Matt 18

Date: 23 January 2009, Deployment-18 days.

Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 18

Who Is the Greatest?

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

7 "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

Ps 19:1-2

The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Sun Tzu:

“Tire them by fight.”
“This means making a lot of surprise attacks. When they come our, you go home; when they go home you come out. When they got to the aid of their left flank, you head to the right. This was you can tire them out.”
“This way, your strength will remain intact, while they will be worn out.”

The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006):

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), born to King Philip II king of Macedonia and educated by Aristotle (pupil of Plato, pupil of Socrates) he became king of Macedonia at 20 after his father was assassinated in a theater. Alexander the Great died at age 33 but in his 13 yrs as king he extended Macedonia’s boarders from present day Greece to India. This was an empire like history had never seen. Through his brilliant teacher Aristotle, Alexander the Great was motivated to unite his kingdom under one common language and a hybrid combination of his conquered nations (rather than destroy the cultures of his conquests). This process came to be known as Hellenism. Through Hellenism much of Europe and Asia spoke the same language and had common cultural beliefs. When Alexander’s died, his kingdom was divided among his generals. The Greek’s were eventually defeated by the Romans centuries later.


Events:

Got up early yesterday and went to the range, had some fun, shot pretty good and was done by 0900. Went back to the office, read, wrote and did some work until a meeting (non-deployable scrub) at 1130. At this weekly meeting, we go through all of the 300 soldiers who are unable to deploy and discuss the medical and legal issues that prevent their deployment. This meeting is typically where I get the majority of my work for the following week, calling consultants, reevaluating soldiers etc… But this week, I decided that I am done taking on the responsibility primarily and handed it over to the PA. This enabled me to take a 4 day weekend, deal with deployment issues (health check, immunizations etc…) next week and then take 1 week off 29 Jan-9Feb before I fly out on the 11th. I drove home yesterday evening while listening to RC Sproul’s new series, “God Alone.” I highly recommend it; he is discussing the 5 tenets of the reformation. We took Marla’s cousin out for dinner at Perico’s last night. Check the Pic’s.

Thoughts:

1. 18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" It is always important to keep whatever bible verse that we are discussing in the context of what is immediately surrounds it. The bible is not to be farmed for quotes because taken out of context, the bible can be made to say almost anything, and often has. The context of the forthcoming discussion on children is this selfishly motivated question by the disciples. The disciples on multiple occasions probe Jesus for how they can be great in the Kingdom of heaven. After realizing that there are a variety of blessings in heaven, this is a question that we all must wonder from time to time. I realize my own sinfulness in asking this question, a sinfulness that seeks my own glory, my own pleasure as opposed to God’s glory (the purpose of heaven and earth).
2. Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Realizing why my own heart asks this question, It is not surprising that Christ answers with a commentary on humility. It is interesting that instead of discussing blessings in heaven in verse 3 he is actually discussing salvation to heaven, maybe as a warning to his disciples. Without the humility to realize that even our best works are “dirty rags,” or in this context, Childs play, compared to God’s goodness we will never bend our knee and cry out for Christ’s salvation. In verse 4 Christ moves to answer their question about reward in heaven. This verse seems to say that when we humble ourselves and realize that as a child we are entirely dependent on God for our substance, protection, salvation and even sanctification (spiritual growth), that we have absolutely nothing God needs and absolutely nothing to brag about before the father but instead give him eternal Glory for his Amazing Grace then we both understand the concept of heaven and will be called great in heaven. As a heavenly extension of our life on earth the purpose of heaven will continue to be God’s Glory and not our eternal bliss. When instead we rely on our own ability to produce externally pious works in hope for our own eternal pleasure and glory, that we might be called greatest in heaven we forget our first love (God), substitute ourselves as an Idol and miss the point of both our life on earth and our blessing in heaven.
3. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. Talk about a warning shot! Christ is not commanding us to cut off our hands or gouge out our eyes but he is giving a glimpse at how serious we should consider sin and it’s punishment. If I truly believed that one sin with my hand was worth my arm and one sin with my mouth was worth my head, I would be far more cautious. Although Christ has now paid for our sin on the cross and we can have true forgiveness, the sins that we daily commit are not suddenly made less offensive to God. We may be redeemed and counted as sinless and counted as God’s adopted children, but God is no less hurt (in fact likely more hurt) when his children choose to live in worldly sin and satisfaction over God’s fatherly love and instruction. The offense is no less, it is just paid for. As a Christians, when I claim to finally understand the magnitude, the offense of even my most innocent sins, how can I not do all in my power to avoid it. As Hebrews says, “4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (Heb 12:4-5)”
4. If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? This is not a verse that says that God has chosen all of the sheep in the world. This verse in no way contradicts the doctrine of, “Limited Atonement” which states that Christ only died for his chosen people. Notice the lost sheep in this example is the shepherd’s sheep, it is not his neighbor’s sheep that he is stealing, it is not some pour African sheep. The sheep that is lost is the shepherd’s sheep and the shepherd (not the lost sheep) brings it back into to flock. As Jesus prayed, “9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled”. John 17:9-13
5. "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. So 490 times, but that 491’st time my brother sins, that’s it! How offensive our unforgiving hearts must be to God. The Story that Jesus subsequently tells makes me angry. How could a servant that has been forgiven a huge debt then go out and demand mere pennies from a fellow servant? I want to break that servants nose. As God has forgiven our constant lawbreaking and faithlessness and given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven, a mansion with a room already prepaired for us, “2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going." John 14:2-4. How then can we not forgive our brother for an occasional sin against us?

