Asa is a Stud
Asa was in a wedding a few weeks ago. The dude was a stud. We got him a haircut and a new outfit. Yes I put a chain on him.
Great time in the park today.
Had a great time in the park tonight with Asa. The boy is fearless. He was climbing thing the 4-year-olds were scared of. We better buy some more health insurance.
Missions v. Missional Part 2
The word missional’s meaning is rooted deeply within the understanding of the church’s purpose. This purpose displays itself in three different ways. The church is a missionary sent on mission as a sign and instrument of the Missio Dei. The first area in which we are called to be missional is as a missionary in our own culture. The general idea of a missionary is a person in a foreign country in a completely non-Christian culture. But in reality, today all Christians live in non-Christian cultures. Tim Keller gives insight into this reality by focusing on the missionary Lesslie Newbigin:
The British missionary Lesslie Newbigin went to India around 1950. There he was involved with a church living ‘in mission’ in a very non-Christian culture. When he returned to England some 30 years later, he discovered that now the Western church too existed in a non-Christian society, but it had not adapted to its new situation. Though public institutions and popular culture of Europe and North America no longer ‘Christianized’ people, the church still ran its ministries assuming that a stream of ‘Christianized,’ traditional/moral people would simply show up in services. Some churches certainly did ‘evangelism’ as one ministry among many. But the church in the West had not become completely ‘missional’—adapting and reformulating absolutely everything it did in worship, discipleship, community, and service—so as to be engaged with the non-Christian society around it. It had not developed a ‘missiology of western culture’ the way it had done so for other nonbelieving cultures.
Even if you are in a “Christianized” culture, the reality is that we still need to view ourselves as missionaries. Every culture needs some amount of contextualization of the gospel. This means that you have to be missionary to do the contextualization needed to present the gospel.
Yeah he has cowboy in his blood….
Haven’t shared anything about Asa in awhile. So I thought I would put up a quick video. The boy is talking and being his typical awesome self. I love how he says “cow.” It’s like he’s from Boston. Enjoy.
I’m truly humbled.
For those of you that don’t know, one of my blog posts was featured on theResurgence.com yesterday. I was approached a few months ago to see if they could use the article on their site and they posted it yesterday. I have to say that I am truly humbled that they would ask me and actually post it. It’s crazy to see my post on the same blog of author’s like Dave Craft, Ed Stetzer, Justin Holcomb, Winfield Bevins, Mark Driscoll, Jonathan Dobson, and Charles Spurgeon. These guys have been a huge blessing in my life, and I am in awe that I would be published by their side.
Thanks to Mike Anderson and Jordan Buckley for asking and for all you hard work at theResurgence.com. You and your team do amazing work, and it’s a true blessing to me personally. If you’re not subscribed to theResurgence.com, you need to go there right now and check out all their stuff. Once again thanks.
Christ in Colossians – Part 7 – Atonement – Jesus is the Atonement for Sin
While Paul presents many different themes about the person and work of Jesus Christ in Colossians, none is more predominant than Jesus as the atonement for sin. It is in Christ that they have “the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). Paul makes reference after reference to the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the Colossians.
Each one of these is a reference to Jesus as the atonement for sin in one way or another, but each reference has its own flavor as to how Jesus is our atonement. The fact is that books have been written on each one of these themes in and of themselves. Therefore over the next couple weeks, we will briefly look at each one on it’s own to gain an understanding of the fullness of the message of atonement in Jesus that Paul was trying to convey.
Why I love and hate where I live? – 9-month-old shot in Albuquerque
Police cars in front of the house.
My mind is still spinning as I constantly ask myself the question…why? Why would a father shoot his own daughter. Two days ago only five blocks from my house, a father shot his 9-month-old daughter in the head in revenge for his girlfriend being unfaithful to him. (Read the story here) I found out the vague information from one of my neighbors and friends as news helicopters where circling the neighborhood. My heart broke today as I read the full news story of what had happened.
I’ve known for awhile the dirty soul that lies within Albuquerque. My pastor has said that Albuquerque is a city that is so beautiful on the outside, but dirty when you take a closer look. I couldn’t agree more. We have the Sandia mountains, amazing sunsets, deep culture, incredible food, and stunning art. When you look closer though you see our high crime, fatherlessness, drug abuse, drunk driving, and list goes on and on.
