Bad Dads and Brunch

Two weeks ago, Carly and I were at Panera Bread for a brunch-time with the Lord.  We sat across the aisle from a dad with his young son.  This kid was pretty energetic, talkative, and pretty cute.  I’m guessing he was no older than seven.  At first glance, I thought, Cool, a dad on a brunch hang-out with his son.

Then I actually paid attention.

At first, I’ll admit.  Their whole interaction distracted me from reading the book of James.  But as the dad and his son interacted, my heart couldn’t help but break.  I don’t know if there was significant amounts of eye contact.  Dad acted as if his son was a burden.  Dad could have cared less about the crazy stories his son told him — the kind only a seven year old can tell.

The boy seemed like a fun little conversationalist.  Dad seemed no more engaging than a freshly painted wall.  The boy asked Dad to take him to the bathroom.  Dad sharply replied, “Can’t you go yourself?”  “Show me where it is,” the son asked.  Dad got up.  “Over there,” he pointed.

This guy didn’t have a ring on his finger.  Maybe he just didn’t wear one?  No.  Multiple times I heard him say to his son, “Your mom,” and the boy once said to his dad, “When will I come over your house?”  He’s just a guy who divorced a woman out of convenience or got her pregnant and left.

This young boy needs a good dad.  He needs a dad who loves Jesus, reads his Bible, romances mom, works hard, and looks his son in the eye and speaks as if he is talking to the most important person in the world when it’s brunch at Panera.

Sometimes I wonder what’s worse: a bad dad who ignores his son at Panera or just flat out leaves him before he’s even born.  My heart says that there might be less pain in the latter.  I’m a little tardy for a Father’s Day post, but to my dad, Tim Pruch, thanks for being a good one — a God-glorifying one.  Thanks for taking us out, paying attention to us, and loving (and still loving us) like we mean the world to you.

I’m a Professional Something Alright

While I was in the States I had this thought that wasn’t so new to me.  For the past year or so, the reality, gravity, and total depravity of my sin has been all the more apparent in my life.  About a week ago, while praying, I just had to confess, “Lord, I’m sorry that I’m a professional sinner.”

There are a few things that I can do well. There are even fewer that I do exceptionally well.  There’s one ginormous thing that I do perfectly: sin.  In thought, word, deed, intention, and motive, I’m an all-star sinner.

It’s not something to be proud of or laugh about.  It’s a disease that everyone is born with.  And if you are saved by grace, you should be overjoyed to confess with Paul who said, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15). 

Praise God that he sent his Son to save the worst, most vile, in order that that we might be more conformed to his image.  Praise God that though I am unworthy and filthy, it seemed good in his sight to make me new — to make me a saint — in order that he might be glorified and I might receive the joy.

Thunderstorms, Intense Heat, and Frigid Winter Nights

When I arrived in Omaha a few weeks back, the humidity was so high that it was literally hard for me to breathe.  I was coming out of a climate in South Africa that, in winter, is very, very dry.  Those first few days in Omaha were filled with extremely high temperatures, even reach a heat index of 110F a few days.

After a day of being home, Carly and I went to Aurora, Nebraska, about two hours west of Omaha, to visit her parents.  A day before we left, there was a massive tornado in Aurora that left a country house to shreds and ripped off some paneling from a building across the street.  During the first night in Aurora, lightning, loud claps of thunder, and heavy rain rolled through.

As I thought about these summer phenomenons, I couldn’t help but think about the polar opposite effects of winter: unbearable cold, numbing winds, ice showers, blizzards, early darkness and the like.

The weather — be it intense heat, frigid cold, white-hot lightning, or freezing snowstorms — is a whisper of God’s power.  We might be tempted to think there is nothing more frightening than a powerful tornado raging toward a farming community or a blizzard that is just waiting to strike a metropolitan area.

But there is something more frightening.  Imagine the intense heat of God’s judgment for those who do not believe in his Son Jesus.  Imagine the sound of God’s voice thundering in the heavens over an unrepentant sinner.  Imagine the lonely, frozen darkness he will experience in his heart for all eternity.

The good news is that there is hope for everyone who’s still alive.  The good news is that we do not have to be judged because Jesus, on the cross, became a curse for us, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  The invitation is for all those who are near and far off.  It is free for the taking, but if it is rejected, the worst summer and winter that could be imagined will shudder in comparison.

I’m Baaaack

Okay so that wasn’t as dramatic of a title as I could have hoped.

