My Second Sermon

(if interested, this is the text from my second sermon.)

Two Complaints or The Gospel according to Habakkuk.

(BTW - Thanks to Jay Bennett for some revision help)

[TEXT: Habakkuk 2:4]

We just sang:

Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

Open your pew Bibles to the book of Habakkuk and let us see see how Habakkuk responds to such grand thoughts of God's justice:

Hab 1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? Hab 1:3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. Hab 1:4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth.

You may have read our text from Habakkuk 2:4 on the front cover, one of the most quoted OT verses in the New Testament. But Habakkuk, believe it or not, does not start in chapter two, but begins with Habakkuk, registering a complaint with God. In fact, Habakkuk has two complaints before we get to 2:4. We are looking at these two complaints together tonight, as we take a quick journey through the whole book of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk begins his prayer, skipping any formalities, naming of grand attributes of God, or praising of God's name and goes straight to “Why are you not listening?!” I cry “violence” and why will you not save. Habakkuk lives near the end of the time of the kingdom of Judah. Israel has been conquered and taken into exile, and Judah alone remains. Judah had been known as the good kingdom compared to Northern Israel, but at this time Judah is worshiping Baal and Mannassah, King of Judah, had even sacrificed his own son by fire to foreign gods! It's a horrible situation in Judah. Habakkuk cries out to God, if you are Holy and Just, why do you not save us from this evil?!

We find ourselves among much evil. The scary part is when it comes from within the people of God, within the church. The recent approval of sexual perversion by multiple denominations in their own clergy. We saw a so-called revival meeting last year in Florida that ended with money stolen from participants and an affair by the main pastor leading it. We see sex abuse scandals involving clergy and children. We think of the middle ages when there was dishonest theft from the poor by the church to build a building in Rome.

Are we not tempted to shout with Habakkuk: “Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth.” What good is the law with all this evil?!

It may seem impious and irreverent to say such things. We like to critique the attitude of Biblical characters. But that's what makes Old Testament characters like Job and Habakkuk so interesting and relevant is they shock us with their honesty. They haven't learned to hide their doubts and even anger at God as well as we have. The words shock us, but they do not shock God. God is not at a loss for words.

In response to Habakkuk's complaint, crying to be saved from human evil, God assures him that His Justice is coming, in verse 6, he says He is raising up the Chaldeans, a tribe of the Babylonians, to violently seize their nation from them in God's Justice. God's wrath against sin and human evil will be shown in His Justice.

The end. Habakkuk's happy now, right?

Of course not! Habakkuk then files a second complaint and says:

1:13 You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

Basically he says: “The Chaldeans will judge us?! That's not the answer I wanted! They are worse than we are!” What's the problem now? Habakkuk is realizing he's targeting the very ship he is standing on! Habakkuk is a member of the nation of Judah. And as a part of Judah, how can God allow a less righteous people come to punish a more righteous nation?!

Let's look at this dialog: First Habakkuk cried for salvation from human evil. Then, God's Justice acts and promises swift justice and wrath. Then, Habakkuk needs salvation from God's Justice.

Habakkuk appeals for deliverance. But, on what grounds? What grounds does Habakkuk appeal to God from, that God would spare Judah? “We're better than those guys.” We are more righteousness than them. Sure, I just admitted we are really evil. But we're not THAT BAD.

The guy who killed someone in the paper, he deserves justice. But us? We only kill my boss in my mind everyday when we see that idiot. We're not actually going to do it! The guys in the papers that had a string of bank robberies, they deserve to go to prison. We may just under-report my assets to the IRS. It's different. We are relatively more righteous than those other horrible people! I should live on account of my righteousness! Can't you grade on a curve, God!? It's only fair.

Habakkuk sits back and thinks he has God in a corner (2:1). God answers the second complaint, letting Habakkuk know the Chaldeans will have to answer His justice, but this is where we get the answer of 2:4, our text. This is the problem 2:4 comes to answer. God must explain to more-righteous-than-them Habakkuk what sort of righteousness God is looking for in man. Not a puffed up pride, as better-than-the-next-guy righteousness, but

Hab 2:4 "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Notice what God did not say. The righteous do not live by man's righteousness. They do not live by being better than the next guy. He lives by faith.