But the dirty underside use to be a distant aspect of Albuquerque to me. That was until we moved into our neighborhood about a year ago. I love our neighborhood. It is a socio-economic, life stage, ethnic, and linguistic mixture of Albuquerque. The neighborhood has retired couples and newly weds buying their first homes. It has migrant workers that are trying to give their kids the life they never could. The school across the street from me is bilingual to accommodate english, spanish, and bilingual students. There is an active neighborhood association. One of the main bike routes for the city runs right in front of my house. It is also part of the International District of Albuquerque.
If I didn’t tell you anymore, you would think I lived in a picturesque suburban neighborhood. But when you take a closer look, you see something quite different. It’s called the International District because it use to be called the War Zone and the city didn’t think that helped with PR. The park across the street that is part of the elementary school is used by prostitutes at night to service Johns. This was made very clear to me when our Community Group pick up trash a few months ago and threw away over 15 condoms. While riding my bike, there have been a few times that I’ve nearly ran over hypodermic needles. I live less than a mile from a gay cowboy bar (I don’t even know how that works). Five cars were stolen in the neighborhood last month and now homicide can be added to the list.
I live in this weird tension of loving and hating the neighborhood that I live in. I love the progress and culture of my neighborhood, but hate the sin and depravity that is here. The thing that keeps me from selling my house and moving to suburbia though is Jesus. In a weird way, I love knowing that I live in a neighborhood in Albuquerque that needs the gospel the most.
Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:17
Instead of getting mad when I find used condoms by the curb, I find hope. I know that I’m in a neighborhood that needs Jesus. I know the gospel gets to shine the brightest in the darkest of places. My heart is breaking for the family of the little girl that was shot. My hands are shaking in grief and anger as I type right now. I take peace in knowing that the full wrath of God will be poured out on the man that shot that beautiful little girl. But I ultimately hope that for the man to trust in Jesus so that wrath that he rightly deserves will be taken out on the cross.
Please pray with me for my neighborhood. That God would be glorified as family after family are changed by Jesus. Pray for me that God will open doors in this neighborhood for the gospel to be proclaimed. Pray that God would send and raise up more leaders to reach this neighborhood.
Christ in Colossians – Part 2 – Jesus is Fully Human
While Paul clearly articulates the deity of Jesus, he doesn’t shy away from focusing on Jesus’ humanity. In Colossians 2:9, Paul makes the second of his statements about Jesus having all the fullness of deity dwell in Him, but Paul doesn’t end there. Within the same sentence, Paul uses one simple word that could seemingly be completely contradictory or at least paradoxical. Paul states that in Jesus “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” [emphasis added]. Paul is stating that Jesus is fully God while also being fully human.
Paul uses the word “bodily” (soma) in his statement to combat the thought that Jesus was simply a spirit that appeared to be human. This can be seen in Paul’s previous statement in Colossians that this body was a “body of flesh” (Col. 1:22). The Complete Word Study Dictionary explains that “in Col. 1:22 the expression ‘in the body of his flesh [sarx]’ means in his body incarnate, flesh that forms an organized whole. This is the antithesis of he psuche… , the soul … , and to pneuma … , the spirit … ; or where soma, psuche and pneuma make a peripharasis for the whole man.”[1] Jesus was God incarnate.
Paul also emphasized this fact in the references to Jesus’ death. Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead” [emphasis added] (Col. 1:18). Jesus reconciles all things “making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:19). “He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death” (Col. 1:22). We have “been buried with him in baptism” (Col. 2:12). Since God is immortal, these references to Jesus’ death can only be attributed to the fact that Jesus was human.
Now Paul isn’t simply saying in these passages that God simply put on a suit of flesh and walked around on earth for a little over 30 years and then removed it. He is saying that Jesus is 100% human. To every extent that we are human, Jesus is. These can be known from Paul’s statement that the Colossians are “reconciled in [Jesus’] body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Col. 1:22). The only way that Jesus could have completely reconciled them was if he was completely human. The early church fathers made this clear in their defense against Apollinarianism at the Council of Constantinople. Fred Sanders explains:
Behind the rejection of Apollinarianism was a vision of salvation represented by the soteriological axiom: ‘What is not assumed is not healed.’ This axiom, articulated by Gregory of Nazianzus (who chaired part of the proceedings), presupposes that the Son of God saved humanity by ‘taking on’ or ‘assuming’ human nature into union with himself. Everything in human nature needs to be saved, so everything must be taken into union with Christ. In this light if Christ had no human soul, the human soul is left unredeemed.[2]
So when Paul says that we are “reconciled in his body of flesh” (Col. 1:22), this is only possible if Jesus is fully human. If any part of Jesus is less than human, then humanity could not be completely reconciled with God.