I arrived back in South Africa today.  I had such a wonderful two and a half weeks with my beautiful Carly.  We had an incredible time of growth, laughter, conversation, and getting some business/life/marriage details done (like buying a 2006 Honda Civic!).

Hopefully I’ll be able to rest tonight and have some fresh posts tomorrow.  However, I will be away from regular internet again this weekend. Perhaps Andrew and Jordan will post more (wink, wink)???

Guest Post – Jordan “The Elephant in the Room”

A friend of mine who was visiting this weekend told me about a conversation she was having with her coworkers about religions/philosophies.  The conversation was basically the same as many that I have had before.  Once into a conversation on religion or philosophy and how truth is tied into it, someone usually makes a comment such as, “How can you claim to know everything”  or “there are many paths up the same mountain” or “everyone looks to the same god, but with a different perspective” or retell the story about four blind philosophers wandering into the field, touching an elephant, and each stating it is something different.  These statements are supposed by the person stating them, that they are not only arguments but good ones.  Of course, these are not always the responses to the Christian, but they have been extremely common to me; coming from junior high students to college professors and “pastors”.

The problem that lies in these arguments is that the person making them is appealing to objective reality to say that they know that we cannot know.  No one is claiming to know everything, just something.  There are not many paths up the same mountain; people make extremely polar statements that cannot be reconciled anywhere or ever and most definitely can not go up the same mountain of truth…claims will either go up that mountain or fall to their death.  To state that everyone religion is worshipping the same god is downright offensive to everyone on the planet (and astronauts).  The claims of religions are separate and distinct at their core, albeit may have some superficial similarities. 

If you haven’t guessed yet, I am more of a “discuss in the comments section”.  That’s why my posts are fairly loose.

With Love,

Jordan

Guest Post – Jordan “Reply to a Friend on the Evidence of Jesus’ Death”

On a previous post, the conversation went to the subject of Jesus and the evidence of his death.  I thought I would address this briefly.  My arguments for the life and death of Jesus are not uncommon, they’ve mostly been the same for a very long time and when good arguments hold water I think we should keep using them.  Therefore, the following, although not entirely cited (mostly because there are so many and I’m not sure where they originated), is taken from several sources.  Also the post will not be terribly.

To start, we Christians do have evidence for the death of Jesus.  Primarily the New Testament and, even more specifically, the Gospels.  The Bible is at the very least an historical text.  To simply say that it is not evidence for the death of Jesus is like saying it is not evidence for the life of Pontius Pilate.  There needs to be sound arguments for why the text is not reliable as evidence.  As I am not talking about the reliability of the New Testament I will only suggest reading scholars such as F.F. Bruce and Walter C. Kaiser for the arguments on the reliability of the Biblical Texts.

Secondly as to extra-Biblical sources, we have many.  Also for the sake of space, I will point to Philip Schaaf’s work: The Person of Christ: The Miracle of History (Collection of Testomonies of Unbelievers) for a list, citation, and brief explanation of those who mention Jesus and his death. 

As to the argument of Jesus surviving the crucifixion, where is the evidence for that?  How does a man who is beaten to the point of not being able to carry his object to which he is later nailed, then being stabbed with a spear to make sure he is dead, then wrapped in cloth, then placed in a cold tomb able to recover from the trauma enough to not only stand, but to remove the cloth that is wrapped around him, fold the cloth that covered his face, leave the bandages (i.e. not use them to stop bleeding wounds) remove the stone that is in front of his tomb and finally to make not only his closest friends but 500 people believe that he rose from the dead.  I’m guessing that he wouldn’t be to shiny after all of that.  We Christians have at least the evidence above.

Finally, why would Jesus’ closest friends after seeing him in such a horrible state and recognizing that he had merely survived a horrible ordeal, go on to put there lives through torture, and ultimately death, knowing that what they were doing was a hoax.  As Paul even said, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

My hope is that more discussion will follow in the comments, so please comment.

Guest Post – Jordan “Was Anyone Saved at the Cross”

Below is a link to an article written by James White.  James White is a leading Protestant Christian apologist.  His ministries website is here.  A friend of mine who is not explicitly Reformed in his theology read it and said it was the first time he had thought about the issues discussed like Mr. White presented them.