Matt 17

Date: 22 January 2009 Deployment-19

Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 17:1-24

The Transfiguration

17 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." 10 And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" 11 He answered, "Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said,"Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." 17 And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax


24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?" 26 And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."


Ps 18:6-12

“To my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. 12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

Sun Tzu:

“Use humility to make them haughty.”
“Appear to be lowly and weak, so as to make them arrogant-then they will not worry about you, and you can attack them as they relax”

The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006):

Cain and Abel were the first two son’s of Adam and Eve. Cain (the elder) was the first human to be born naturally as Adam and Eve were both created. God asked both to make sacrifice to him and for reasons far deeper than the intellectual devotion imply, Abel’s sacrifice was better accepted. Cain then killed Abel out of jealousy and was condemned by God to wander the earth for the rest of his life. Adam and Eve later had Seth to fulfill the promise that one of Adam’s “seed” (Christ) would crush the head of the serpent.

Events:

Woke up early yesterday morning and did my reading and writing before leaving for Fort Hood. It’s always a great drive and it was an especially beautiful morning yesterday. I made my scheduled stops at Starbucks in San Antonio and Super Taco (sooooo awesome) in Marble Fall and listened to the most recent John Piper and White Horse Inn podcasts which I highly recommend. Arrived at Ft. Hood and spent the remainder of the day seeing patients and trying to schedule appointments. I stole one of my fellow provider’s patients yesterday because I thought her case was very interesting. Last week, the provider asked me for a second opinion on a 40’ish year old female who was recently hospitalized (December) for a kidney infection that returned for persistent fever, chills and severe thoracic (trunk) pain that was exquisitely sensitive to the touch from her mid-back around to her mid chest leading to shortness of breath. Very odd case sounds like a developing shingles though the pain had been present for >1 month at her first visit (by that time should have had a rash). The woman also had some weakness in her right hand and at that point my best guess was a spinal epidural abscess but we knew that we first needed to rule out a blood clot in her lungs. In the end (last week) we decided to send her to the ER as we both felt that she needed advanced imaging. I followed up on the case yesterday but I guess the ED deemed her “crazy” and discharged her without a work up. I am very thankful to have the experience of a referring provider that has spent a long time with a patient and is legitimately concerned about a patient just to have the ED write her off as “crazy”. When I work in the ED there are two things that I never diagnose (I call them the 2 C’s) , 1) “Crazy” (to include anxiety, panic attack, acute psychotic break etc…) and 2) Constipation. I feel that these diagnoses end up pissing people off and when they do truly have an emergent condition (as a percentage will), now you’re the jerk doctor who told them they were “crazy” or “constipated.” So, yesterday, when I found out that no workup was done on the patient I called her back and sent her for a CT Chest to leg to rule out a blood clot in her chest or leg in addition to giving me a good evaluation of her anatomy ( which was effectively normal) and I scheduled an MRI of her spine to rule out an abscess. I’m very interested to see what comes up. Great learning case for multiple reasons! Last night drank a few beers while putting together my Body Armor (in preparation for the shooting range this morning). Amazingly the armor seems to have come together correctly. See the attached pic’s.

Thoughts:

1) 1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. This verse reminds me of a conversation that Marla and I had 2 days ago. We were discussing Matt 11:11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he,” in addition to countless other verses in the Bible that describe different levels/rewards in heaven. It is clear in the bible that these exist but my point was that there are no come from behind victories, there are no “carnal (baby)” Christians that get an amazing surprise that the seat at Jesus left or right has been prepared for them. No, our relationship in heaven will simply be a natural extension of our relationship on earth. A wise man (cause I don’t remember who) once said, “We all get what we want.” Unbelievers who denied Christ and did their best to avoid him will not have to suffer him in eternity; they will be separated from God’s grace and Christ’s love forever. Likewise if we were believers but never really took the time to live and walk with Christ, then we will inherit a more separated position in heaven, If however, in our time on earth we enjoyed a rich, full, true relationship as Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John did then we will be rewarded with the closest presence of the Lord for eternity. There are thrones in heaven designated for the saints and where yours sits depends on inner relationship on earth…no surprises, no come from behind victories.
2) 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him… when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." Jesus enjoyed fellowship with Moses, Elijah and Father God in heaven before he chose to come to earth, John 8:58, “Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." As opposed to created beings whose existence begins at conception, Christ the creator has been from the beginning. John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
3) 22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed. The disciples were distressed just as Peter was in Matthew 16 after hearing his Master Prophesize his own death. If you recall, in yesterdays reading Peter said, “May it never be,” and Christ harshly responded, “get behind me Satan.” As demonstrated above by the disciples inability to cast out the demon, they still were victim a weak faith. Their faith was rooted in only partial knowledge of the ultimate plan for redemption. They had come to love Jesus as their master, friend and even miracle worker but not as a messiah in the Isaiah 53 (sacrificial) sense of the word. When confronted with the reality of Jesus purpose on earth they exhibit their lack of faith in Christ as Chist by repeatedly doubting his ability to overcome death and accomplish the mission that he has now told them multiple times…to redeem his people. We, of course, can’t look down on the disciples though as we have all been the vitium of such doubt and the beauty of the story is that even with a faith smaller than a mustard seed his disciples were in Christ’s death still rescued.
4) "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" I’ve been giving Christian interaction with Secular (worldly) authority a lot of thought lately. Christians throughout the ages have held radically different opinions on how the Church and State should interact. The historic radical Anabaptists (examples from the present day are the Amish and Mennonites) feel that Christians must be separated from society as society (the secular) is inherently evil. On the other side of the argument are those who fight for a “Christendom,” a Christian theocracy won not by heaven’s armies (as in Revelation) but by humans political and military struggles. Some have even gone so far as to say that only Christians have the correct worldview and values to hold political office. As far as I can discern from the bible, the answer is not at either extreme but somewhere in the middle. I am not one who believes everything “spiritual” is good (especially the way the world currently defines “spiritual”) and everything “secular” is evil. Terrible things have been done in the name of the “spiritual,” wars, genocide, witch hunts just to name a few and, to the contrary, wonderful things have been done by the secular for example, think of democracy and the marine who jumped onto a grenades to save his buddies lives. While there is no such thing as a truly good deed (that is, motivated by God’s Glory) by secular man, there is such a thing as Calvin would call “civic righteousness”, wherein there is good in all people (that is, in action not motive) as people help their neighbor and love their family. The secular world with this “civic righteousness” is perfectly capable of governing justly. I can think of multiple reasons that we as Christians should not separate from the culture, here are a few:
a. First, separating from the world would directly contradict Jesus’ example and teaching throughout the gospels
b. Secondly, how then could we witness to our unbelieving neighbor?
c. Third, in removing the “common grace” that is present as God indirectly blesses the world through blessing his children the remaining “secular” world would quickly spiral out of control.
Likewise, a Christendom won by human force is equally as dangerous. As the old saying goes, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” As long as we are human, we will be subject to sin and evil. As we discussed above, all fallen humans will inevitably rule from their depravity and when they are governing “In the name of Christ” the only possible outcome is Christ’s name being blasphemed.
No, it is clear from the bible that we are to be, “in the world, not of the world.” We are to live as Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego did in Babylon (Daniel 3). By following the examples of these giants of the faith we learn how we can maintain our spiritual practice all the while staying in the good graces of the secular government. Follow me on this:
a. When the law of God and the Law of the Culture agree, we must follow both,
b. When the Law of the Culture demands what the bible is silent about, we must comply,
c. It is only when the Law of the Culture demands what the bible specifically prohibits that we must civilly, respectfully disobey.
The good news is that in America; rarely does any such explicit conflict occur.

Matt 16

Date: 21 January 2009 Deployment-20 days

Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 16

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3 And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus As the Christ

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."


Ps 17:13-14
Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, 14 from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world whose portion is in this life.

Sun Tzu:

“Use anger to throw them into disarray.”
“Wait for them to become decadent and Lazy.”
“When the military leadership is often angered, its strategy is easily thrown into confusion, for its nature is unstable.”
“If they are quick-tempered, then stir them up to excite them so that they go into battle carelessly.”

The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006):

Plato (427-347 BC): Born to a wealthy family in Athens, Plato became a philosopher like his mentor Socrates (470-399 BC). Plato’s writings are dialogues in which two or more characters discuss a philosophical issue. The main Character in Plato’s writings is Socrates. Since Socrates never actually wrote down his work this is the only way that we know of him. This brings to question how much of Plato’s philosophy was his own and how much was just a report of Socrates? Scholars believe Plato’s earlier dialogues are historical accounts of Socrate’s teachings while in his later works Socrates is merely a literary character. Plato later became the teacher of Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Plato is best known for
1. “Theory of Forms.” Abstract, immaterial things imitated the physical objects of this world
2. “Knowledge is recollection.” Plato believed the soul was eternal. Before embodied, the soul knew all things without being distracted by sensory perception. When humans learn something, it is because our soul recollects what it knew before.
3. “The soul has three parts.” “Appetitive”-which desires sensual pleasures, “Spirited”-desires glory and honor and “rational”-desires to understand. In Plato’s philosophy all three parts must interact harmoniously but the rational should dominate.

