Tim Challies has an interesting article on the subject of what people search for on the Internet. He highlights a time where a major search engine released searches being done by individuals. They thought the information was released in such a way that the searchers would remain anonymous but it turns out that wasn’t the case. People were able to string together the searches of individuals over time that showed not only their actual searches but also gave a glimpse into what was going on in their life. Some of the searches reveal somewhat comical life circumstances, others deep sadness and hurt.

When looking at just the searches of an individual over time it makes me think about the people I see in everyday life when I’m out and about. We all see lots of put together people that seem to not have any serious problems. But what if you could see everything they searched for on the Internet over time? Wouldn’t that give a peek into their heart and mind? You’d get a glimpse past the facade and into the real person. How would that change your dealings with them?

Keep this in mind, every person has pain and hurt and need that is all caused by sin and this world which is cursed by sin. Look at Isaiah 53:4-6 which contains the truth of EVERY person’s condition along with the glorious truth of the gospel:

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

No matter how good someone looks on the outside they have griefs and sorrows. That isn’t debatable and does not depend on the person or the situation. The question is whether they are carrying them or is Christ?

Below is an excerpt from Challies’s article:

While the search engines may never forget, I am grateful that God does forget. He forgets the sins of those who turn to him and confess those sins. Psalm 103 promises that “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” In Hebrews 8:12 God promises “I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” There is virtue in forgetting.

Praise God that he does “remember our sins no more” if we have have turned to Jesus Christ and confessed our sins. Follow the link and read the whole article.

Please pray for the people of Haiti and for God’s church in that already impoverished nation.

Update: The orphanage I visited is doing fairly well considering. They had no known damage to their building and also received their monthly delivery of food just two day before the earthquake hit. Praise God that he has provided and protected. We trust him for our provision and care and know that “all things happen together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purposes.”

Another Christian orphanage that you might consider learning more about and supporting is God’s Littlest Angels. They’ve gotten a lot of news coverage in the US.

Here is a short excerpt from the first page:

God makes it quite clear in His Word that He has only one answer to every human need: His Son, Jesus Christ. In all His dealings with us, He works by taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead for us for our forgiveness; He lives instead of us for our deliverance. So we can speak of two substitutions: a Substitute on the cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute within who secures our victory. It will help us greatly, and save us from much confusion, if we keep constantly before us this fact: God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only, namely, by showing us more of His Son.

And isn’t that truth confirmed through the experience of the mature Christian? We are constantly struggling with simply telling God, “I know that Christ and his work on the cross is the answer, but I don’t like that answer, God.” “I know that Christ is sufficient for me, but that isn’t what I want.”

Nee’s point is also made by Paul in a different way in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

And this also echos what Jack said in his sermon last Sunday. We aren’t content in what we have because we don’t want what God is offering. We want something else. And isn’t that the height of foolishness? The all powerful God wants to give us all of himself and we say “no thanks, I’d rather have this measly temporal thing.”

But are we truly content with our “weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities”?

Rich Shipe

The last few weeks we’ve been looking at how we can be better husbands and one of the key verses is 1 Peter 3:7 which reads:

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

That phrase of “understanding way” means to really pursue her with a desire to know her very well. What are her needs? What are her likes and dislikes? What is her personality? What are her strengths and weaknesses? What is her love language?

In terms of needs the study shared that there are four main areas of need that most women have:

1. Security. Feeling safe and protected financially and relationally. They feel safe with you.
2. Conversational companionship. Experiencing each other and life together. Talking and building relationship and sharing heart and feelings.
3. Significance. She is valued and important and esteemed. An equal “heir with you of the grace of life.”
4. Affection. Treasuring her with hugs (non-sexual), compliments, notes, saying “I love you.”

Ok, guys, here is an assignment for you… (This is the same assignment assigned to us in the Bible Study) … Set a date night with your wife and ask her about her needs. Do the above needs match her greatest needs? If not, what would she add? What is most important to her? And finally, ask her if there are ways that you could improve in meeting her biggest needs. If you do this kind of thing and do it regularly you are on your way to “living with your wife in an understanding way.”