Was Anyone Saved at the Cross? by James White

Resting in God

Another Guest post by Andrew Reiners

This is a devotional taken out of a book called The Valley of Vision edited by Arthur Bennett. This specific devotional pretty much sums up what I have been feeling lately as I have fought for joy and peace with God throughout a couple of stressful weeks at work and the absence of my wonderful girlfriend who is in Serbia on a missions project for the next five weeks. I have often found myself lately wanting to just crawl into bed for the next few weeks and avoid the realities and hardships of life. This is my prayer tonight that the Lord would restore my joy in him and give me a deeper pleasure in the gospel and desire to let the light of Christ shine in me during my day. The author of this devotional is unknown as the book does not state the authors of each specific article.  Hope this can be an encouragement and blessing to others.

O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ’s precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God.

Mark Driscoll on Idolatry

A guest post by Andrew Reiners

Well Hello everyone.  My name is Andrew and I will be one of two guys that will be guest posting for James while he is back in the United States for several weeks.  I don’t know what his deal is ( something about spending a little time with his fiance who he hasn’t seen for 5 months getting in the way of his blogging).  Just a note, I am nothing special, in fact I do not think I am worthy of posting on such a blog as Beneath the Cross, but I will try.  I am currently working in Lincoln, Nebraska as a social worker helping teens and families deal with very real and troubling issues.  Its a great job but tough at times.  I will try my best to stay consistent with the posts so here goes.

Last night I was watching a conference message by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle about the subject of idolatry in our personal ministry.  Now I know that Mark Driscoll has rubbed some people the wrong way with his preaching style and often very candid sermons.  Whether you like Mark Driscoll or not, this message had a very different tone than most of his conferences messages have had in the past.  This message titled “Ministry Idolatry” was given by Pastor Mark at the Advance 09 conference in Durham, NC two weeks ago.  In this message Mark addresses the very seriousness of every human’s problem with idolatry and the ways that it fuels other sin issues in our lives.  The statement that had the strongest impact on me was when Mark said something like this “People don’t have sex problems, money problems, drug problems, or alcohol problems; people have idolatry problems”.  I highly encourage you to take an hour or just half an hour and watch some of this message and let it take hold of you and convict you of some of the things that you idolize in place of our Lord Jesus.  Here is the link to the message:

“Ministry Idolatry” Mark Driscoll Advance 09

Here are a few notes I took from this message:

• Pastor Mark explains that idols are usually good things that we turn into God things and in turn become bad things.
• Idols such as money, sex, alcohol, relationships, education, even blogs act as functional saviors that if we allow to take precedent in our lives take us away from our real problems and insecurities and give us a false sense of worth and joy that can only be found in the light of Jesus Christ.
• What is my ultimate source of delight?  Is it in my girlfriend, my job, my car, my church, my knowledge?  Jesus needs to be my ultimate source of delight.
• Even sports can be an idol.  A football stadium is simply a temple where people can gather and worship their idols. (I may post more on this topic in the coming days.)

• Those who idolize must also demonize.  Those who find their identity and worth in an idol, must also demonize the very things that contradict or compete with that idol.

Guest Post – Jordan: “The Prodigal God”

Hi, my name is Jordan and I’m a guest blogger while James is gone.  I’m on facebook and am always up for having more friends, so if you want to have private conversations with me then facebook would be the best medium for me.

I’m going to try and post more and to write a better, but to start I thought I’d just share a book that a group of friends and I read through and discussed.

The book is The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller.  It’s a good read and great for conversations in a small group.  I’ll just give the basic jist to see if anyone can relate. 

Jesus tells a parable to a mixed group of people of ’sinners’, tax collectors, Pharisees, and Scribes.  We find this parable recorded in the book of Luke, chapter 15, verses 11-32.  Keller renames this parable as “The Parable of the Two Lost Sons” because that’s how Jesus starts the story out, “there was a man who had two sons”.  So here we are looking at this story with the well known sinner brother who basically robs his father and could have been put to death for what he did, he goes off and spends it all on parties and prostitutes.  But the elder brother stays to work hard like he always has.  Little bro comes back and big bro is angry that his father is throwing him a party… So we’ve got two basic kinds of people listening: Those who are Licentious and those who are Moralists.  We’ve got two brothers: the licentious  one and the moralist.  Both brother need the Savior and one is repenting.  The book serves a few different purposes, one to teach what Jesus was saying, one to figure out which brother you are more like, and one to challenge you to be like Jesus.   Are you an elder brother or a younger brother?

Jordan