Why I am glad the May 21 rapture discussion happened

Overall, I was not pleased with Harold Camping's prediction that the rapture would happen. It was contrary to what the Bible teaches about the church, knowledge we as Christians have access to, and he used faulty interpretation methods.

However, waking up that morning, with Christ's return on my mind, knowing that I was honestly praying "Lord, come quickly," and "Lord, tarry, that none may perish,"was great.

While I don't want there to be more faulty theology, being reminded that Christ is returning someday, was good.

I also found it funny actually figuring out what Camping thought. As a Christian, in a church, I was still condemned, because the age of the church is over, according to him.

Now, actually, according to him, no one else can be saved. That was the result of the May 21st non-rapture. So, in theory, he should just be quiet from here on out. Because according to his own beliefs, nothing he can say can have any eternal significance for the rest of the world.

Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Metro book club, we are at it again!

I was reading 'Fundamentalism' and the Word of God by J. I. Packer on a metrobus, and an old, kinda toothless man got on the bus and sat a couple seats away from me.

He said, "You look like you are reading a very interesting book." He then precedes to hand me a the book he is reading, which was about a way pioneered by some Eastern religious guy. He looks over my book while I look over his, and then he asks me if I have ever been out of the country.

"Yes, I have been to Mexico, France and the United Kingdom," I reply.

He asks me, "Have you ever considered going to India? I think you would benefit greatly from a trip to India. Awaken spiritually to things you never have seen before."

We talking about learning, and I say that I would probably learn a lot about myself and the world if I went to India, but that I did not think I would find the big spiritual way that he seemed to want me to find because I already believe I found truth. I told him that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

He was all, "Fine, if you think you already know what you need..." He seemed really offended that I was not going to hop on a plane to India and discover a path to spiritual enlightenment.

Important Issues 2--The Predominence of Scripture in the Life of a Christian

This photo shows cultural view vs. Christian view. The Elephant
has a thought bubble to explain it is an elephant. We are not left
to guess what it is to be an elephant.

A common thought in our culture is that different religions are just different ways of looking at God, but they all amount to the same thing. It is like blind men feeling an elephant, telling each other what it is they think they are near. One man feels the tail and thinks its a brush. One man hugs a leg and thinks its a tree. One man finds the trunk and thinks its a snake. One man finds its side and thinks its a wall, and so on.

That is not what Christians believe. We understand that God (or in the case above, the elephant), told us who he is through the Bible. Christians are not inherently smarter than anyone else, we just have access to God's revelation of himself to us. We know are looking at an elephant, not a fan, rock, seagull, or car, because the elephant told us it is an elephant. (Thanks to JG for the illustration).

Thus the Bible is crucial. It is God's primary way of revealing himself to his people today. John 5:24, Ephesians 1:13, and 1 Thessalonians 2:13 to name a few all portray hearing the word of God as the means of salvation. This is primarily through scripture.

Now, can God communicate through means other than text written thousands of years ago? He is omnipotent, he may do as he pleases. God can use other means, but his word is sufficient and primary. God's word fulfills multiple roles in a Christian's Life. As 2 Timothy 3 says:

⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Another version of this passages describes scripture as God-breathed. Christians are people of the book. Christians do not need to search for other ways to discern how God wants us to live and what we need to know about him. His word, the preaching of his word, and people living according to his word are the many ways God is revealed, but it all hinges on God's word.

Can we use our reason or intuition to know things about God instead, or perhaps in addition to the Bible? That is dangerous thinking. God gave us our reason and it is a good thing, but it is insufficient. We should use the reason God gave us to help us interpret the Bible and the world around us, but we should not value it above the Bible.

When what our reason tells us and what the Bible tells us conflicts, our reason should yield to scripture, not the other way around. I will mitigate this by saying that at times, many passages in the Bible can be confusing and we may not be sure what applies to questions we have. This is a reason for us to be in a local church where we are taught the Bible, not just left to interpret the Bible on our own (hence why I wrote a post on churches).

I will write more on this in another post when I have more time, and possibly a computer.

Important Issues 1--The Presence of a Local Church in the Life of a Christian

Are churches full of sinners? Of course. As my pastor often reminds us, the church is full of sinners who realize they need a Savior.

Are churches full of hypocrites, who talk of loving their neighbors but then ignore suffering around them, judging too quickly while ignoring their own sin? Sadly, yes. Can these churchgoers hurt those around them? Again, yes. Is that heartbreaking? Yes.

Is this an reason for us to abandon church? No. It may be an excuse, but it is not a reason.