One final thing, are you in a small group or discipleship relationship of some kind? If not you need to get yourself into one. God’s design is for his body to grow together and not in isolation. If you are serious about your personal sanctification then you are serious about the Body of Christ, the church.

Confronting the Influence of Darwin – Hank Hanegraaff — Can the twentieth century be understood fully outside of an understanding of Darwin’s theory of evolution?

Self-Control in a Wired World – Joshua Harris — Best line: “A little web surfing, a little Facebook, a little folding of the hands around the smart phone and spiritual poverty will come upon you like a robber.”

Five Ways to Feel Scripture – Jared Wilson — Number one is “Interpret before you apply”! That is huge. Too often we start with, “What does this passage mean to you?”

The Gospel, Anger, and Romans 13 – Jay Younts — This is a very challenging article for me personally. What are we most concerned about? What is our priority? Public policy activism is good but are we seeking to love ourselves through it or love God and love our neighbor through it?

Weighty Words [from C.S. Lewis] on the Meaning of a Husband’s Headship – John Piper — Best line: “No relationship is more clearly commanded to model the death of Christ. No relationship is more costly—in both senses of that word (painful and precious).”

“The heavens are telling the glory of God,” sings the Psalmist, “and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” [Psalm 19:1, NASB]  Every atom of creation cries out the glory of God.  The Hubble Space Telescope now shows the glory of God in the universe in a new dimension — and in breathtaking color and complexity.  To see these images is to view the work of the Creator in a glory newly disclosed, newly visible to human eyes.

To read of the vast distances and dimensions seen and measured by Hubble’s technology is to be reminded just how small our planet really is — and how even smaller we humans are.  As the Psalmist reflected:  “When I consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” [Psalm 8:3-4, NASB]

The cosmos does reveal the glory of the Creator — indeed it is inevitably so.  The heavens — and Hubble — are telling the glory of God.  He who has eyes to see, let him see.

Read his whole post.

Mark 8:35-38

BibleMap.org

With BibleMaps.org you can pull up books and chapters of the Bible from either the ESV or KJV versions and the map will show you the location of places mentioned in the text. Pretty slick. Check out BibleMap.org and add it to your bookmarks!

1. Imagery
2. Story
3. Dialogue
4. Identification of Heroes
5. Overall Composition

Very helpful to read as the summer blockbuster season starts. Not that we can’t go to the movies, but we should be aware of the messages being preached rather than blindly absorbing it. We should also be able to answer some basic questions of the films we watch:

1. What is the overal message of the film?
2. Is that message consistent with God’s Word? Why or why not?
3. Does it correctly identify (maybe even just partially) the condition of man and his need for saving? If so, what is the savior it provides?

Read the article and think about it with the next movie you watch.

One of the ideas they shared was for parents to encourage their children  to  take notes during  the sermon.  My  first  thought was how hard  this would be  for my kids  (who are ages seven, nine, and ten) because it’s hard enough for me! But I decided to give it a  try.  I  gave  them  some basic  instructions  and  encouragement and we tried it out.

The first Sunday of note taking was a little rough. I had to remind them a few times to keep it up during the sermon, and they had trouble knowing what to write. Like I said, note‐taking isn’t easy. But one thing I did notice was that for the most part, they were paying attention during the whole sermon.  It felt like a small but significant step forward.

The  next  thing  I  did  that  really  helped was  create  a  one-page, note-taking form for them to use. The form  includes boxes that hopefully get them thinking about what to look for in the sermon. The boxes give  them  special places  to write down the main verse, other verses, big  idea or main point, what I should do, words I don’t know, and extra lines for additional notes.

As an  Easter gift  to  our  kids, Christy made them each a decorated three-ring binder in which they can keep their sermon notes. They loved the binders and are excited about writing down things on the form each week.

We’ve been using this form for a couple months now, and I’ve been really impressed with the results. It is incredible to me how quickly they’ve been able to learn this skill and how much they are able to write down. The other significant thing is they are doing their best to pay attention to the sermon now. Some weeks are better than others, and sometimes they give up or get frustrated, but we’ve found that they are really growing in it and
making  progress. They are learning important life skills in listening and note taking, and I want to deliberately help them grow in these areas.