Events:

Marla’s birthday was yesterday, so after reading, writing and a workout I met Marla and her team mates at Kona Grill. We had a good lunch. Marla has made great friends here in San Antonio, one of her best friends is Meredith (also her work partner) who gave her a great bracelet over lunch. After lunch we shopped for birthday “prizes” at La Contera Mall. Marla and I then went for a couples massage, awesome. After that we came home Marla worked for a while then went out with another great group of girls from church. The girls took her to a great restaurant named, the “Roaring Fork” and then to Coco’s chocolate lounge for desert. Marla has made great friends in San Antonio (guess that’s what happens when your husband’s in residency) and I am very thankful that we decided to leave her in SA while I’m deployed. Her friends have promised to keep her busy while I’m gone and I’m sure they will. By far the most stressful part of deployment is leaving Marla. If I was not married, I would have volunteered to leave far earlier and would likely try to stay deployed indefinably. However, being married to such a great wife makes any separation soooo painful. It breaks my heart to think of Marla here alone but it is comforting to be able to leave her here with such trustworthy and loving friends. Thanks especially to Jennifer for realizing that I may have been deployed on Marla’s birthday and organizing this party months ago.

Thoughts:

Bible:

1. "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." As a little leaven quickly grows and spreads through the whole loaf, Jesus warns of the Pharisee’s malignant doctrine. The Pharisees teach a doctrine of hipocracy, they teach of a religion based on inherited right and external appearance. The Pharisees doctrine was based on self-rightiousness (no problem if you were righteous in yourself like Christ, but big problem in you are “white washed tombs”). Why does this “leaven” have such metastatic potential? The religion of self gained, self earned righteousness is dangerously contagious because it is instinctive to all creatures. The instincts of “self preservation” and “fight or flight” are both healthy when fleeing a lion but when we come to salvation with this “save our self” attitude ultimately is condemning. David says, (Ps 49:7-8) “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice.” When we rely on our own outward works for salvation, we can only expect judgement because God looks at our heart, (1 Sam 16:7) “or the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." We can argue all day long about the theoretical “righteousness” of good men (without Christ) and their ability to stand before God’s Judgment and wrath and perhaps meet God’s standard and merit salvation based on their own righteousness. However, when I examine my own heart, apart from Christ’s righteousness, I see little that is truly good. If you do not consider yourself a Christian but feel this conviction...you may want to reexamine the gospel. Likewise, if you consider yourself a Christian but do not feel this conviciton, you too may want to reexamine the gospel.
2. 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Another solid verse that echo’s Mark’s discorce, (Mark 10:26-27) 26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” When we are brought to repentance and belief, it is not through a process of learning or memorizing but a gift of God.
3. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." What chaos this one verse has caused. Peter is seen as the first Pope and every subsequent Catholic Pope (although the next was not for >300 yrs) claims the linage of Peter. Yes, Peter did start the church and, strictly as an apostle, did write books that are considered the word of God (1st and 2nd Peter). It is further true that the Church, when (and only when) it acts in accord with biblical direction, has the power to echo what has occurred in heaven in both accepting new believers and excommunicating unbelievers. However, it is not true that man’s Popes somehow retained this “apostolic authority.” There is no biblical promise that apostolic authority would continued past the age of the apostles. Further, I propose that simply based on the contradictions of the Catholic Churches “tradition” to the true word of God, the Bible, that this apostolic authority given to Peter here and subsequently other apostles died in the age of the apostles. I will post a more thorough essay on this topic soon. A little controversial but as always, I am more than happy (actually, let’s be honest, quite excited) to discuss it.

4. "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Peter was still thinking of Jesus as a worldly king, one that would conquer and rule through his might not his death. In Christ's death he placed the final nail in Satan's coffin. Had Christ not been punished and killed for our sin, Satan would have succeed in condemning all men, however Christ choose to redeem his chosen people out of the world, as Paul says in Colossians 2:13-15 "God made (us) alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. In his death, Christ paid the penalty due our sins and triumphed over not only Satan but also death.
5. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. …27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done." Pretty self-explanatory (unlike the parables). If we live for our own desires and satisfaction we will never find them and in the end we will die alone, condemned. If, however, we live for Christ, for his desires and find our satisfaction in him we live more fully and die glorified. John Piper loves to say, “God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him.” When we find our self-worth, our Joy, our hope and our salvation in Him who is unchanging and eternally worthy, we are both fully satisfied and God is fully glorified.
6. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Tough verse. Had to look this one up. I remember that, as a young believer, I realized that the apostle John was the only one present there who had not been martyred and I dreamed that maybe he was still out their hidden in a cave somewhere (what an Indiana Jones movie!). Sadly, I was probably wrong and this verse seems to refer to the transfiguration that follows it in each of the 3 gospels that it is included in, though the exact meaning does seem to be up for debate, any thoughts?