The church is full of sinners and often viewed by outsiders as corrupt televangelists. Many have been hurt by individuals in churches or worse, hurt by local churches themselves that have misused authority.

However, the misuse of authority by a congregation does not mean that all congregations lose their authority. That one congregation caused more harm than good does not negate the purpose purpose for congregations to exist.

It is like the relationship between the parent and a child. Some parents abuse their children, misusing their God-given roles and authority, and the outcome can be devastating. Parents like this have not earned the right to be parents. However, this does not discredit parenthood and the authority that many parents use to wisely shepherd their children by keeping them safe and instructing them.

The fact that bad churches, like bad parents, exist does not discredit the need for wise and loving churches and parents in the lives of a believer and child.

Why do I need the authority of a church over me?

The Bible Says So.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some in the NKJV. Part of the reason we gather in churches is to spur one another toward love and good deeds. Can you do this with people outside of the church? Yes, but this is one of the reasons churches exist.

Also, check out Matthew 16:16-19. Christ is the one building His church on the foundation that He is Lord. That whole thing about "what is bound and loosed in earth and heaven" is about churches having authority. See also 1 Corinthians 5 for why this is important. Also here for more reasons.

The procedure that Jesus describes in Matthew 18:15-20 cannot take place if Christians are not in a local church with other Christians who know them well. Our sanctification is largely through the local church where we have other believers to hold us accountable, especially when we do not think we are sinning. If I were involved in a serious unrepentant sin, for the good of my soul, i am glad I go to a church where my friends and eventually the whole church, would try to correct me. More reasons here.

John MacArthur's website says "No Christian is a law unto himself, just autonomous running around." We are meant to be under authority. Heb 13:17

Now the authority of the church is not a pastor telling the congregation a position on some theologically issue/real life application and saying that we have to believe him because he says so. If I grew convicted that my church was wrong on something, if it was not a core issue, I would be welcome to disagree. For example, I am welcome to have any view of eschatology that fit within scripture and still be at my church. We are welcome to disagree about whether deacons need to be married.

I seek the authority of my church leaders because I want to be under wise, well-studied individuals who will remind me of the gospel and will teach me about the Bible. And yes, I can read the Bible and good books about the Bible and reason for myself, but my pastors spend hours laboring on their sermons each week. I reap the benefits of their labors.

If I initially disagree, or at least question, a conclusion they come to, I will not just close myself off to their ideas. I will meditate on and study the word, and observe people at my church who live according to those ideas. A couple at at my church did not particularly want children, but then after a few years of sitting under teaching that valued parenthood and children, and spending time with church members who lived out those teachings, they grew to desire children, and they consider their daughters a blessing from God.

It's true that you can learn things from spending time about all sorts of people. You do not need to be in a church to learn how to do nice things and to be encouraged to do nice things for people around you. You can even learn to recognize attributes of God in non-Christians around you. A lady that goes to my church met a woman with six children and noticed how the gentle way she protected her child from harm was like the way God protects his children.

However, as a Christian your life is changed by Christ's work on the cross. You learn to live according to that change by living your life with and around other believers. You cannot learn what it looks like to be changed by the gospel by hanging out with good people, only by spending time with those who have been changed by the gospel.

Other reasons that I don't want to delve into now because this post is already very long:

• Hearing God's word preached is a means of grace--a good church will give you ample and regular opportunities to hear God's word preached.
• A community of believers is a sweet place of fellowship, stability, accountability, friendship, iron sharping iron, and so much more.
• The church provides a context for diverse people to grow in unity in their faith in Christ.

The church and church membership is a gift from God. No amount of distortion and abuse of this gift stops it from being a good gift. If a Christian would neglect or avoid a gift from God, I think they need to reevaluate their spiritual life... preferable in a context of other believers...like maybe a local church.

More resources:
www.9marks.org, Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church or What is a Healthy Church by Mark Dever, Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris

A right view of salvation

Instead of starting with a quote that will not encapsulate the fullness of the devotion for 21 November, I will link to it.

There is just so much truth in this passage.

Does God love His children? Yes. However, our forgiveness did not come about because we are loved. There is nothing great about us that earns merit with God. God is holy and cannot stand sin. Christ had to become our sin for us and die for us to be forgiven because the result of sin is death.

Jesus did not come to die a martyr for a cause or to be a good example or to spread love and then death sort of surprised Him. He came to die. He came to glorify the Father by showing God's mercy.

It is also not mean Old Testament God vs. Christ who came to save us. They were not fighting over how to save the humans. God had this plan from before the beginning and Christ submitted to the Father in perfect love. Our entire purpose is to glorify God.