Jesus has a nack for taking a hard teaching and making it offensive. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector going to the Temple to pray, the Pharisee prays: Thank you that I am not like this man, who openly steal from his people. The tax collector merely beat his chest and said, have mercy on me, a sinner. Luke's account tells us that Jesus has the audacity to say the one known to steal from his people openly, the tax collector, "went home justified." But the Pharisee lived better! In comparison, he was more righteous! How can a less righteous acting man be justified? Only the tax collector had pleaded for God's mercy in faith, rather than pleading his own righteousness.

God's Justice does not grade on a curve. You see the man who pleads his own righteousness does have a sort of faith. But where is that faith? In himself and his righteousness. “his soul is puffed up.” The righteousness God speaks of is different. It is marked by the righteousness of the object of faith, not the person believing.

When Habakkuk gets his third time to speak, well, the third time's a charm. Habakkuk first wanted God to save them from human evil because God is Holy. When God's Holy Justice answers with wrath against sin, Habakkuk needs salvation from God's wrath. But when God takes away the ground of Habakkuk's righteousness, Habakkuk finally gets it in chapter 3. In 3:2. He asks the Lord in fear:

Hab 3:2 in wrath, remember mercy.

Finally, Habakkuk asks for salvation from God's wrathful justice against human sin by appealing to God's mercy, rather than Habakkuk's righteousness. What that faith ultimately looks like is that faith does not plead one's own righteousness, but faith pleads the righteousness of Another, which Habakkuk is going to do. Isaac Watts wrote in a hymn: “The best obedience of my hands, dares not appear before Thy Throne, but Faith can answer Thy Demands, by pleading what my Lord has done.” Is it our obedience or Christ's we trust? Is it what we have done or Christ has done?

I argue that Habakkuk had faith in Christ's work. How can I say that, since Habakkuk lived before Christ? Indeed, but the God had covenanted with his people in order that mercy and grace might be shown, from Genesis 3:15 on, where the seed of the woman would “crush the head of the serpent,” the source of evil. This is what Habakkuk is appeals to in 3:13 where he expectantly says

Hab 3:13 You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck.

Habakkuk has turned from himself to God's promise. As God has done before with defeating Pharaoh and will do with the Chaldeans and again definitively in the Promised Messiah. The ground of appeal had to be moved from a false righteousness to the promise of the seed crushing the head of evil. The ground of faith is the Righteous One and His promises. Habakkuk ends his prayer in 3:18, appealing to “the God of my salvation, The Lord is my strength” or the word can also be translated resources or wealth, or treasure. The grounds of Habakkuk's appeal have fully moved from his own power and treasure of righteousness to God's righteousness and mercy.

The Ancient Jew had to rest on God and His promises in faith alone, that He would save him. We are no different in essence on this side of the coming of Jesus. Where is Habakkuk's ultimate hope? “The God of my salvation” (3:18)

Where is our hope? In Jesus. In Yeshua. In the name that literally means: “The Lord saves.” Habakkuk trusts the “God of my salvation” just as we trust Jesus “The Lord saves.” Will God answer the problem of evil? Yes in Holy Justice. How can we be saved then from God's wrath in justice? How can God “in wrath, remember mercy?” being both Just and merciful? By God Himself taking on the wrath of God. Only by God Himself being the one that fulfills all righteousness under the law. Only in the God of our salvation. Only in Yeshua, the Lord saves.

From human sin, from the wrath of God's Justice, we fly to no other source when we come to the table. We do not trust our flesh to fulfill all righteousness under the law, but trust Christ's truly righteous flesh. We do not pay our penalty with our tainted blood, but plead Christ' truly righteous blood as payment. We come to exchange. Our righteousness, which at best is filthy rages, for true righteousness.

Come to the table to plead with our God with the words of the prophet: “in wrath, remember mercy, oh God of my salvation.” Amen.

Reflections: The Unforgiving Servant

I thought I would post a couple of reflections from some Sunday School lessons. The second also comes from a lesson I did no Matthew 18:

A Practical look at the parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-35):

Matthew 18:23-35 - "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 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. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

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.' So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 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. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

First we should explain the parable. A servant, (doulos – bond-servant. Indebted to a master that works because of that debt) under authority of the master, has a LARGE DEBT. 10,000 Talents. One Talent is worth about 20 years labor. Thus, 10,000 Talents would take 200,000 years to pay off. Let's assume even a modest American salary ($40,000 a year). If Jesus told the story today, he could have just said $8 billion. It doesn't matter, the point is he can't pay it back. The forgiveness is not on the basis of ability to repay, it is shear mercy not to lock him up.