Another great benefit we’ve found from the note taking is it gives us an opportunity to talk about the sermon as a family. At dinner on Mondays, we all get out our notes and walk through the  sermon. Christy and I help the kids fill in parts that they missed, and we explain the parts that were hard for them to understand. This also reinforces the big ideas for Christy and me too!

In the May newsletter, Jack talked about worship “preflight” and how important it is to get ready in advance to worship. That pre-worship preparation is important for success in teaching your children to take notes.
Ultimately, our family goal is to teach our children about the incredible value of worship and learning in a community of believers. As a parent, I also need to teach my kids through my actions about the exciting opportunity we  have  on  Sunday mornings  to  corporately worship our God and Savior. My kids need to see me truly excited about worshiping God in order to fully incorporate this lesson into their lives.

Download the pdf here

Follow link to view PowerPoint online.

Ian Charleson as Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire

I’m reading through The Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley with another man in our church. It has been recommended to me many times over the years and I am so glad that I’m finally taking the time to read it. Fantastic book and I recommend it to all men.

Here is a short excerpt that I really liked. It hits the issue of contentment which is something many guys struggle with in our culture. Chariots of Fire is my favorite movie so it made me want to share it.

Chariots of Fire, the fact-based, Oscar-winning movie, depicts the quest of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell to win gold medals in the 1924 Olympics, a feat they both accomplished.

The difference between Abrahams and Liddell is transparent: Everything Abrahams did was for himself, while everything Liddell did was for the glory of God.

Eric’s sister Jennie mistook her brother’s love of running for rebellion against God, and pressed him to return to the mission field in China, where they both were born and their parents lived. One day his sister was upset because he had missed a mission meeting, so Eric decided to have a talk with her. They walked to a grassy spot overlooking the Scottish highlands.

Clutching her arms, trying to explain his calling to run, he said, “Jennie, Jennie. You’ve got to understand. I believe God made me for a purpose–for China. But He also made me fast!–and when I run, I feel His pleasure!”

That is in sharp contrast to a scene later in the movie, one hour before the final race of Harold Abrahams. While his trainer gave him a rubdown, he lamented to his best friend, “I’m twenty-four and I’ve never known contentment. I’m forever in pursuit, and I don’t even know what it is I’m chasing.”

Both men won a gold medal, but one won his medal for himself, while the other won his medal for God. Do you feel God’s pleasure in what you do or, like Abrahams, does contentment elude you?

At the end of the chapter Morley asks: “What is your ambition? Will it survive your physical death? Will it pass the Luke 14:33 test?” Luke 14:33: “In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions.” That verse isn’t a command for a vow of poverty but it is serious challenge to who or what we serve. You can’t serve God and serve your own ambitions.

I hope this is something you can chew on and again, I encourage you to check out Morley’s book and consider going through it with a friend.

Good job Andre for the whole event and Tom running sound and Carter on the the lights. Read on to see a good sample of Jeremy Horn’s music.

Rich Shipe

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalms 139:13-14

But it isn’t just Mormons… read on.

This past summer the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released the results of a large survey nationally on religion. Among the other details the Washington Post wrote:

A belief in God or a higher spirit is pervasive. Even Americans who describe themselves as atheist or agnostic have a robust sense of a higher power: Twenty-one percent of those who describe themselves as atheists expressed a belief in God or a universal spirit, and more than half of those who call themselves agnostic expressed a similar conviction.

So more than a fifth of atheists and agnostics believe in the existence of a “higher power.” How does that make sense? The simple answer is that it doesn’t make sense.

So why is that? Why do people believe such weird things? How is it possible to deny the existence of God yet believe in a higher power? How is it possible to buy into Joseph Smith’s teachings? This way of thinking (or not thinking) isn’t limited to just Mormons and the atheists of this study, it is throughout the world.

So why are they so blind? And what should our response be? Scripture answers both of these questions in 2 Corinthians 4:1-6:

Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged. But we have rejected shameful hidden deeds, not behaving with deceptiveness or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.

