A New Direction.

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Chosen by Him - Wrestling with the Question of "Why Me?"

Have you ever struggled with the question of “Why me?” Why me, God? Why me? Why did you choose me? Why did you place the call that you did on my heart?

I struggle with this question often. I am constantly reminded of my nothingness and sinfulness and yet, in spite of my perceived insignificance, God chose me.

He chose me.

There are definitely other people out there who may be better suited for the call of vocational ministry than myself, but I must rest in the fact that He chose me.

I think, more than not, I get scared of messing up and misportraying God to the people He has called me to minister to. At some point, this self doubt definitely becomes idolatry because I am holding on to me rather than trusting God. Far be it from me to know the grand scheme of things over Him who holds that same scheme of things in the palm of His hand.

Last night I was praying, and, as I often do, asked God the simple question of “Why me?” I know that He has chosen me, but when Satan reminds me of the sin and guilt in my life, it becomes so easy for me to doubt God and His plan. As I finished praying, I opened my Bible to my favorite book, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This book is so encouraging and uplifting and every time I read it, God seems to reveal something different to me. As I read through the epistle, I just stopped when I came to Ephesians 3:7-13. In it, Paul says this:

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Even Paul struggled with doubting God’s calling. As he said, “Though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

I think it’s easy for me to think of Paul as just this huge “giant” of the Faith (after all, he did write the majority of the New Testament), and even he struggled with the question of “Why me?” His answer is God’s answer to me. God chose me and set me apart for this purpose. It was not by my choice, but rather by His will. As Mark Driscoll often says, Paul’s story is the greatest story of the doctrine of Election.

Just as God chose Paul, He has also chosen me. I rest in that.

The Potter and the Clay: The Heart of Idolatry.

Idol.

It’s a dirty word.

Webster defines an idol as “a representation or symbol of an object of worship; a false god.”

God created man to worship Him and Him alone. An idol is anything that is not God that we have elevated to the place that should only be reserved for Him.

Idolatry is a very messy thing. It’s a slippery slope that we all have happily sledded down.

We must recognize the idols in out lives and put them to death. This is something we cannot do on our own, and so we MUST come before God’s throne and beg His help. Our recognition of the our false gods is huge. It is the key to us eliminating our idol worship. When we realize that we have elevated creation above the Creator, we have no choice but to fall to our knees and beg forgiveness. When Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, God cursed them and their offspring (us).

“To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;
 in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
 for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

– Genesis 3:16-19

Sin caused a separation from God. In Eden, man shared harmony and unity with God. Sin was not an issue, thus idolatry was unheard of. Because of sin we are still separated from God and more often than not, give into our passions and desires and the things of this world over the God who created us and created them. Doesn’t this seem backwards? We lie to ourselves all the time, telling ourselves that we know what is best. The part that gets me is the fact that when I lie to myself and tell myself to trust an aspect of creation over God, I know what I am doing is wrong. The Holy Spirit convicts me and I still think I know better.

Who am I to know better than God?

If you are seriously thinking about that question, then a reality check is definitely in order.

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

- Isaiah 64:8

Does clay question why the potter crafted it into a bowl? Does it wish it were a mug? Why, then, do we constantly think we know better than God and question Him? A bowl doesn’t worship a mug so why do we?

God is holy and righteous. He is the only God. We were crafted by Him and for His purposes. Idolatry is silly, yet very serious. We must never make light of it.

The clay knows its’ relationship to the potter.

We need to know our relationship to our Creator.

The Perfect Gift

It’s Christmas day and for the past day, people all across the world have gathered around trees adorned with ornaments and gifts covering their trunks. It is this time of year, every year, when people universally pause to do something unique—they pause their lives and open gifts.

So, what exactly is a gift? This seems like a simple question, but it is one that has been on my mind a great deal as of late.

A gift, I’ve concluded, is something that does not have to be given. A gift is given out of love. Rather than a need, which can be met out of love and/or compulsion, a gift can only be the product of love.

A gift is also something that causes the giver to sacrifice something. This can be money, time, resources, or creativity, but a gift must cost something.

So these are the two qualifications for a gift:

1) It must be given out of love.

2) It must cause some form of sacrifice for the giver.

With these two qualifications, is it possible to say there is one gift that stands above the rest? Is it possible for there to be a perfect gift, one given out of perfect love and bought with a perfect sacrifice?

It may be cliché to say, but Jesus is THE perfect gift. God did not have to save humanity and reconcile us to Himself, but He chose to do so because of His great love for us.

Romans 3:23-24 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a GIFT, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Paul continues this theme of God’s grace being a gift in chapter six. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

It’s not a stretch to say that Jesus is the perfect gift—THE BIBLE SAYS SO!

