Darfur Crisis: Please Pray

Thousands dead. Over one and a half million forced from home. Two hundred thousands refugees gone to neighboring Chad.

Read more here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5317796.stm

Please pray that God would glorify His name by healing this ravaged nation, and that human solutions would not be trumpeted as the ultimate answer here, but that the gospel message would transform this land. That is the only way that the name of Christ will be exalted, and that is where all true healing begins and ends.

On Fun

What is the role of fun in the life of a Christian? This is something I often think about, and had wanted to blog about, but forgot about until one of John Piper's sermons reminded me of the thought chain.

Here are some Google definitions of fun: 'activities that are enjoyable and amusing', 'playfulness: a disposition to find (or make) causes for amusement', 'amusing: providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining.' I like fun activities - they stimulate me, entertain me, and (sometimes) provide relaxation. I enjoy watching football (especially the Redskins), lacrosse (especially Navy or Syracuse), March Madness, surfing the Internet, talking about fantasy football, and playing video games (though I barely play them anymore).

But is Jesus Christ glorified in these activities? Do they help me stay relevant to the culture, or engrossed in it? Do they provide needed rest from work and ministry, or an idolatrous distraction from the living God? Do they enable me to evangelize with more effectiveness (a la 1 Corinthians 9:22), or cause me to act, think and talk just like the world system?

Sometimes when my conscience challenges me about my involvement in such activities, I try to defend myself with 1 Timothy 4:4b, which states that 'nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude' or 1 Timothy 6:17b, which indicates that God 'richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.' Is this a Christ-centered use of these verses?

It seems to me like I approach such issues with a "what's wrong with this?" mindset. In other words, if I can't think of a Bible verse that speaks against a particular action, then I'm free to do it. However, the harder question to answer is "what's right with this?" Or, as these Christian men I respect put it:

How does this help me treasure Jesus Christ? (John Piper paraphrase)
How does this help fulfill the Great Commission? (K.P. Yohannan)

To put it another way, instead of engaging in fun activities, would God rather me rest by praying, reading Christian biography or instructive books, meditating on Scripture, loving someone else besides me, studying God-centered doctrine or pondering the nature of God and of man?

Your thoughts are welcome...........

On Baptism

Yesterday, I was baptized at Reston Bible Church. Many volunteers and staff worked hard to make the event a God-glorifying one, and I appreciate their efforts. Many others came out to attend the service, some traveling from out of state!

This was no ordinary baptism service (although, now that I think of it, no true baptism service is ordinary). For the one performing the baptisms - Jason VanDorsten - not only got baptized himself by Paul Goodnight, but also baptized his wife.

What a blessing it was to see this take place! Two things stood out to me:

1) The display of Christ's deep love for His bride, the church. This was so evident in the verbal and non-verbal communication between Jason and Katie. Surely Christ's love is "deeper than my view of grace." And this idea ties in to his testimony, that if Christ truly is who He says He is - God incarnate - and His love is so great that while His children were yet sinners, He died for us, (Romans 5:8), bearing all of our sin on the cross, then my response not only cannot be nominal, but it must be no less than total worship for all of eternity.

But therein lies the problem, right? God has revealed the depths of my sin to me, showing me that "nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh" (Romans 7:18). I am utterly incapable of a true and pure response to Christ's atoning, wrath-absorbing sacrifice. Which brings me to point #2:

2) In a marriage relationship, the man symbolizes Christ and the woman symbolizes the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). When Paul Goodnight baptized Jason, and then when Jason baptized the rest of us, they referenced Romans 6:5 in that water baptism symbolizes that we are buried in the likeness of His death, and raised in the likeness of His resurrection.

This part wasn't new to me. The new part was reflecting on the idea that not only was baptism symbolizing my conversion, but also symbolizing that God alone brought me to Himself! In more detail, God the Father draws His people to Himself through God the Son by the power of God the Holy Spirit (John 6:44, 6:63, 6:65, 14:6, Romans 10:17). Christ through Jason performed her water baptism (Galatians 2:20), a symbol of the result of God's grace toward her in giving her saving faith (Ephesians 2:8, 2 Peter 1:1) .