Then the servant, under the authority of the master, finds a fellow servant, also under the authority of the master, who owes him 100 denarii. This would be 100 days wages. Let's just assume it is a fourth of a year. This is not a small amount of money. Sometimes we say, this was absurd for person to hold a grudge over such a small amount. If someone owed you $10,000, you would not think it is a small thing. It is real, and the lack of it is felt by the servant. But the forgiven servant does not forgive, and has the other servant thrown in prison. The Master then is angered at the forgiven servant and gives him to the “jailor” which is actually better translated the “torturer,” to punish him “until he should pay back all the debt.” He cannot pay it back, so the punishment is life long.

Q: What is the purpose of parables?

Instruction or judgment. Perhaps both. Remember David and Nathan. Nathan tells a story, David judges the man in the story, and Nathan says, “you are the man!”

Q: Who is the Master? [God]

Q: Who is the forgiven servant? [Peter; or to apply it now: us]

Peter's question was “how many times do I forgive?” The answer: Forgive to the degree that you believe you have been forgiven.

The degree to which you forgive is the degree to which you believe you have been forgiven. If you believe you have been forgiven little you will forgive little. If you think your debt is small, you forgive small.

If you think that is hard, I think this is mild compared to the extent to which you are to forgive:

Have you ever forgiven someone but thought, “Yeah, I'll forgive you, but I hope you get hit by a bus.” or at least “I hope you fail at everything you do.” It's not only forgiveness, its asking that they may be blessed:

Luke 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

It is even harder than forgiveness. Those that wrong you: you are to pray for, not just that God would make them see how wrong they are, but that God would bless them, make them successful, and show favor to them. That's a very hard next step. To those we harbor painful memories and thoughts towards, can we ask for blessings for them?

I heard a pastor once say that he gave this advice to a woman that was deeply wronged by her husband. The pastor's advice? Pray for his well being. Pray that God will bless them. That's hard. And if we are just told to do this we should say “Why should we?!”

Think of what these actions have done in history: Stephen, in the midst of being stoned to death, asks God to forgive the people that are not just calling him names, not stealing money from him, not saying things behind his back, but in the middle of killing him: “God, forgive them.” Think of what that prayer did. It saved Paul. If Paul heard the prayer, I'm sure he was offended at it, but God heard it. Why did God choose Paul to be an Apostle, I think maybe it was because Stephen prayed for him.

Who else modeled this but Christ on the cross?: “Father forgive them.” What did that prayer do? It interceded for us.

The objection may be leveled that forgiving and asking blessing on those who are debtors to us, that have wronged us in painful ways, seems to be “but you don't know what they did, it was so bad that it is beyond forgiving.” But even before they asked for forgiveness, Jesus and Stephen forgave people who were tearing open their skin, and asked the Father to bless them.

This is the real question, if we think it is hard for us to forgive, let's ask: Do we believe that we have offended God less than that person has offended us? Do we believe that the full culmination of our sins as committed before God continually on a daily basis: sins of arrogant pride, of self-indulgence, of self-ish behavior, or ingratitude and of unbelief, (as every act of sin is in some degree an act of unbelief): do we believe these are less than what one person has done to us?

If we believe this, we have done one of two things: We have either elevated the sin of that one person out of proportion, which is less likely than the second: We have too low a view of our sin and too high a view of our merits.

The comparison is between two servants, two bond-servants indebted to a Master. One owing another servant functions under the canopy of a greater debt to the Master.


Who is your debtor? Who if justice was done for you would really get it? Who has wronged you so deeply you want them thrown in prison? It is not a small debt. Sin is not trivial. Your pain is not inconsequential.

But how great a debt have you been forgiven? If one is not willing to forgive someone else, I would suggest focusing on the first part of the story. The debt someone owes you does not compare to the one you owe God. How great a debt has been forgiven you? If you think it light, if you think it is a sin or two a day or a dozen or so a year, read through the Sermon on the Mount again (that's Matthew 5-7). Put your sin before you. That is the reason David said he was asking forgiveness is:

Psalm 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Is your sin before you? Is your sin in front of you, do you know it or is it under the carpet? If you put it before you, then you can say:

Psalm 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

Only when we know the greatness of our sin do we know the greatness of our salvation, and then we mourn over our sin:

Zech 12:10 - when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn

We look to Christ's suffering on the cross, not out of pity, but out of the realization that our problem of sin is so great that it took the death of the Son of God to atone for. The sins of others make us mourn but do our own sins make us mourn? They ought, for we know Whom we have offended and wronged.


