation through science. You just read that Jesus said that even if there was no one to praise God’s holy name the stones will cry out. That’s how I feel lately; creation is yelling, screaming, hollering to those who are silent, especially to my peers who don’t believe and are sitting there studying their advanced cell biology books.

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If you have not already done so, I would encourage you to read James’ post below, as this is an official follow-up post to his.

Bound To Christ (B2C) evolved from discussion in order to encourage and stimulate discussion among other Christians.  Our three main goals are to: 

1. Stimulate discussion about theology and culture.
2. Spark serious studying of scripture among Christians.
3. Provide resources that encourage Christians to build a biblical worldview.

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“A civilization in which there is not a continuous controversy about important issues is on the way to totalitarianism and death.”

–Robert Maynard Hutchins

It has come to my attention, which is nothing short of old news for my life, that my articles may be sparking up controversy among readers.  I’d like to take a few words and write my true thoughts on this matter as to make my agenda clear while I write for B2C.  I am not here to hand out gold stars or to make people feel good about themselves.  I am not here to maintain the status quo and forge myself a gong to be struck repeatedly, only to give off a bland resounding sound.  I am here to write music with words that will spark imagination, inspire adventure and make you think. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve had this issue on my heart for quite some time and I’ve been thinking about it deeply.   By no means do I have the right answer or even the best answer.  However I would like to share my thoughts.

When did it become ok for us as Christians to shift the blame?  When did we as Christians lose our personal responsibility?  When did it become ok to shift the blame for my actions onto someone or something else?  When did it become okay for Christians to basically say, “The Devil made me do it”? 

I have too often heard many mature and immature Christians say, “I only fell because the Devil made me” or “If only the Devil hadn’t then I wouldn’t have.”  Or my personal favorite, straight from the pulpit of many churches, “We must fight the Devil because he is the one that causes you to sin.”  Now some of you may be thinking, “What’s wrong with that?”  Well I’ll tell you what’s wrong.  It shifts the blame from us to someone or something else. Read the rest of this entry »

Who is God to you?  I think many of us answer this question incorrectly.  You may be thinking, “What?  How could I be wrong about who I think God is!”  Surely, it is a subjective question, but for each one of us there is an objective answer. 

It seems that when we answer this question, we do not admit to ourselves what we truly believe.  If asked, we may give a good answer, but our actions will tell on us.  We fabricate “correct” answers that save time and satisfy our sinful flesh.  Too often we don’t grant this question the solemn earnestness that it deserves.  Read the rest of this entry »

When you hear this phrase your first thought probably isn’t apostasy.  You might even think it is clever, a helpful reminder to live the truly “Christian” life, kingdom Living.

 That was mostly what I thought when I heard this phrase quoted in a Tim Keller sermon I was listening to last week, but in the back of my mind it echoed strangely and my discernment whistles started sounding… something was wrong.

 Is there really more to proclaiming the gospel than just presenting your example?

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For some reason a few days ago, this thought came to my mind: Does God have favorites? I have asked a couple of people and I have gotten mixed answers. To my own question I would say no.  We are to reflect God’s nature. So if we are called to do or not do something, it is an exact result of God’s holy nature and His opposition to sin. James 2:8-9 says: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” Since we know God does not sin, then God does not show partiality. If we also know that we are called to love each other and not show partiality, that means God loves us all and is not characterized by partiality. Deuteronomy 10:17 also says: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.” Since God is not partial to us then “[we] shall not show partiality, and [we] shall not accept a bribe” (Deuteronomy 16:19).

We are called to follow justice (Deut 10:18, 16:20), and God delivers justice for those who have sinned against Him. We have all sinned against God and, therefore, God righteously gives sinners justice by punishing us all for eternity. Yet God bestows grace on us through Christ, who became sin and absorbed wrath we should receive.  Grace is not the same as favoritism because grace is undeserved, while favoritism is unfair. Although we do not deserve God’s grace, it is not unfair for those in Christ to  receive it because justice has been met completely by Christ’s sacrifice. Therefore, any good thing we receive is because our God has punished our Perfect Sacrifice for our sin. I do not wish to take away the mystery of salvation and Biblical examples of the numerous times where God raises some people above others. (i.e. Abraham, Moses), but I feel the overwhelming grace in their lives and my own that only comes from God above.

I just found out that one of my long time friends, from way back in middle school days, and her husband are expecting their first child, a baby girl.  They were able to post their first ultrasound on Facebook, and I had the privilege to see this most amazing video.  Now, I don’t know where you, as the reader, stand on the issue of abortion, but I personally don’t support it.  After watching this ultrasound I am even more opposed to abortion. 

I have been against abortion for quite some time, but never with the same resolve and conviction I feel right now.  What about this video could have changed and strengthened my resolve so much?  It was the simple fact that the child is alive.  I always knew the child or “fetus” was alive, but not like this.  I finally made the connection between knowing and feeling.  As I watched this brief, silent five-minute clip of this grainy black and white ultrasound, I finally realized what it truly means to say that the child is alive.  I was just stunned that some people could say this child is not alive and that it is nothing more than a parasite equivilant and can be freely tossed in the trash with no remorse and repercussions. 
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So here are some quotes I collected over the summer.  They are simple, and accuratley reflect the gospel.

Roger Hooper

Josh Harris

Well, in respect to an orthodox Christian doctrine and biblical view, no, they are not Christian.  The funny thing is that they would agree with that, or at least one of the most famous Mormons would agree with that.  This Mormon goes by the name of Orson Scott Card, and happens to be one of my favorite authors. Actually, if it wasn’t for his Ender Series, I probably wouldn’t enjoy reading at all.

So, as Christians of a more orthodox nature and doctrine, how should we view Mormons’ Christianity status?  I am glad you asked, because the same question as my post’s title was asked in another blog: BeliefNet. Their post asked “Are Mormons Christian?”[click for post] They posed this question to two of the greatest minds in each arena:  On one side was Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and on the other side was Orson Scott Card, an award winning author of science fiction.

It is a short debate with only 6 posts.  Please take a few minutes to read the posts of each side, because I believe this is very revealing and very informative.   Enjoy!

What up?!

B2C is goin’ to New Attitude!  New Attitude is hosted by Sovereign Grace Ministries, and is awesome!  Their goal is to equip the next generation with the gospel.  Why?  Because the gospel is the power of God to save! (Romans 1:16)  For more information and their blog, go to: http://www.newattitude.org

I will be a little late to the conference this year, so my blog postings will begin on Sunday for the second session.  For now, check out this little vid explaining “Why New Attitude.”

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mHHWAQWBIo]