Matt 15

Date: 20 January 2009, Deployment-21 days
Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 15

Traditions and Commandments

15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." 3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 5 But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, 6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 "'This people honors me with their lips,but their heart is far from me;9 in vain do they worship me,teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" 13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." 15 But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us." 16 And he said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26 And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." 33 And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?" 34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Ps 16:9-17:1

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Sun Tzu:

“When they are fulfilled, be prepared against them; when they are strong, avoid them.”
“A classic says, ‘struggling with them, you find out where they have plenty and where they are lacking.’ Having plenty is what is meant by being fulfilled, lacking is what is meant by having gaps. Once the military power of the adversary is full, you should treat them as if they were unbeatable, and not attack lightly. As a military guide says, ‘When you see a gap, then advance; when you see fullness, then stop‘.”

The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006):

Harmony is the sounding of two or more different notes in unison. The distance between the two notes in called an interval. We can express intervals numerically, on the typical musical scale (A,B,C,D,E,F,G). The earliest polyphonic music written in the middle ages was based on intervals of the forth (two notes separating the played notes, ex. Playing A and D simultaneously). By the Reaissance, however, the triad became the main unit of harmony. Triads are 3 notes played in simultaneously each separated by a third (ex. Playing A, C and E together). Harmony adds depth, echo, “clothing” to a piece of music. Harmony that is pleasing to the ear is called consonance while Harmony that sounds Harsh, unfamiliar, or unstable is called dissonance.

Events:

We went out to Magnolia Pancake House with my parents for breakfast, totally awesome. Mom and dad loved it. Came back to the house and said what could be my final goodbye to them. Saying goodbye was not so bad; I think it was mostly because they are 90% sure that they will make the Deployment Ceremony. I read, wrote and posted all of the writing that I have done to date on the Blog. Guess I’m up and running. Last night we watched the Bachelor. It’s very informative to watch how the Girls feel about “Jason” behind the scenes. A saying that I recently heard that would have helped me a great deal throughout school is, “Girls are just as afraid of you as you are of them.” It works the other way too. Behind the scenes in the bachelor I can see how pitifully insecure girls can be. The show was a bit redeeming last night as he took one of the most externally pretty girls out but when she proved to be rude, superficial and materialistic he dumped her without even bringing her back to the house. Not the typical male response but an encouraging one. Today is inauguration day and Marla’s birthday, she’s 28. Birthdays are always hard for me because I feel the need to spend lots of money and buy her great gifts but she always seems to take them back because she is so responsible with money and I am so not. It’s stressful.

Thoughts:

Bible:

1. V3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? It’s not just the Pharisees here. I will frequently choose my pious actions like reading my bible over loving my wife, helping my neighbor etc… Just this morning, on Marla’s birthday, it was nearly impossible for me to pull myself away from my reading to fix her a special birthday breakfast of instant oatmeal that I subsequently ruined anyway by adding water instead of milk (messed up the only step L).

2. 8 "'This people honors me with their lips,but their heart is far from me;9 in vain do they worship me,teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" The Pharisees offense is much worse than butchering oatmeal. Today, we would have called them Legalists. We see legalism (adding man’s commandments to the bible) at work daily. I tried to buy wine after church on Sunday and was reminded that thanks to those Baptist prohibitionists I was not legally able to buy alcohol before noon on Sunday. This law doesn’t even make sense, how many people get hammered drunk and plow into families on Sunday morning? Why not outlaw alcohol after midnight Thursday and Friday nights? I doubt these prohibitions against alcohol, dancing (Baylor) and our new pious “courting” instead of dating has ever lead an unbeliever to Christ or further sanctified (spiritual maturity) a believer. In fact, I bet these “commandments of men,” have prevented many unbelievers from seeking out Christ in the first place. Let me be the first to say that I drink and enjoy alcohol. When done is a responsible manner (not hammered drunk) there is absolutely nothing biblically wrong with drinking. I have many good Baptist friends who would not dare be seen drinking. I ask you, which is better, to engage the world (a drinking world) over a drink and explain the freedom that we have through Christ or, to continue to segregate ourselves, appearing “holier than thou” for our legalistic “commandments of men”. Drinking is a far more appealing (and biblically true) gospel message then trying to abide by a bunch of made up rules in order to provide an “example of holiness” to your neighbor. If drinking “hurts your witness” because you can’t drink just one, then granted you probably should not drink. But, if you feel that drinking “hurts your witness” because you don’t want to appear like your heathen neighbor I’d encourage you to read Matthew 23. I don’t know about these Christians but I still live in the world and understand peoples offense to our unlawful condemnation of their lives (whether we truly judge or just appear to judge with our pious, unbiblical “commandments of men”).