Jesus is the gift that we should never deserve, yet God gave Him to us regardless.

God loved the world, as John 3:16 tells us, that He SACRIFICED His son so that we could be reconciled to Him.

Crazy.

Beautiful.

Love.

Sacrifice.

Jesus is the perfect gift and God the Father is the perfect gift giver.

Merry Christmas.

My Personal Creed on the Doctrine of Christ.

I believe:

Jesus Christ is fully and completely divine (John 10:30). He is also fully and completely human (Gal 4:4). His divinity and humanity are distinct natures (John 1:1) that are fully united in His person (Gal 4:4-5).

Jesus Christ is fully and completely divine:

He is eternally divine (John 1:1, 8:58), lacking no divine attribute and possessing every such attribute fully. Jesus spoke about God’s law authoritatively because He is God and it is about Him (Matt 5:18, 7:28-29). Jesus is God and therefore deserves to receive worship (John 9:38; Matt 28:17). Jesus is the Son of God (Matt 3:17), a person of the triune Godhead who was present during creation and had an active role in it (John 1:1). Jesus himself was not created (John 1:1) and is therefore equal in essence to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. His deity affirms that people can have real knowledge of God (John 1:18, 14:9). He needed to be divine because salvation is from God alone (Jonah 2:9).

Jesus Christ is fully and completely human:

He is God Incarnate (John 1:14). He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and born from Mary who was a virgin (Luke 2:7). Just as any other person, He lived (Luke 2:52), breathed (Luke 23:46), grew (Luke 2:40), thirsted (John 19:28), hungered (Matt 4:2), walked (Luke 5:27), talked (Luke 8:9-15), learned (Luke 2:52), grew tired (John 4:6), and slept (Luke 8:23). Jesus was tempted (Luke 4:1-2; Heb 4:15), but He never sinned (1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5). Because of His humanity, he was fully capable of sinning (Eph 2:1), but because of His divinity He was fully able to resist sin (Heb 4:15). He was persecuted and died a criminal’s death (John 19). When He died, God poured our His wrath on His Son (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus, who did not sin, took on the sin and punishment of all people for all time, past, present, and future. He had a human body, which was broken for the sins of His human brethren (Luke 22:19-21). When He rose from the dead, His body was perfected, assuring the elect that their bodies will also be perfected (John 20:1-23). He ascended to heaven in His human body where He remains in human form today and forevermore (Acts 1:1-6). Christ’s humanity reaffirms God’s creation of man being good (Gen 1:31; 1 Tim 6:17).

Jesus is the true and perfect prophet (Deut 18:14-22; Matt 21:11), speaking God’s truth because He is God’s truth. Because of this, His followers are to represent Him in prophetically in the world (2 Cor 5:20). Jesus is the true and perfect high priest (Heb 4:15). As the high priest, He atoned for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). Not only did He offer the perfect sacrifice for sin, but He himself was that perfect sacrifice (2 Cor 5:21). As high priest, He also intercedes on the behalf of believers, praying for His people based on the work He accomplished through the atonement (Heb 7:25). Jesus is the true and perfect king (Phil 2:10), ruling over His creation. He will judge all people from all time (1 Cor 15:24).

In Christ’s work consists of phases of humiliation and exaltation. Since the beginning of time, He was in heaven in His pre-incarnate glory (John 1:1). Next came the incarnation (John 1:14) and His earthly life (John 13:1-17). He was then crucified (Acts 3:15), resurrected (Rom 6:5), and then ascended (1 Tim 3:16) to be at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33) where He will be until His second coming (Rom 8:34). When He comes again, He will slay evil and Satan forever and reign as the true king (Rev 18-20). He will be glorified forever (Rev 5:9-10, 12).

Asking the hard questions.

Accountability is so important. As Christians, we know that we will be tempted by Satan to do what is wrong and not honoring to God. Sin caused our separation from God. Even though Paul tells us in Romans 8:1 “there is…no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” we will still be tempted and still face trials. Sin can completely destroy an individual’s reputation and example as a Christ follower. It is to this end that we must hold one another accountable in all we do.

In 1738, theologian John Wesley drafted four questions to be asked of every small group meeting he had. These questions were:

1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting?
2. What temptations have you met?
3. How were you delivered?
4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which, you doubt whether it be sin or not?

I LOVE THESE QUESTIONS!

I need to be asked these questions.

I need to ask these questions of others.

