The O.T., the N.T., and Redemption part 1

When I think of the events that take place on this Easter weekend, I am drawn to the Old Testament and the Prophets.  The Old Testament seems to be neglected by Christians and hated by those who are not Christians.  It would seem that this is due in part to a display of some of God’s attributes that do not preach well or leave us with a feeling of warmth after having heard or read it.  Things like God’s hatred of sin, a need for a blood sacrifice, and the true state of a sinner’s heart are clearly laid out within the pages of the Old Testament.  The state of helplessness on the part of the sinner and the truth of God’s sovereignty are laid out in clear contrast to each other within the pages of the Old Testament.  Where is the love, where is the compassion, where is the warm feeling?  My eyes turn toward Isaiah 53 where it says,

¹ Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? ⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. ¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53 (ESV)

Here is the love, that a Father would “delight to crush” His own Son.  Here is the love that the Son would willingly be crushed.  Here is the love, that He shed His blood as ours would be inadequate. Here is the fact, that it is we who do not love God, but it is God who loves us.  The very reason the cross was made necessary was not due to a failure on the part of God, but on the failure on the part of man.  So that created rebelled against creator.  It is creation that continues to rebel and God who continues to love.The Old Testament truly does show the love of God in relation to His creation as the above passage clearly indicates

Rememberig what got me to this place.

Psalm 1 ESV

1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

1:2 But, his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.

1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

1:4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

John 15:1-17 ESV

15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

15:2 Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit e takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

15:3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whosoever aides in me and I in him, he is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

15:6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, and thrown into the fire, and burned.

15:7 IF you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will b done for you.

15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciple.

15:9 As the Father has loved m, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

15:11 These things I have spoken to you , that my joy may be n you, and that your joy may be full.

15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

15:13 Greater loe has no one than this, that someone lays down his live for his friends.

15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

15:15 No longer do I cll you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give to you.

15:17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

The passages quoted above struck me. The theme of the two passages seems obviously similar and yet within the second passage we see the root, the completion, and the result of the first. The things mentioned in these passages are not possible apart from God, but it is God through Christ that makes these things possible. For it is God that chose us, it is God who chose us, it is Christ who made us righteous, and it is through Christ by means of the Spirit that we bear fruit so that we remain in Him because He is in us.

By means of a couple conversations I have had in recent days with people who I know care a great deal for me I was convicted that I had not read scripture as much as I should have been. With the lack of reading and meditation came anxiousness, frustration, and worry. Things that I had prayed for and prepared for for a long time where coming to be because of my dedication and preparation for them. But, it seems as though once I was blessed with the answer to prayers I set aside the prayer and meditation on such things, forgetting that in fact the prayer and meditation had only begun and that God's gift to me was only the beginning of what He has in store for me. The passages above have seemed to speak to what I was feeling and lacking.

A missionary heart and a broken body.

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Mathew 28:16-20 (ESV)

This is a passage of Scripture that has both inspired me and caused me great heartache. My heart leads me to go but my body would seem to prevent this. From a profound visual impairment to a disability that hinders mobility. How can this passage be carried out by someone in my position? While I understand that there are plenty of opportunities in my home community, state, and country my heart also longs to "Go".

Allow me to digress a bit for a moment to say this. I am discouraged when missionaries express sorrow for returning home either after service or to begin a new method of service. This discourages me not because I do not have compassion for their longing for their ministry home, but because I long to hear of their service, provide ministry to them in their return home, and to perhaps help to prepare the way for them to go out again. So to the missionary who returns home either for a long term or a short term. Know that your home country misses you too and we long to hear from you directly about your experiences and blessings and to to contribute to your emotional, spiritual, and physical restoration. (I believe I am often misunderstood in my frustration at the discouragement of missionaries when they return home).

Back to the topic at hand.

Some interesting opportunities have presented themselves to me since coming to Louisville:

First, I did a little research on mission organizations that minister specifically to Europe (Europe has always been on my heart as long as I have been a Christian), this search lead to a group called "Greater Europe Mission," this is an organization that deals specifically with Europe while also working in Northern Africa.
Second, I am researching opportunities to teach in Asia specifically S. Korea

God has shown m once again that if His Word says something then in what it says it will not return void. While it is true that both of these opportunities will be difficult they are not impossible. See Phil. 4:12-13 .

A Small prayer

Thanks be to God for taking me where I have been, leading me to where I will go, and making the journey possible. I rejoice that God has placed me in a home country that has given me the ability to dream bigger then my abilities would indicate possible. I know that that these things where brought about by God and I rejoice in Him for it.

Searching for restoration, a look at the Psalms and Salvation

To say that the last year has been a stressful one would be putting it mildly this year has been a year that has shaken me to my core. With the loss of a mother and a father within the last year I have found myself gasping for air.
I have had so much advice, but little encouragement. so much advice and so little help. I have never felt more alone in my life then I do now. Alone to the point that it has caused me to search my heart for salvation.