Basically, I think all Christians should read this day of Chamber's devotional to be reminded of what salvation really is.

peace from obedience

As long as we try to serve two ends, ourselves and God, there is perplexity. The attitude must be one of complete reliance on God...Whenever you obey God, His seal is always that of peace, the witness of an unfathomable peace, which is not natural, but the peace of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, tarry till it does or findout the reason why it does not.

- 14 December, My Utmost for His Highest


I had trouble picking a quote from this day, because it really progresses through the whole passage.

If you disobey God to serve yourself, this causes you to lose sight of God and His peace that passes all understanding but when we obey God, regardless of what problems face us, we shall not worry.

Worth, poverty, Kingdom of Heaven

At the basis of Jesus Christ's Kingdom is the unaffected loveliness of the commonplace. The thing I am blessed in is my poverty.

--August 21st, My Utmost for His Highest

We do not enter the kingdom of heaven on our own merit, but on the fact that we have nothing to offer so Christ makes the way for us.

Once we are part of the kingdom, we are to praise God in everything we do . I think that is why I like this quote. I love the phrase "loveliness of the commonplace." It makes me think of Curdie in The Princess and the Curdie by George MacDonald who was scolded for taking what is common for granted. He needed to learn to love what was common around him andto take pleasure in the love of his parents, the breakfast he ate, and the ability to work.

It is good to take pleasure in God's good gifts to us, but first we need the realize the poverty in our spiritual lives to know that we need Christ.

In the still quiet place I have yet to find...

Jesus did not say--Dream about thy Father in secret, but pray to your Father in secret... The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental woolgathering. We have to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful prayer.

-- August 23, My Utmost for His Highest


Prayer has often been a struggle for me. I started reading the Bible when I was ten, I enjoyed singing praise and worship songs, loved church and learning about God, but prayer was always hard. When I did try to pray, I would either give God a wish list or I would distract myself. Disciplining myself to pray is hard, and a good reminder that I am not able to reach God without His grace.

Having a secret place, not just a closet or the front seat of my car (though both of those are very useful for praying), what I need is a secret place inside myself--A part of my soul, dedicated to communing with God from when I awake till I sleep. Sometimes more of my soul can focus on prayer, but that is something I need to cultivate.

Last night, I got to a Christmas party about ten minutes early, so instead of going inside, I prayed for about 15 minutes, out loud in my car. It was a sweet time, lifting up prayer requests, praising God for His forethought and His mercy and His creation.

Goal: To learn to better cultivate prayer.

What I have going for me: Church directory to pray through (tangibility), the Bible and other books full of encouragement, examples, and descriptions of what I need to praise God for. And the Holy Spirit can guide my prayers, and can give me the focus to remember to pray.

That Little Judgmental Voice inside...

If I see a mote in your eye. it means I have a beam in my own. Every wrong thing that I see in you, God locates in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself.

-June 17th, My Utmost for His Highest

There are times where I find it easy to judge other people. The awful thing is, I judge the people who are most like me. As a Christian, I do not find it hard, generally, to respect the people I disagree with.

People I have met at university who have differing views on morality, religion, or politics who are not Christians, or who come from a very different background than me, I find easy to respect and love as part of the human race. I have had very fruitful conversations with people that support sex before marriage, abortion, or the idea that religious plurality will get you to heaven. I disagree with all these positions, but I can respect the people that hold them. I do not expect people without Christ to agree with me on issues like these.

The people I have trouble loving are the people almost like me. Sometimes I will meet someone who was sheltered homeschooler (like me), and I have this desire to open their minds, and I quickly judge them as ignorant for believing what I would have believed.

For example, I am not a Marxist. I have read Marx a couple times for class, and I see the value in some of his ideas and I see how some of his assessments of capitalism have merit, but I don't think his ideas will work. I have had conversations with non-christian friends about why I am not a Marxist. But if someone from my high school said that they hated Marxism or that socialism was stupid or something, I would start defending these ideas. I would not say that they were correct, but I would say how Marx did point out problems in capitalism and how his ideas are enlightening to understand a very influential worldview.

I have the same reaction when Christians try to say that some discovery disproved evolution or people try to define how Christian must view homosexuality. Now, I may actually agree with them on some of their points, but I almost don't want to agree with them. Part of me wants to be liberal, because it seems more open-minded, to separate myself from the person I would be if I never went to public school or a liberal university.

I am quick to judge fellow followers of Christ for their often correct beliefs, when I need to love them. I judge them for holding to seven day creation and the young earth theory (which I believe are possible) or other issues that are just not as important.

We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, and conservative Christians are also our neighbors.