3. 16 And he said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." Again we see that Jesus is not concerned with ceremonial, symbolic expression but with the people’s hard and evil hearts. Jesus earlier says in Matt 12:36-37, “36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” I am not nearly cautious enough with my words, these verses are terribly convicting. Jewish tradition at this point in history was focused on external expression (much like Christians today with our WWJD bracelets) but true Christianity is concerned with our internal motives. This is why the author of Hebrews says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him (God)" Heb 11:6. Without faith, even our most charitable expressions are selfishly motivated. I was watching the Bachelor last night and there was a girl who was talking to Jason, the conversation went sort of like, Jason-“Tell me something special about yourself,” Girl in response-“well I always give my time to help people and over the last 3 weeks while I’ve been on this show, I’ve felt empty not doing any charity, not being thanked, not having people grateful for me.” When we ask unbelievers why they are charitable, what is their most common response? “Because it feels good.” Their Charity is not motivated by a love for their neighbor, not motivated by a love for God but a love for their own adoration and thanks.

4. so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. The purpose of Jesus miracles is not for the Glory of the people or even the glory of himself but the glory of God. Jesus is less concerned with the people’s physical handicaps than their spiritual deadness. The ultimate goal of Jesus miracles and the gospel today is not our health, wealth and especially not our glory but that we may ultimately stand in heaven and sing to the Lord of his goodness and glory. A necessary shift in our worldview and even our own salvation must occur from egocentric to Theo-centric.

5. 11 You make known to me the path of life The lord makes known his great salvation in our hearts. We have nothing to do with our salvation, first to last it is all the Lord, that when we arrive in heaven the Lord gets all of the glory not us. We have no response but to fall on our face and glorify God.

Matt 14

Date: 19 January 2009

Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 13:58-14:34

The Death of John the Baptist

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4 because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16 But Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." 17 They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." 18 And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Ps 15:1-2
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does that is right and speaks truth in his heart;

Sun Tzu:

Draw them in with the prospect of gain, take them by confusion.

The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006)

The Solar System is composed of 4 terrestrial planets- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars- and four gaseous giants- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Outside of Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt of comets of which Pluto is now a member. The Kuiper Belt also contains newly discovered UB313 (Xena), Quaoar and Sedna which are as big or bigger that Pluto but orbit a bit further out. There are 153’ish moons in our solar system.

Events:

Marla, mom and I went to Church yesterday. Great service and gospel presentation and a couple really good points (see below). Dad drove up from hunting in south Texas and we went to Perico’s Mexican Restaurant together. Relaxing afternoon watching football together then ate salmon for dinner and celebrated Marla’s birthday with a brownie cake (as she doesn’t really like normal cake).

Thoughts:

Bible:

1. because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Herod may have felt that he was above the Law because he was a worldly King, but the King of Kings has instated a moral law, a transcendental law that all humans are subject to. Our pastor did a great Job yesterday emphising that God’s hatred of sin, though the world may criticize it of being intolerant, is a good thing. Too often, when I am feeling the condemnation of my own sin or my brother’s sin, I wish that God did not take sin so seriously. It seems bad news that God will condemn those without Christ because of their sin. Maybe, because we live such sheltered lives in America, we forget just how terrible the world is. Perhaps if we witnessed the genocide taking place in Darfur or the warlords in Somalia steeling the food of the relief effort that has been meant for the starving children, perhaps then we would cry out for and rejoice in a God who doesn’t take sin lightly. A God who will not just give a “free pass” to these evil men. Thankfully, our God is a Just God, and we can be assured that these criminals will receive their due punishment; a far worse punishment than any human court could sentence…an eternal punishment.
2. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children Pretty amazing, not much to say about that.
3. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone Though I spent a great deal of time alone this fall, it gives me great Joy to realize that I never actually was alone. The intimacy we have with Christ our king is not a worldly type of conversational intimacy. Though we can occasionally feel the spirit leading us (some more than others…me not so much), and we can unidirectional pray to God, it is a rare instance when God communicates back with the clarity of human conversation. In my opinion, part of the meaning of “living by faith” (apart from salvation by faith) is that we are not typically 100% convinced that we are doing the exact right thing at the exact right time. Is this the right job? Did I say the right thing? What should I do this summer? These questions have the ability to produce crippling anxiety. I knew people in college who were paralyzed by the decision of what Christian Camp be a counselor at, afraid they would make the wrong decision and somehow corrupt God’s plan for their lives. “Living by faith” is not being overly concerned with these questions that at the moment may seem life or death. Living by faith and the intimacy that we enjoy with Christ is based on the promise that no matter where we are or what we do, as Christians, God is working in our lives to bring about his glory and our sanctification. The Intimacy we have with God is the knowledge that he truly understands us better than anyone on earth. God has seen us through all of the hard times and all of the great times, nothing that we have done, seen or thought has been lost to antiquity. We have lived our lives before an audience of one from the beginning and when we realize this and move forward in this promise it inspires in us a confidence that the world can never understand or compete with.
4. 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" This is one of the best examples of faith (even if it was weak faith) in the bible. The Reformers delineated the parts of a true, saving faith:
a. Knowledge: Saving faith has a direct object and content. We must first know what is to be believed. We don’t need to know everything there is to know, but we must know:
i. Who the true God is.
ii. Who the historic Christ is.
iii. Man’s predicament:
(1) Adam sinned as our federal head.
(2) We were born in trespass and sin.
(3) We have done nothing but sin against God’s standard.
(4) Wages of sin is death, eternal death in hell.
iv. What Christ did:
Christ obeyed the law perfectly. Died vicarious death on cross. Rose again, ascended, seated at right hand of God. And will come again to judge the living and dead.
b. Belief: Secondly, that content must be believed. We must believe that the facts are true, not fiction.
c. Trust: We must also place our trust in this Gospel. This is where works enter, as a demonstration of our belief not a foundation of our salvation. We live as law abiders out of thanksgiving not out of obligation.