So why are they so blind? Their minds have been blinded by the “god of this age,” Satan.

And what is our response? To openly proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord. Are you proclaiming him as Lord through your actions and words? Our lives should be a reflection of his Lordship.

Last summer I wrote about Josh Hamilton. He’s got a video on IamSecond.com too.

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.

I know that the economic crisis has most people focused on money. But can you guess what the number one problem we see men struggling with year in year out?

If we take all the problems men face and put the marriage problem in one stack, and put all the other problems in another stack, guess what? The marriage problem alone is bigger than all the other problems combined.

Teach your men how to do something practical and spiritual about their marriages. Teach them to pray “The Marriage Prayer.” I’ve been praying this 68 word prayer for some time now. I don’t know if it has changed our marriage, but it has certainly changed me.

Here’s the prayer:

Father, I said, “Till death do us part.” I want to mean it. Help me love You more than her, and her more than anyone or anything else. Help me bring her into Your presence today. Make us one, like You are three-in-one. I want to hear her, cherish her and serve her-so she will love You more and we can bring You glory. Amen.

David Delk, Man in the Mirror’s President, and I have written a book of the same title that unpacks “The Marriage Prayer.” You can order Prayer Cards and learn more at www.themarriageprayer.com.

Yours for changed lives,

Patrick Morley, Ph.D.

At first I saw Christ as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like the president, I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t know Him.

But later on, when I recognized His presence, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride, but it was a tendem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.

I don’t know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life hasn’t been the same since. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains and through rocky places and at breakneck speeds. It was all I could do to hang on! Even through it looked like madness, He said, “Pedal!”

I worried and was anxious and asked, “Where are You taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. When I’d say, “I’m scared,” He’d lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people who had gifts I needed–gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, Christ’s and mine.

And we were off again. He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.” So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I didn’t trust Him at first, in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it. But He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages.

And I’m learning to be quiet and pedal in the strangest places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do it any more, He just smiles and says, “Pedal.”

Side note: “The Quest for Authentic Manhood” and getting together with other men has been a fantastic time and if you can work it into your schedule I encourage you to make a commitment to it. I hope to see you there!

Something that struck me this morning that I wanted to share are five things Lewis listed as being what every son wants and needs from his father. This aspect is just part of his larger point which I won’t share here but the points on fathering sons was excellent.

Got a son? Read on …

1. Time Together – Lewis said that “Memories are the markers of life.” Every boy wants that time where it is “just me and dad.” He wants to go out and throw the ball and pretend they are in the Super Bowl together or put together that model or just hang out and laugh. Proverbs 17:6 in part says that “the glory of sons is their fathers.”

2. Life Skills – Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Robert Lewis described “life skills” as the stuff we need to know to get by in life. It might be practical skills like how to change a flat tire, or the oil in your car, or how to tie a tie. Popular Mechanics pubished 100 Skills Every Man Should Know that might be a starting point for the practical stuff. But there are also emotional and spiritual life skills that need to be taught. For example we men generally have a hard time understanding our emotions and how to share from our heart. Sharing from your heart and understanding your emotions is an important life skill that fathers can help train and teach to their sons. Other life skills… How do I treat a woman? When is it appropriate to laugh and goof around or to be serious?

3. Direction with Solid “Why” Answers – Lewis described this as the philosophical stuff of life. “What is really important in life?” “What is life about?” “What is my ultimate purpose in life?” It could be described also as our convictions about higher truths. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says “These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.”

4. Convictions Through Modeling – This is the influence of your words plus your convictions lived out in what you model in life. This point in equation form: Your Convictions + What you Say + Your Model in Action = Your Integrity. It is showing him through the model of how you actually live your life. The son knows the real father and not just the veneer or what he says. 1 Thessalonians 2:10-11 makes this point very well, “You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe. As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children”

5. Dad’s Heart – Lewis said this is what sons need most of all from dad. It means that the son is loved and affirmed by his dad. He said there are three things every son wants to grow up and leave home with confidence having heard from dad: 1) I love you, 2) I’m proud of you, and 3) You are good at _____ [fill in the blank]. Lewis said even today as a grown man “I wish my dad would come out of the grave and tell me these things.” Jesus the Son recieved these things from God the Father. Check out Matthew 17:5 how God says all these things about Jesus: “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my one dear Son [I love you, son!], in whom I take great delight [I'm proud of you, son!]. Listen to him!’ [hey everyone, my son has something good to say!]“

Learn more about the movie premier by reading the rest of this post.

