So Long Childhood, Hello Manhood

Proverbs 20:29 "The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair."

     I can remember vividly the first moment I saw a gray hair sprouted from my scalp, I was about 16; it was right in the front, though a needle in a haystack, the light beamed off of it to show it's presence. Since my hair is black is wasn't that hard to notice, but it did come as a shock: "I'm not supposed to get these until I'm older; what's the deal?" Fast forward to today, almost 23, more and more have sprouted along the sides and it's no longer hidden: T-rav's clearly got miniature patches of grays. In this particular proverb, Solomon shows the difference between the delights of a young man versus an older one: physical strength versus applied knowledge.

Bryan Chapell, I'm Confused...

You can now watch the five part video presentation of the PCA's sociological strategic plan for the future of the denomination as presented by Bryan Chapell. I am thankful that Scripture was not completely left out of this hour long presentation. A verse did actually make it in there at one point. What concerns me  the most about this video is the way that Chapell says, "In so many ways our motto as a denomination synthesizes our mission ideals and our history." While the motto is not actually an official part of the constitution of the PCA, Chapell treats it as having more authority than the Westminster Standards and the Book of Church Order.

Question: Can Christianity Exist if Jesus Did Not Resurrect?

John Dominac Crossan in the following video says it wouldn't affect his "Christian faith." Of course, this guy is one who denies the infallibility of Scripture, the deity of Christ, Christ's atonement for sin and the repentance & faith it requires, and so on. But what do the Scriptures say? Could Jesus be who he said he was if he didn't rise from the dead 3 days later? Should anyone read the Bible or even trust what it says if the resurrection was found to be a hoax?

A Good Thing Turned Bad

I have this book that contains daily readings from various C.S. Lewis works (A Year with C.S. Lewis), and this one struck me. This is a quote from The Screwtape Letters:

Thus is would be a good thing to make the patient decide that 'Love' is 'good' or 'bad'. If he is an arrogant man with contempt for the body really based on delicacy but mistaken by him for purity...by all means let him decide against love. Instil into him an overweening asceticism...If, on the other hand, he is an emotional, gullible man, feed on him the minor poets and fifth-rate novelists of the old school until you have made him believe that 'Love' is both irresistible and somehow intrinsically meritorious (you feel you have the right to have it). This belief is...an incomparable recipe for prolonged, 'noble', romantic, tragic adulteries, ending, if all goes well, in murders and suicides. (page 106)

With this particular of love, Screwtape explains how love can be misconstrued to 2 different extremes to harm an individual: the ascetic, and the "love-a-holic."

(1) The ascetic thinks of himself as not needing of love, and if any emotion, thought, desire, or pleasure arises, he thwarts it off as unnecessary or even to the extreme of beating himself up physically to make the desires go away.

(2) The "love-a-holic" feels that because he feels the desire to love, he will go to any extreme to make it happen. He will settle for any girl that winks her eye or blows a kiss. Nothing else matters but to obtain love; if it isn't reached, then he worries and worries, desperate to be satisfied, and could take him to the extreme of killing himself because that desire has got to be fulfilled.

How could this happen? What would push a man to push off love as if it's for sissies and hide his emotions? What would push a man to desperate measures just to get a girl to be attracted to and to love him? We must look at the source of where things first went wrong, and then from there look at solutions.

Adam and Eve, before the first sin, experienced a perfect relationship with God and with each other: no problems, no pain, no nagging, no loneliness. But, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, at the first moment of sin and shame they were instantly frightened of another and God. One act of disobedience led to two breaches:

1. God and man were no longer intimate. A holy God could no longer dwell with unholy people.
2. Man and woman were no longer intimate. Now, every friendship and marriage experiences imperfection.

And with sin clogging our thoughts, minds, words, desires, things don't make sense in our world: the good we want to do--we don't do it, and bad we know we shouldn't do--we do it anyway.

"God is love, and in him is no darkness at all" - 1 John 1:5. When we look at how the Bible describes God, we see two things in this particular verse: He is loving, and He is holy. And this will lead the rest of what I'll say.

The supreme expression of love that God shows us is in the death of Christ and him being our substitute on the cross: "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation of our sins" - 1 John 4:10. The punishment that we deserve for our sin was placed on Christ at the cross, so that you and I would have a restored relationship with God through Christ. A relationship with God is the ultimate thing that must be settled here and now, and is the anchor of understanding love and how to deal with it. Do you have an intimate relationship with God through Christ? I recommend you read John and 1 John to clarify.

In lieu of Christ's redeeming love, we see the perfect expression of love--so how does this apply to the ascetic and to the love-a-holic?

(1) The ascetic must realize he has made an idol out of himself, pride, and that the desire to love and be loved isn't a bad thing. Men, you can be honest about your emotions with other guys, and noticing the beauty of women isn't a sin (unless it's wrongful lust). Women, this goes for you too: be open with other women, and if you're looking for a godly man, nothing wrong at all--same warning though.

(2) The love-a-holic must realize he has made an idol out of himself also, pride and love are worshiped and not God. Instead of looking to God for his ultimate sources of security, significance, and satisfaction, he looks to himself (this applies to the ascetic also). It is more important that he feel loved from an individual rather than God. Men and women, we must realize that we were created for the primary reason to glorify God and enjoy Him forever--He is our utmost treasure. Only in Him can you really find the love you are looking for. God has given us friendships and marital relationships, but they can never surpass or become more important than our relationship with Him.

I hope this was clear, if not let me know and I'll elaborate more.

T-rav
Colossians 1:17 "And is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Before It's Too Late

(Kind of wrote this in the style of a hymn)

If today you took your last breath,
and came face to face with death,
would you go straight to the Father,
to enter into heav'nly rest?

The passions of the world
fool you, only make you blind:
eat, drink, be merry--
for tomorrow you die.

God knows every careless
word, thought, and deed;
would you come to the Savior
to be washed and made clean?

Your righteous deeds are filthy
rags before the throne of God;
this gift of salvation
cannot by you be bought.

You have two major problems:
one bad record, one bad heart;
with this come hell's separation
from which you cannot depart.

You are dead in trespasses,
you hide your eyes from grace;
come and taste the living waters,
won't you rise and seek His face?

God commands you twofold:
repent and believe;
I know you're heavy laden,
cry out for this grace that's free.

Your life's but a mere mist,
think hard of what I've said;
please look up, see Jesus
before it's too late.