In this chapter, we see Peter not only know and believe but also Trust…he steps out of the boat.

Sun Tzu:

1. Victories are often won by allowing the enemy to move forward easily and quickly thereby stressing their supply lines then hitting them when they are unable to get reinforcements or even food. This is very similar to what happened to the Banking industry in America. The greed for money lead the banks to move further and further into debt, issuing one bad loan after another, until they were dependent upon the very bad loans that they were making for their own survival. Justice if you ask me.

Matt 13

Date: 18 January 2009

Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 13

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear."

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
"'You will indeed hear but never understand,and you will indeed see but never perceive.15 For this people's heart has grown dull,and with their ears they can barely hear,and their eyes they have closed,lest they should see with their eyesand hear with their earsand understand with their heartand turn, and I would heal them.'
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 "Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."
Prophecy and Parables
34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
"I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 "Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes." 52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household." 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”

Ps 13:5

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

Sun Tzu:

“When you are going to attack nearby, make it look as if you are going to go a long way; when you are going to attack far away make it look a if you are going just a short distance.”
“When you are going to Battle make it seem as if you are retreating. When you are going to hasten, make it seem as if you are relaxing”
“Deception is for the purpose of seeking victory over an enemy; to command a group requires truthfulness”

The Intellectual Devotion:

The Parthenon was built in Athens Greece in the 15 years between 447-432BC. Dedicated to Athena Parthenos (patron god of Athens), it was built to celebrate the victory of the Greeks over the Persians. The Parthenon was used as a house of worship even centuries after the fall of Athens. It was converted to a church in the 6th century, then a mosque by the Turks in 1458. During a battle in 1687, a Venetian shell landed on a Turkish powder keg stored in the temple and destroyed most of the building. In 1801 the British ambassador received permission to ship most of the Parthenon’s sculptures to England, where he sold them to the British Government. Today many of the best art works still sit in British Museums despite Greek efforts to have them returned to the Parthenon.

Events:

Mom came in yesterday. My parents go to Argentina next week and may otherwise, miss seeing me before I deploy. We went shopping in Bracken Village (small girly shopping center) where I spent most to the time talking to my good friend Joel. I feel incredibly privileged to call Joel my friend as for a long time we had more of a “father/son” relationship when I was a young believer. We met in College and for the first 2 years of our relationship, I was an unbeliever. Joel prayed for me then and watched me believe and then mentored me for the first 2-3 years of my walk. We still have much the same “father/son” relationship when we play chess (he destroys me every game) but in life, I am glad to say we have become brothers. Joel is my longest running friend and over the years we have both accomplished much (Joel finished 4 years in the Army, had awesome 2 kids, then went back seminary where he will finish up this year during which time he has been promoted from part time ICU nurse to a full time position managing a hospital) but we have managed to stay very close. Joel will be moving to Washington DC this summer and is currently raising support for an internship that he will do next year and a church plant that he has been slotted for the following year. Marla and I will of course be supporting him as no one has been more influential to my faith than my best friend Joel. Don’t know if anyone will read this but if you do, please consider helping his family out as well.
After shopping we went out to Spice for dinner and it was awesome. We came home and watched one of the cheesiest movies that I have ever seen (but sort of heart-warming ,I guess) The Note.