This is an announcement from George Escobar who was the director of Come What May and is the Executive Director of the Advent Film Group.

Dear Friend of Advent Film Group:

The BIG Day has finally arrived and YOU ARE INVITED to a special movie screening.

We will be showing COME WHAT MAY on Saturday, September 6, 2008 at the brand new Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville, VA. This benefit premiere for Patrick Henry College includes a VIP Reception, between 3-4PM EST, just prior to the screenings. Please join us to meet some of the cast and crew from the movie.

COME WHAT MAY will play twice: at 4:30PM and again at 6:45PM. The movie is about 90-minutes long. There will be a filmmaker’s presentation following each showing. Please go to our website: www.adventfilmgroup.com for details and directions and to make reservations. Seating will be limited. Please sign up early. [movie preview can be found here]

The suggested donation for this event is $25 per family. Donations will go to the Patrick Henry College Scholarship Fund. The SPECIAL PREVIEW EDITION DVD of the movie will be available for sale during this PHC event.

SCREENING UPDATES
Two nearly sold-out preview screenings were held at the Court Square Theater in Harrisonburg, VA in early July. A week later at Grants Pass, Oregon, on July 19th, we packed the 800-seat Performing Arts Center to full capacity. From both venues, audiences have given us over 500 movie survey cards. Almost all are overwhelmingly positive.

Here are some comments from preview audiences:

• I wanted to write and tell you how much we enjoyed the movie! It was very moving and inspiring! – K. Hart
• Thank you for not making merely an ‘entertaining’ Christian movie. The acting, filming, and music was good, but the substance was what grabbed me. I am a 51 year old mother with two young adult kids, one in college, one just married, neither challenged to walk the radical Christian walk. Your movie is the perfect balance of real consequences for standing for right, without a fairy tale ending, but positive outcomes for ultimate good. – K. Hori
• “Great job! I have never seen such a movie as this. We need more like this movie. I am so glad this movie did not just stick Christian values in, but that it was the heart of the movie. Thank you.” – K. Valentine
• “I am so glad that someone took the “risk” of doing this movie. Glory be to God.” – Koseigle
• “I am very excited that we are seeing the very arguments that might change Roe v Wade.” – Drapersw49
• “Well done. Proof (that) love of family, life and God can be reached emotionally through the media. More films of this quality desperately needed.” – Jfredrick
• “The movie was awesome.” – E. Curry
• What a blessing! The message was poignant, clear, and compelling – all the main characters were dealing with some aspects of risking, trusting, and forgiving in order to love. Thank you so much for all that you and everyone involved in this film did, to put forth such a quality message and presentation! – Yeates Family

Please pass along this invitation to your friends and neighbors. Invite them to join you in seeing COME WHAT MAY. We pray they will be blessed. We look forward to seeing you there.

One last thing: we have received 4 offers for movie distribution thus far, including one from a major distributor. Please pray with us for the Lord’s guidance that we would choose wisely to reach the audience He has prepared for this movie.

Blessings,
George Escobar
Founder/Executive Director
Advent Film Group, LLC
www.adventfilmgroup.com

Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton, a professional baseball player for the Texas Rangers, is an amazing testimony of God’s power to redeem and change a life. You might have heard about Josh Hamilton recently because he put on an impressive show last week at the Home Run Derby, breaking the record by hitting 28 home runs in one round. You can watch all the impressive home runs by Josh Hamilton at MLB’s website here. He even hit three more than 500 feet! In addition to the Derby performance, Hamilton currently leads the Majors in RBIs.

Hamilton’s amazing performance is made all the more impressive when you find out that not too long ago, he was deep within the dark pit of drug addiction. He says that his last drug use was October 6, 2005.