I judge them for their beliefs, when they may actually judge people who disagree with them less than I judge them. So that is a plank in my eye...

Goal: Love as God loves me, especially those who are what I would be.


Follow-up from Saturday, 19 Dec.: Last night at the Christmas party, there was a guy who epitomizes the Christian conservative beliefs that I struggle to love. He spoke like evolution was obviously dumb, Congress would be perfected if we only elected believers and could reprove Senate with Bible verses, and all my professors must obviously be trying to convert me to liberalism anti-Christian viewpoints at school.

It was good to remember that he loves the Lord. I may have shown off opinions and knowledge developed in classes and from living in DC, but it was kind of the Lord to remind me that I need to love, even those who make me want to be a liberal.

We have a weird but awesome friendship...

My roommate and I were talking about her emotional constipation (her emotions are constipated because she doesn't deal with things).

I said that she should start dealing with smaller things because when something really big happens, she won't be able to deal with it if she doesn't deal with smaller things first.

It is like yoga. People do yoga to stretch and so when they fall they don't get hurt as badly as if they didn't do yoga. Caring about people can hurt like stretching when you are not used to it, but it is worth it. By dealing with small things instead of just ignoring them, you are better able to deal with the large things that would rock your world otherwise.

quotes from D.A. Carson's book

D.A. Carson on how faith is connected to being reasonable and rational:

But on what basis do they come to faith? Is this merely an existential leap? Far from it. [John 20:29] is integrally related to verses 30-31: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." In other words, later generations come to faith by means of the historical witness of the first generation, the generation that included Thomas. He saw, and he believed, and these things have been written so that we may believe too. Here, then, is emphasis not only on the truth of Jesus' resurrection, but on the historical nature of the truth and the need for reliable witnesses to that truth and for faithful recording of that truth in written form."

D.A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church, 215

Faith saves, not works, but works follow faith

"You cannot do anything for your salvation, but you must manifest it, you must work out what God has worked in."

--May 15, My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers

So true! Works do not save you, but works do stem from your salvation.

I think I should start a Metro book club...

Yesterday, I was reading D.A. Carson's Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church on the Yellow line. A boy with a slightly Southern accent said next to me, and I kept reading.

I chuckled at an Alice in Wonderland reference in a footnote (page 84).

When the boy stood up to get ready to get off the Metro, he said, "Just out of curiosity, what are you reading?"

I told him a bit about the emergent church movement how Carson analyzes it and he asked me a couple of questions. When he first sat next to me, he looked vaguely familiar, but I have no idea why.

I think it's funny that not 24 hours after my last Metro-ride-book-conversation, I have another, with a completely different book.

Each led to interesting conversations too, even if neither lasted longer than a few stops.

Reading a French playwright makes me a Calvinist?

On the Metro today I was reading a book of plays by Molière. A man in his 60s sat down next to me and asked me what I was reading. I showed him the cover and then when chatted about plays for a bit. Then he asked me if I was coming from the hockey game. I said, "No, I'm coming from church."

He did a double take, looked at the book by Molière in my hands again and asked, "Calvinist?"

"Yes," I said. "But I don't think that has anything to do with me reading Molière."

He then proceeded to tell me about his friend who was from France whose faith was in the tradition of the French Huguenots.

He talked about how he was a atheistic Catholic, and was surprised both that I went to a Southern Baptist Church in DC and that I didn't believe in infant baptism.

Why blog, and why now?

This past semester, I thought I would start a blog to keep track of the food I cook. Cooking for me involves a lot of throwing random ingredients into a pan and stirring, which is fun, but hard to reproduce if I enjoy something. I thought a blog would be a good way of keeping track of how I actually make to food I eat, and then maybe I would also blog about tea every so often.

Then, I actually started reading blogs about topics that are important to me. I started to read 22 Words, 9Marks, and Internet Monk, among others. I spend a lot of time thinking about God, theology, philosophy, books, and life. This blog is a chance for me to explore these more.

The title "My thoughts on display, that I may not fear" stems from the fact that I usually hide my opinions, and through this blog, I am trying to state what I believe because I know I am to fear God, not man. I should not fear to explore my theology and come right out and say what I think. I want to be intentional in stating my beliefs because it is all too easy to equivocate and hide ideas that would offend or accuse my friends who don't agree with me.

I am not the loudest person in the room, but I also do not consider myself as timid. I do not want to fear what others think of me, especially when it comes to my faith.

So I will not just keep track of my created recipes or the tea that I drink or humorous recounting of my daily activities. I might post about that sometimes, but the main reason for this blog is to be open with my beliefs to the wide internet world which only sometimes agrees with me.