As you turn the pages of the letter to the Colossians, you can see that Paul wanted the readers to know that Jesus was fully human. This was not in contradiction to Jesus’ deity but in addition to it. In Jesus, “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9). Jesus was both fully God and fully man.
[1] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary: New Testament
(Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1992), 1356.
[2] Scott Horrell et al., Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective: An Introductory Christology
Pastor Dad: Praying for Asa
I’ve only been a dad for about a year-and-a-half, but I must say one of my favorite things to do is to pray for Asa before he goes to bed every night. If you don’t pray for/with your kids every, I would highly recommend it. I thought I would take a moment and share with you what I pray for Asa every night before we put him in his crib.
Father,
I thank you so much for Asa and the blessing that he is in our lives.
I pray the you help him to fall asleep quickly and to sleep the whole night through so he can get the rest that he needs.
I pray that you keep him safe through the night and send your angels to protect him and keep him safe.
I pray against Satan, his demons, their works and effects, and in the name of Jesus I demand that any demons that are in the house or in this room leave immediately and go to pit for which they destined for all eternity. I pray this by power and authority of Jesus Christ.
I ask Father that you would send your Holy Spirit to enforce this. I pray that you would fill our house and hearts with your Holy Spirit. I ask that your Holy Spirit would work in Asa’s heart; regenerating it and drawing him to You. Make him a child of yours.
I pray the same thing for his future wife, and that the two of them would stay pure til the day they are married. I pray that they would become parents and grandparents and great-grandparents who raise their children to be lovers of Jesus.
I pray the same thing for me and Shannon. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and give us wisdom and strength to raise Asa to be a lover of Jesus.
We pray this all in the name of Your Son Jesus.
Amen
Shannon and I have developed this prayer over the past year-and-a-half. The words aren’t always the same, but the general concepts are. We’re constantly adding and changing it.
Do you pray for your kids every night? Do you have a regular prayer, or do you play it by ear?
Christ in Colossians – Part 1 – Jesus is Fully God
One of the primary themes about Jesus that Paul presents to the Colossians is that Jesus is fully God. This theme is clearly presented in two key passages. Paul says, “for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” (Col. 1:19) and later Paul reiterates this truth by saying, “for in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:19). Jesus wasn’t partly God or a godly person. He was God. John MacArthur Jr. helps us to better understand what Paul meant by the “fullness” of God dwelling in Jesus:
Pleroma (fulness) was a term used by the later Gnostics to refer to the divine powers and attributes, which they believed were divided among the various emanations. That is likely the sense in which the Colossian errorists used the term. Paul counters that false teaching by stating that all the fulness of deity is not spread out in small doses to a group of spirits, but fully dwells in Christ alone.[1]
Not only is Jesus said to contain the fullness of God, but Paul also says that “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). This statement would have reminded Paul’s Jewish readers of Genesis 1:27, which states that “God created man in his own image.” Jesus wasn’t created, though. “As the image of the invisible God, the Son is, first of all, himself God.”[2] In this statement, Paul is pointing to the deity of Jesus.
Along with the clear statements of the deity of Jesus, there are also other statements in which Paul gives the incommunicable attributes of God to Jesus. There are a few that are worth noting. We have “forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). Paul states that “all things were created through him” (Col. 1:16). Jesus is declared to be eternal, as “he is before all things” (Col. 1:17). The preservation of our salvation is found in Jesus as we are “built up in Him” (Col. 2:7). Jesus is in heaven and “seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). Whether boldly stating the fullness of Jesus’ deity or subtly giving attributes of God to Jesus, the Apostle Paul is communicating to the Colossians that Jesus is fully God.
[1] MacArthur Jr., Colossians and Philemon
, 52.
[2] William Hendriksen, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (The New American Commentary, Vol. 32)
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