Hamilton has a great testimony of how God brought him out of the mire of his sin. ESPN.com published part of his story and it made a deep impression on me. You see, Hamilton became a Christian when he was 18. Not long after that, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays drafted him number one overall and gave him a huge signing bonus. With all of this new-found personal glory, Hamilton began to idolize baseball and his own desires instead of worshiping Christ alone.

Everyone expected Hamilton to take off, and he did not disappoint. But not long after his career got going, he was in an auto accident that sidelined him for an extended period. Without his daily routine of going to the ball park, he now had a lot of time on his hands and plenty of money to spend. His idol was removed from his life, and he filled that void by becoming addicted to drugs. He would go on multi-week binges and was in and out of rehab programs with no lasting success.

God finally took him to the bottom where Hamilton could no longer depend on himself and had no choice but to turn back to God. Once he reached that point, God started working. Hamilton is where he is today totally because of God’s work in his life. God worked a miracle–a “God thing” as Hamilton describes it. Just ask Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry how incredible this is.

What most impresses me about Hamilton’s story isn’t as much where he’s been but where he is at right now spiritually. Hamilton doesn’t refer to himself as a drug addict in the past tense but in the current tense. He is completely capable of falling back into sin and the moment he stops denying himself will probably be the beginning of his downfall. Hamilton acknowledges this openly and admits to his weaknesses. He remains broken and fully dependent on Christ.

Christ made it clear that all of his followers must adopt the same attitude of brokenness. Mark 8:34 says:

Then Jesus called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Hamilton’s story makes me ask myself, “Am I really denying myself or am I living for myself?” “Do I take up my cross with Christ to go die to self or am I living for myself?” “Am I following Christ or am I living for myself?”

The Mark 8:34 life is a moment-by-moment denial of self and acceptance of Christ and the life he has for you. It is living in the truth of the Gospel. Colosians 2:6 says, “Therefore just as you first received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.” But what exactly does that mean? It means that we continue to believe the truth of the Gospel by living it out. But what does it mean to live out the Gospel?

Here are some points on what it is not:

• Making something other than Christ the lord of your life.
• Thinking that your sin isn’t really that bad. “I certainly have never done anything as bad as Josh Hamilton!”
• Thinking that when you sin you can just work your way through it yourself. This means you figure out how you can manage it or you’ll just work harder next time.
• Thinking that you are pretty good on your own and don’t need cleaning or much cleaning.
• Thinking that you can depend on your own strengths, intellect, knowledge, talent, money, etc.

And here is what it means to “continue to live our lives in him”:

• Christ is the Lord of my whole life.
• I acknowledge that I cannot make myself good or on my own bring value to God.
• I acknowledge the truth of what sin is and that I cannot clean myself of it.
• I trust God to clean me of sin through Christ’s work alone on the cross.

When you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ you are living as you first believed. Where I so frequently mess up is by not going to Christ for forgiveness but rather just resolving to work harder. Instead, I should simply go to him and say, “Lord, forgive me for that sin. You died for that sin and thank you for forgiving me. I need your strength to overcome.” If I don’t do that immediately, then later my prayer has to also include asking forgiveness for relying on my own strength rather than on Him.

Josh Hamilton’s story is an example to all of us of what happens when you make something else the lord of your life or think you can deal with sin on your own. Hamilton was not rescued until he “continued to live” his life in Christ.  Neither will we experience victory over sin in our own lives until we continue to daily take up our cross and humbly follow after Christ.

May 2006

Back in 2006 the National Geographic Society helped sponsor a highly promoted research project into what was being called the “Gospel of Judas.” This ancient manuscript was implied by some to have been written by Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus and who soon after committed suicide according to the Bible’s account. National Geographic referred to this lost “gospel” in this way:

The Gospel of Judas gives a different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, offering new insights into the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Unlike the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in which Judas is portrayed as a reviled traitor, this newly discovered Gospel portrays Judas as acting at Jesus’ request when he hands Jesus over to the authorities.

The National Geographic Society implies that the Bible is wrong or at best unreliable. If Judas didn’t kill himself and didn’t betray Jesus then how can we trust the rest of the account? Can we believe that our Bible is authentic? If all these scholarly experts are certain, how can I be certain? Follow the link to read the rest of this post.

