¹ In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, ² “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

¹³ Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.

¹⁶ After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” Matthew 3

John came out preaching, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." Wonder what the Jewish audience thought when they heard John's prophetic words? We know they believed he was truly a prophet. (John 14:5) The Jewish world was under the Gentile rule of the Romans, whom many Jews, especially orthodox Jews, despised. They longed for God to reestablish the greatness of Israel, to the prominence achieved during the reign of David. The people knew the Tanakh said that a human decedent of David would once again occupy the throne of Jerusalem and restore the Kingdom. They must have been convinced that the rule of Yahwah was imminent. Understanding this historical setting, the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount must have been shocking and refreshing, depending upon the audience.

Knowing God's Will, part 1

"The will of God." In our modern era this phrase seems so abused, misused, and confusing. My first "hit" when I googled this phrase was a sermon from the prominent evangelical pastor, John Piper. He writes, "There are two clear and very different meanings for the term “will of God” in the Bible. We need to know them and decide which one is being used here in Romans 12:2. In fact, knowing the difference between these two meanings of “the will of God” is crucial to understanding one of the biggest and most perplexing things in all the Bible, namely, that God is sovereign over all things and yet disapproves of many things. Which means that God disapproves of some of what he ordains to happen. That is, he forbids some of the things he brings about. And he commands some of the things he hinders. Or to put it most paradoxically: God wills some events in one sense that he does not will in another sense." Clear?

My next search result (after a few books on the subject from Amazon) is from christiananswers.com. I find here a very practical approach to God's will, presented by George Muller, a Nineteenth Century evangelist and director of orphanages in England. He writes,

• I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are over come when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.
• Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
• I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
• Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
• I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright.
• Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.

I landed on this topic this morning because of my reading of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29) where Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Over the next few morning I hope to explore this topic in greater depth.

What is man? lol

This semester I've had the privilege to teach U.S. History for the first time. It's fascinating to see U.S. history from this new perspective-as a nearly 40 year old man. Interpreting our history with some experience allows for much greater insight than I had as an inept high school and college student. I had the world figured out back then and it seemed that everyone who had influence over me saw the world from the same perspective. It was the Regan era, a time of "prosperity", supply-side economics, tax cuts, and a common enemy-the USSR. I was young, energetic and naive. I though I was invincible!

Although the framework through which I interpret the world has been challenge and dismantled and I usually find myself ambiguous and schizophrenic with many of my positions on life, one belief has strengthen over time. This perspective is best communicated in the meditation of David, found in Psalm 8.

³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

In light of our insignificance and transitory condition, how can arrogance make it's way into our hearts? When I recognize that my life is but a blip on the radar screen of history, how can I ever respond with anything but humility and gratefulness to our great Father and Creator. The vastness of the universe and the delicate construction and balance of even the smallest of substances is enough to bring about an audible laugh when we encounter our selfishness and pride.

David finishes with the conclusion that we are valuable, but only because of our Creator God's image stamped upon us. This is The Message translation. Although Peterson takes liberty in his translation/interpretation, I think he gets the tone correct.

Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden's dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.

⁹ God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.

We matter because God matters! Because we are His unrivaled creation, we have purpose, value, and permanence. And although my life may only be a faint ink spot in the annals of history, I can take confidence that the Immortal God, the Ancient of Days, placed me here for this brief journey. And during this time, I want to echo His name, not my own, around the world!

Obsession: Song by Delirious

Obsession

What can I do with my obsession?
With the things I cannot see
Is there madness in my being?
Is it wind that blows the trees?
Sometimes you're further than the moon
Sometimes you're closer than my skin
And you surround me like a winter fog
You've come and burned me with a kiss

And my heart burns for you
And my heart burns

And I'm so filthy with my sin
I carry pride like a disease
You know I'm stubborn God and I'm longing
to be close
You burn me deeper than I know
I feel lonely without hope
I feel desperate without vision
You wrap around me like a winter coat
You come and free me like a bird

And my heart burns for you
And my heart burns for you