Ultimately, this parable is a motivation behind instruction in the Sermon on the Mount: "be reconciled to your brother." This is a post-gospel law. If one has been forgiven one will forgive. If one does not forgive, it is either because they have not reflected on the greatness of their sin and pardon, or perhaps they truly are not a child of God. If we wish to forgive, we must do this by

1.Seeing the graveness of our debt to God

2.Seeing the greatness of our forgiveness in Christ, who has paid that debt on our behalf at great cost to Him, at the cost of separation from the Love of the Father, at being the receipient of the wrath of God owed to us, but paid to Christ.

3.Seeing the debts of others to you in light of our great debt and great payment made to God.

4.Thus to act Christ-like. As Christ-like in our willingness to forgive AT GREAT PAIN. This does not make forgiveness less painful. It remains painful. And in giving forgiveness, and suffering the pain of forgiveness, we understand better, experientially, the greatness of the gospel. We fill in the sufferings of Christ. We experience a small amount of the great salvation gained for us. The salvation won for us was not cheap, but expensive, not easy, but difficult, not painless, but painful.

We ought to Go and do likewise.

Reflections: Jesus and Children

I thought I would post a couple of reflections from some Sunday School lessons. These two come from a lesson I did no Matthew 18:



Matthew 18:1-5: 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.

19:13-15 - Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

When the disciples ask a question about the greatest, Jesus uses a child as a model. Jesus uses a child to say “unless you turn/change/convert (all are valid translations of this word) and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Now Jesus did not mean act childish, the disciples were already good at this. “Who's the greatest?” already is a childish question. Paul says we grow up and put away childish things. It's almost as if it is like Jesus says: stop having the bad qualities of a child and get some of the good ones.

And Jesus gets a lot of mileage out of this example. The child offers an example for

1)Humility
2)How to welcome others
3)The responsibility we have to others (in the graveness of sin)

I once heard John Piper say that one of the traits he looks for in an elder is how they interact with children. Is the Christian Life a matter of one's individual piety and outward cleanliness? Or is it found in community and not the individual? For Piper, children were the ultimate test because they are needy, they can be annoying (as they were to the disciples later), and they can give you nothing back for the time you give them. They may, if an infant, sit there and look cute, but they will not return the favor. You don't take them out to lunch then they get the bill next time. A child may say thanks but then runs off to do his own thing.

So what I think Jesus is getting at in “becoming like one of these” is in rank and importance. It is not acting childish, though the innocent trust of the child is held up. It is humility, welcoming people like children who cannot give you something, and in not leading them into sin.

But as a side note before we get these traits in action in the rest of this chapter, I want to also show how this is a great argument for infant baptism. I'm serious. In other words, it is not entirely spiritualized that the kingdom community belongs to the children. In Matthew 19:13-15, the disciples may have only taken this as spiritual, and as people brought children to Jesus the disciples send them away. In Luke, it tells us that mothers carried babies to Jesus to touch. Children that could not come of their own accord, that had little knowledge of what was being done to them. The disciples did not see that children belonged in the new community that Jesus was making just as they belonged by circumcision in the community of Israel, as Jesus says that indeed they are members of the kingdom subject to his Kingship. Peter, I believe, gets it in Acts 2:38-39. When he invites the first Jews to new covenant obedience in receiving their Messiah and submitting to baptism, Peter says “for the promise is for you and your children.” Peter learned by this point children were included. Clement of Alexandria has a great line about this incident: “In Jesus' time mother brought their children to Jesus to touch, as they continue to do today in baptism.” There. My short case for infant baptism based on Matthew 18 and 19.

But I do think it is true. Having children as covenant members reminds us of the importance of community. We then see the dependence that child has on others. The community is not a social club where strong pious individuals, that are maintained by their individual personal piety come together. It is ground of the individual growing. Think of trees growing out of the building of the church, rather than trees growing out side of the church that stick a branch in the building. A child's dependence reminds us of our dependence. That a child is brought unable to help itself to have Christ touch reminds us of our helpless condition apart from being carried by the workings of the Spirit.

Why Presbyterian?