National Geographic dedicated significant resources (rumored at low seven figures) and promotion to this project which included in their words an international team of preeminent scholars and scientists who worked to preserve and translate this ancient text. Their promotion included the May 2006 cover story, a 90-minute (without commercials) TV special, and a full website dedicated to the project.

Besides a number of significant problems that were raised at the time of publishing, now The National Geographic Society and the scholars involved are being accused of scholarly malpractice.

The venerable Chronicle of Higher Education recently published an article on the “Gospel of Judas” project titled “The Betrayal of Judas: Did a ‘dream team’ of biblical scholars mislead millions?” Here is a key excerpt (h/t Dr. Veith) but I recommend reading the whole article:

One of the seven million people who watched the National Geographic documentary was April D. DeConick. Admittedly, DeConick, a professor of biblical studies at Rice University, was not your average viewer. As a Coptologist, she had long been aware of the existence of the Gospel of Judas and was friends with several of those who had worked on the so-called dream team. It’s fair to say she watched the documentary with special interest.

As soon as the show ended, she went to her computer and downloaded the English translation from the National Geographic Web site. Almost immediately she began to have concerns. From her reading, even in translation, it seemed obvious that Judas was not turning in Jesus as a friendly gesture, but rather sacrificing him to a demon god named Saklas. This alone would suggest, strongly, that Judas was not acting with Jesus’ best interests in mind – which would undercut the thesis of the National Geographic team. She turned to her husband, Wade, and said: “Oh no. Something is really wrong.”

She started the next day on her own translation of the Coptic transcription, also posted on the National Geographic Web site. That’s when she came across what she considered a major, almost unbelievable error. It had to do with the translation of the word “daimon,” which Jesus uses to address Judas. The National Geographic team translates this as “spirit,” an unusual choice and inconsistent with translations of other early Christian texts, where it is usually rendered as “demon.” In this passage, however, Jesus’ calling Judas a demon would completely alter the meaning. “O 13th spirit, why do you try so hard?” becomes “O 13th demon, why do you try so hard?” A gentle inquiry turns into a vicious rebuke.

Then there’s the number 13. The Gospel of Judas is thought to have been written by a sect of Gnostics known as Sethians, for whom the number 13 would indicate a realm ruled by the demon Ialdabaoth. Calling someone a demon from the 13th realm would not be a compliment. In another passage, the National Geographic translation says that Judas “would ascend to the holy generation.” But DeConick says it’s clear from the transcription that a negative has been left out and that Judas will not ascend to the holy generation (this error has been corrected in the second edition). DeConick also objected to a phrase that says Judas has been “set apart for the holy generation.” She argues it should be translated “set apart from the holy generation” – again, the opposite meaning. In the later critical edition, the National Geographic translators offer both as legitimate possibilities.

These discoveries filled her with dread. “I was like, this is bad, and these are my friends,” she says. It’s worth noting that it didn’t take DeConick months of painstaking research to reach her conclusions. Within minutes, she thought something was wrong. Within a day, she was convinced that significant mistakes had been made. Why, if it was so obvious to her, had these other scholars missed it? Why had they seen a good Judas where, according to DeConick, none exists?

How is that not intellectual dishonesty? Christians are constantly accused of being intellectually dishonest and believing in fantastical myths rather than hard evidence. Christian scholarship and the authenticity of scripture has stood the test of time and constant attack for the last 2000 years. It is incredible to me that even within 200 years of Christ, people were publishing works like the Gospel of Judas in order to discredit God’s word. Even today the powerful National Geographic Society attempts to do the same, yet God’s Word and His Gospel still stands! That fact is evidence pointing toward the Bible as being truly “God breathed.”

If you’d like more information on the “Gospel of Judas” see this article:
An Introduction and Orientation to the “Gospel” of Judas by Jeffrey Volkmer Th.M.

And if you are looking do more research on the authenticity of scripture here is a great place to start:
Introduction to Bibliology

Don’t forget to check out their blogs:

- Joe

- Denise