I reflect on Psalm 51 and Romans 5:1-11
I have chosen to reflect on these passages as the first is a prayer for restoration, and the other speaks of the power of Christ in suffering.
I have been put in a place that I have never been, and honestly in a place that I hope I never find myself again.

My sin has never been made more evident to me, my inadequacy made more plain. So I start by repenting, I have not trusted God as I should have. I have not loved Him as I should have. At times I have blamed Him for my sadness. If I where to redo anything would I chose to take my mom from glory only for her to suffer? Would I change things so that my dad would have stayed longer to help me in my selfishness? They are realizing their salvation and who am I a weak incapable man to be sad because of it.

So I ask God to "restore unto me the joy of my salvation," may I hope for it as much as my parents have realized it. May I long to share my joy with those who know no such joy.

In a search for the reason for my affliction I have found the answer in Romans 5:1-11

In this passage we are told since we have been saved "therefore rejoice in our afflictions. because our afflictions lead to endurance, endurance leads to proven character and proven character to hope."

Hope in what? Hope in Christ, our afflictions lead us back to Christ and is salvation. How can we rejoice? Salvation. This is how we can look at where we are no matter how bad and when we look at it though the eyes of our salvation it cannot compare.

When we see that Christ has seen fit to redeem us we can do nothing but rejoice. This is why Paul can make the claim that "all things work for the good of those who love the Lord" Rom 8:28, because even those "bad" things when God applies the fullness of his glory to them they can do nothing but work for us by the power of God.

May God bless my readers and may this post provide encouragement to you, for some of you I know are wearyand in need as I am weary and in need. May we find our needs met in Christ and may we draw closer in relationship through Christ.

Joy in Sorrow

If not for You my heart would break.
If not for You I would find no Joy
If not your joy I would see no purpose for the pain.

My heart indeed is broken, you you put it back together with the skill of a master. Within your hands my heart rests. I find more sadness then joy now, and from You comes my only joy. It is for You I get up and wipe away the tears, but it is not only for You but by You I rise.

I know not the reason for the sorrow, but I trust You. I see not the purpose but I trust You.

My God I run to You hold me for a while for I am weary, restore to me my joy. Put back together my broken heart. As you work protect me for I am week. In you I find my refuge even when I have no strength.

Protect me, love me, restore me for you are my God. For you are my God when things are good and full of joy. You are my God when I can find no other joy except the joy that is found in you.

The Smile Returns: A Trip to Southern Seminary and More.

I went on a campus visit this week (Wednesday and Thursday to be exact). It was well worth the trip in many ways. I got out of the house for the first time in a while, days where beginning to run together, so it was great just to get away from home and even out of Illinois if only for a short time.
The hospitality of the S.B.T.S. was impressive. The had made an error with my room reservation that took all of five minutes to fix. Meals where taken care of as well for me and my guest. I really think that I could start to love this place. I got lost on purpose once just so I could see the friendliness of the people, I was not disappointed. The campus is beautiful and there where obvious improvements going on which was good to see.
I suppose I could talk about the Academics which I resist talking about. They are by far one of the most intellectually talented faculty I have researched so far. But yet again that was not what impressed me the most it was once again the hospitality. I spoke with a professor named Dr. Greenway, he is a teacher in the Applied Apologetics program (the program that I would be in). We spent more time talking about life and God then we did business and School. The time for that talk is approaching fast enough, no need to rush.

My visit was not all business however. I met up with a friend who I had not seen in a good while. It was a good visit though I wish it could have been longer. She is working hard in her studies at Southern, and even in the short visit we had I could see a growth spiritually. She is by far one of the most spiritually mature women I have met, I look forward to seeing what God can do when her school is over and she heads into the field of missions. I truly did enjoy that time as these last few months have been a stressful time for me it was a nice change pace.

Please pray for me as I begin the transition into this next phase of education and more importantly life. I never expected to be at a University let alone a Grad school. God had truly made more of me then I though I could ever be. I cannot take credit for my success God has placed so many people and events in my life. It is only by the placing of these pieces by a skilled and loving creator that makes what I am doing possible.

Thank you to all of you. Thanks for being willing to help me on this journey.

A Funny Story

Typically I try to provide my readers with serious posts that matter, well thats not what this is. I shall take a break from that for this post and share a funny story of something that happened at church on Father's day.

Every Mother's day and Father's day a lady in our church provides a small gift for mothers and fathers. The last couple of years she has been giving me a gift on Father's day. I don't know why as I am not a father. Well last Sunday was no different. I was given a gift and my mentor(who is also our interim pastor) said "Scott I see you have a gift there, I didn't know you had children. What exactly are they teaching you in St. Louis?" I can honestly say that is the first time in a long time I have been made speechless.

Currently Reading
Culture Shift-Albert Mohler
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church-Mark Dever
Currently Listening
Gaither Vocal Band
David Phelps
Currently Studying
Relationships
Manhood
Redemption
The book of Hebrews
Prayer Requests
My Church-We are struggling greatly
Our country
My family

I do hope everyone is well. I will be posting again this week maybe even twice.