The second part of the question that may be asked is if you are seeking ordination, why do so in the Presbyterian denomination. The list of reasons could be very long indeed. Just look through my blog, most subjects under "reformed faith" deal with why I am Reformed. The most foundational reason I have written before:

Confessional - I have written elsewhere that it is my conviction that the church is at heart a confessional institution, and that its confession is most important: of Christ and His work faithful to the word of Christ Himself and the apostles.

This conviction means my options are naturally limited. The two traditions that maintain the primary nature of the church as confessional are the Lutheran and Reformed traditions. I find both to be rich traditions, rightly recognized as true faithful churches to the confession of the Gospel.

My conscience, however, is better quieted in a Reformed congregation, as Reformed confessions of faith (like the Westminster Confession or the Belgic Confession) seem closer to Scriptural mandates than the Lutheran confession of faith as laid out in the Book of Concord. If I found myself in a region with only a Lutheran Church and not a Reformed church, my conscience would not be troubled to be a member and worship with the Lutherans. However, if I were to seek ordination, my standards of doctrine are a bit higher.

Other than being confessional, I wish for a church to strive to have:

* Proper view of the Church (confessional, means of salvation)
* Word rightly preached (in Law and Gospel)
* Rightly dividing law and gospel
* Rightly pointing to Christ and his means of salvation
* Preaching Christ as accomplishing Salvation
* Defining Faith as apprehending Christ's merits
* Rightly administering the sacraments
* Administering Church discipline.

* Believing in the Authority of God's Word
* Worshiping in accordance with God's Word.
* Not confusing contemporary fads for Biblical norms
* Not individualistic
* Not confusing the two Kingdoms
* Not accepting the traditions of men for God's word.

* Belief in the sufficiency of God's written word for matters of faith and morals
* Catholic
* Evangelistic

In practice, no church body is perfect. Reformed Theology especially acknowledges this by its insistance on teaching that even after the work of regeneration begins, the saint also remains a sinner until he or she is perfected by Christ in the eschaton. Yet, the ideals and confession (Westminster) of the Presbyterian Church best matches what I believe to be Scriptural demands.

I also appreciate the high standards of ordination that one must go through to be recognized as a minister in the PCA. One must be tested in Bible knowledge, Theology, History, be trained in the original Biblical languages, and know the Westminster Standards (the confessional documents of the English Reformed tradition). This assures that those ministering beside me would at least be professing orthodox theology.

The denomination I find myself in is the PCA. There are other Reformed denominations I find equally inviting such as the OPC or URCNA, or any of the other Reformed denominations in the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council. However, the PCA is as good a ship as any to fish from.

Discerning a Call

How does one discern a call? Pastor Tim Keller, in his Q&A session, gives a helpful answer:

Download audio

Why I am Seeking Ordination

As of May 1, I have started an internship that lasts for a year and is intended to prepare a candidate for ordination. Completion of the internship does not guarantee ordination, for ordination requires a church extending a call. So in a year, I will not necessarily be ordained but that is my intention, with a willingness to do something else if there is no need in the church.

My seeking ordination might evoke two questions: Why ordination? Why in your particular church? [or you may not ask, but I'll answer for my own conscience]

My original intention in attending seminary was to teach. My undergrad degree is in education. Yet, my desires were to teach at a higher educational level, either among high schoolers or in college. I had an interest in Theology as well as history, and had been encouraged that I had an ability to teach. So I attended grad school/seminary.

While at seminary, I began to question where I should teach. Thinking that I should do something distinctly Christian with my degree. I considered teaching History and Theology in a setting such as a foreign school. But then I had a paradigm shift. I was introduced to the Church.

After 5 months in seminary, we finally settled in a local church. While there, the church was presented as something different than what I previously conceived it as. Before, church was the voluntary. The voluntary association of individual believers working together but sustained by their individual piety. Instead, I was introduced to a vision of the church as the essential and necessary, not voluntary, the source of the proclamation of the gospel, and therefore the conversion and growth of the Christian. The first duty of the Christian therefore is to the church, not the organizations outside the church, which may help the church, but do not replace the church.

As I shifted from seeing the church as a human institution to a divine instrument of God's purposes on earth, this also forced me to revisit my plans. Instead of my original plan, I was led to present my feeling of giftedness in teaching to the church. There it may be evaluated and confirmed, or dis-abused. The greatest use of teaching is the teaching of the Word, specifically of the demands of the law and their answer in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I do not feel any entitlement to be ordained. I very well may not be ordained or not receive a call from a church body. Yet, I submit myself to the church first. If she requires me, I shall serve her by serving her Groom. If not, I shall worship in her, support her, and seek a vocation that suits my skills.