Thoughts:

Bible:

1. v10 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Christ here says that he speaks in parables explicitly to keep the “weeds” (next parable) from even coming close to a knowledge of the Kingdom. Non-Christians frequently make comments about Jesus being an “amazing teacher” because he spoke in parables. But what “great teacher” intentionally speaks in riddles to deceive his students. The parables of Christ are not meant to be a simplification doctrine in order that the laity derives some life application. The parables of Jesus are told so that the “weed,” may hear but not understand, and see but not really see. 1st Corinthians 2:9-15 gives us a bit more understanding:
What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"—10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Without the Holy Spirit, men are “not able” to understand the gospel message. The prerequisite Holy Spirit given at regeneration necessarily precedes our ultimate repentance and salvation. This is why Christ later says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. (John 6:44)”

2. v18 "Hear then the parable of the sower” So what seed is indicative of the true believer? Is it possible to be a carnal Christian? This is the heart of the “Lordship Salvation” controversy. Can Jesus be your savior if you still fail to submit to his Lordship? The answer is in how we define “Carnal Christian.” If by “Carnal Christian” you mean someone who understands, believes and trusts in the gospel but is trapped in a life of sin that they are trying desperately to escape from then yes, it is entirely possible to be a “Carnal Christian.” If however, you mean someone who has knowledge of the Gospel (first 3 seeds) but feels no need to repent of their deeds and escape their sin then no, it is not possible to be a Carnal Christian. The bible teaches that true believers have the Holy Spirit (see yesterday) and the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to convict the believer of sin and lead the believer to Christ. Thus is would not be consistent to say someone is a believer (has the Holy Spirit) yet still has no conviction of the life of sin that he is in. We all sin, we all fall, the difference is that a believer feels conviction away from sin and towards repentance. The unbeliever feels no such convection.

3. "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. Many live with the misconception that God unconditionally loves every person in the world. In this parable we see the clear segregation between God’s Chosen people (good seeds), those who God truly loves as adopted children through Christ, and those children of wrath (weeds). In fact, before we became Christians, we were all children of wrath, as Paul writes in Eph 2:1-4
“and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4. The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl both point to the unsurpassing greatness of the kingdom that, through Christ, we have gained as our promised inheritance. The worlds present struggles and even joy’s are nothing compared to our reward in heaven. When we have this worldview, we need not be anxious about our finances, relationship or even health because we remember that we are aliens in this world. This is not our final resting place. The concerns of today that seem so overwhelming will not even be remembered in 10,000 years when we sit in heaven with Christ our king and our fellow believers as our neighbors.

5. v49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Make no mistake, the bible teaches of a final judgment and punishment for those who die outside of a saving faith in Christ. It may seem unloving or intolerant for Christians to preach of the Judgment to come but, if it is truth (as the Bible teaches) then it is far more unloving not to send out the warning of the coming Judgment.

6. And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? More biblical evidence that Jesus was not Mary’s only child. Just in case it ever comes up in conversation.

7. 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household." 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Jesus does not heal for healing’s sake. Jesus heals for faith’s sake. While Jesus does have compassion on the suffering people for their physical ailments his primary objective is their spiritual ailment. As Jesus instructed his disciples, Matt 10:14-15
14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
True to his word, even in his hometown, Jesus see’s his town’s hard hearts and washes his hands of them. Jesus desires the Father’s glory, not his own glory or his hometown’s glory. The reason we are saved is not our glory (though we will be glorified), not for our eternal joy (though there will be eternal joy) but the glory of God.

8. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." It seems to me that the “intellectual” laity feels that, thought they may not be able to explain the mysteries of the universe, there is someone out there with a long white coat on that can. For goodness sake, look how far science has come; look how smart we humans are, surely there is someone out there who can explain evolution even if I can’t. Well, let me be the first in a long white coat to tell you that we can’t. It is utter nonsense to look at the creation (general revelation) and say, “there is not God.” Follow me on this, does it take more faith to believe in a creator who fashioned the universe or to believe the Big Bang theory (our best guess now). Lets briefly talk about the Big Bang theory, out of nothing was appeared 2 particles (might as well believe in 1 creator out of nothing if you’re going to believe in 2 particles), these 2 particles found each other vast expanse of nothingness and collided. While trillions of particles collide on the head of a needle every second, this collision caused a fusion reaction and explosion to the extent that it created not just 1 new particle (normal fusion) but many (crazy, fictious fusion) then these many particles began to expand and (defying the very rules of Entropy (tendency of nature todards disorder)) began to combine to form larger and more complex structures. These Structures got bigger and bigger until they were so massive that they became hot enough in the center to create fusion reactions themselves, thus creating all of the other elements on the periodic table. These elements then defied entropy again and formed particles, defied entropy again and formed single celled organisms, life then sprung into existence (out of nothing). These singled celled organisms then decided it would be better to work together (though they have no brain or sense) and formed multi-celled organisms, these multi-celled organisms choose to differentiate (at no particular advantage to the next cell) in order to become Large multi-celled differentiated organisms. Pretty stinking unbelievable, each step in this nonsensical cascade requires as much, if not more faith than simply believing that a creator organized it. You would have to be a madman to believe this all occurred without an orchestrator. I laugh when people accuse Christians of checking their brain at the door. Sadly, many Christians have bought into the worlds lie that Religion and Science are incompatible. Far from incompatible with religion, science magnifies my faith. I could tell you things about the human body that would blow your mind. When polled, it has proven true that far from being less spiritual, scientists tend to be far more spiritual when compared to nonscientists. Truly, the fool says in his heart, “There is no God”