UK09

We're getting ready to go to the UK on July 24-August 4. Michelle will sing in the choir and I will be doing odd jobs like recording audio, posting on an update blog, taking pictures while the choir is singing, handing out flyers while the choir does street singing, etc. Keep us in prayer. You can follow the updates on:

http://uk09.pcpc.org/

My new favorite song of the week...No one laughs at God...

My new favorite song I just discovered this week, playing in the queue now. Regina is a Jewish song-writer, and this song is eerie and true. It makes me think of:


Ezekiel 20:39 "As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols."

Psalms 59:8 "But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision."

The only way people are able to laugh at God is when He is put to ridicule by His People:


Laughing With...
by Regina Spektor


No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one's laughing at God when it's gotten real late and their kid's not back from that party yet

No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one's laughing at God when they see the one they love hand in hand with someone else and they hope that they're mistaken
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door and they say "We've got some bad new, sir,"
No one's laughing at God when there's a famine, fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they've lost all they got and they don't know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they'll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one's laughing at God when they're saying their goodbyes

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one's laughing at God in a hospital
No one's laughing at God in a war

No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
We're all laughing with God

Summer Reading List

I'm planning on reading stuff I actually want to read this summer. But that is after I'm done reading my books for Summer class, then I will read books somewhat related to Pastoral work and Biblical Theology. A partial list:

Summer Class Books:

Dogmatics in Outline by Karl Barth

Dogmatics Volume 1.1 by Karl Barth

The Great Passion by Eberhard Busch

History of Christianity in the U.S. and Canada by Mark Noll

Pastoral Books:

The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson

Concerning the True Care of Souls by Martin Bucer

Instruments in the Redeemers Hand by Paul Tripp

Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments by Geerhardus Vos

Preaching Christ in All of Scripture by Edmund Clowney

Music Update.

I updated the music on the right ->

These are the songs on my playlist these days.

Check out "Equally Skilled" by Jon Foreman. Foreman is one of the few artists out there (along with Derek Webb) that can adapt a Scripture passage for song without it sounding hoaky. Compare the words here with Micah 7.


Equally Skilled

How miserable I am
I feel like a fruit-picker who arrived here
After the harvest
There's nothing here at all
Nothing at all here that could placate my hunger
The godly people are all gone
There's not one honest soul left alive
Here on the planet
We're all murderers and thieves
Setting traps here for even our brothers

And both of our hands are equally skilled
At doing evil, equally skilled
At bribing the judges, equally skilled
At perverting justice
Both of our hands
Both of our hands

The day of justice comes
And is even now swiftly arriving
Don't trust anyone at all
Not your best friend or even your wife
For the son hates the father
The daughter despises even her mother
Look, your enemies arrive
Right in the room of your very household

And both of their hands are equally skilled
At doing evil, equally skilled
At bribing the judges, equally skilled
At perverting justice
Both of their hands
Both of their hands

No, don't gloat over me
Though I fall, though I fall
I will rise again
Though I sit here in darkness
The Lord, the Lord alone
He will be my light
I will be patient as the Lord
Punishes me for the wrongs I've done
Against Him
After that, He'll take my case
Bringing me to light and the justice
For all I have suffered

And both of His hands
Are equally skilled
At ruining evil, equally skilled
At judging the judges, equally skilled
Administering justice
Both of His hands

Both of His hands
Are equally skilled
At showing me mercy, equally skilled
At loving the loveless, equally skilled
Administering justice
Both of His hands
Both of His hands

Greatest rock band ever

Has a new album out.

They were on Letterman.

A Stimulus bill for me.

Go Thune! For the price of the Stimulus Package, instead the federal government could give a $10,000+ tax break for every family in America making less than $250,000 a year. Thune proposed just that:

Details here.

Hear his case here.

Bye Blago!

Ill. senate votes 59-0 to remove Gov. Blagojevich

A Re-enactment below:

Blago

John Stewart on our wonderful Governor. Best part - Fact: you have a 48% chance of going to jail if you commit a murder. with 4 of the last 8 Illinois Governors (50%) in jail, you are better off shooting someone than being an IL Governor to stay out of jail.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

(D-IL) Weed

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Remind you of anyone?

Maybe this guy?