Accountability is important for all believers. We need to hold one another honest and accountable. The problems that surface in the Church come about as a result of a lack of accountability. We internalize our struggles, our trials, and our temptations. We hide them inside only creating more room for them to grow. I know this to be true in my own life. It is easy for me to not share my struggles and try to rid them all on my own. We have to understand that this doesn’t work. We need to have others that will keep us accountable for the actions and choices we make. A weed needs to be cut at the first sign of life. It’s not enough just to trim it down, but rather we MUST dig up the root. The tough thing is that we often want to keep the root. While we know sin is wrong, we are content with cutting parts of it so long as we are able to keep some of it. Accountability is huge. We need other believers to ask us the hard questions. Without them, are weeds will continue to grow.

My Personal Creed on the Doctrine of Humanity.

I believe:

God is the creator of everything (Gen 1:1-31). He is unique from His creation (John 8:23), yet actively involved in creation (Ps 139:7-10). He created man (Gen 1:27) and gave man dominion over the rest of His creation (Gen 1:28-30). God had no need to create man, for He is self sustaining (Job 41:11; John 5:26), but He created man because He desires a relationship with people (Jer 9:23-24; John 17:3) and wants them to bring Him glory. Man exists to glorify God (Isa 43:7; Eph 1:11-12). God does not need glory (Acts 17:24-25), but people are to glorify God in all they do (1 Cor 10:31).

Man was created in the image of God (Gen 1:26). This does not mean that men are demigods, but that they are like God and represent Him. Man is not God and is therefore not identical to Him. Man, however, is a reflection of God (Gen 5:1) and is the pinnacle of His creation. Man is most like God in God’s moral, mental, relational, and spiritual aspects. Man’s created nature means that he is dependent on God (Rom 9:21), was created with a purpose (Eph 2:10), and that he is accountable to God (Matt 25:13-40). While man is in fact created, he is also uniquely a person (Gal 6:7-8), not a thing, having the ability to be relational and to think.

A person is defined by his essence (Gen 9:6), not his function. This is why all people are equal in God’s sight (Gal 3:28). Everyone, men and women, are created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). While everyone is equal in God’s eyes, people do have different distinct roles and functions (Eph 5:25-33). Man’s being is dualistic (Eccl 12:7, Matt 10:28) and is comprised of two parts: the body (Gen 2:7) and the spirit (Isa 42:1). While these distinct parts exist, man is unified in his person (Mark 12:30).

When God first created man, God declared His creation very good (Gen 1:31). When sin entered the world with Adam and Eve’s rejection of God (Gen 3:1-24), mankind became separated from God (Gen 3:23-24; Rom 6:23). Sin is anything moral beings (people and angels) feel or do that is contrary to the holiness of God (James 4:4). Sin is a failure to be satisfied with God and an attack on Him personally (Ps 51:4). God himself did not sin (2 Cor 5:21) and He is not to be blamed for sin (Deut 32:4). However, God did ordain the presence of sin in the world (Gen 3:1-19; Job 1:6-12), even though He takes no pleasure or delight in it. God himself did not create this sin, but rather He ordained that it would come from the voluntary choices of human beings and of angels (Gen 3; Isa 14:12-15). All men are sinful (Eph 2:1). Sin created a separation between God who is holy and people who are not. Man is totally depraved. Man inherits both guilt (Rom 5:12-21) and moral corruption (Ps 51:1-4) from Adam’s original sin (Gen 3:15). Due to this depravity, man is unable on his own to believe in Christ (John 6:65). He is unable to see the kingdom of God (Heb 12:14). He is unable to glorify and please God because he is unable to submit to God’s law (Rom 8:6-8). He is unable to understand God’s truth (Rom 1:25). Sin is not outside or independent of a person. Rather, sin begins in the heart and exists in the person’s very nature (Ex 20:17). The penalty of all sin is death (Rom 3:23). While the committing of one sin is enough for a person to be deemed a sinner worthy of death (Rom 2:11-12; James 2:10), there are differing degrees of sin (Ezek 8:6,13; Luke 12:47-48). God punishes sin because He is righteous (Rom 3:26). Jesus’ death is the means by which we can be saved and made right before God (1 John 1:9).

A Word from Augustine.

"We stand in awe of the ocean, the thunderstorm, the sunset, the mountains, but we pass by a human being without notice even though the person is God's most magnificent creation." - Augustine

Isn't this so true? We stand in awe of everything that God has created (and rightly so), but when it comes to people we are less than enthused. What is it about people that causes us to lose interest? Genesis 1:26-27 says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." So people are made in the image of God and we don't even think to marvel at how wonderfully God created us? Something just doesn't add up. We look at the ocean and the sunset and the Grand Canyon, and the Great Barrier Reef with a sense of awe and wonder and yet people, who were given dominion over the ENTIRE earth, are just whatever. Has it always been this way? Will it always be this way? What keeps us from truly appreciating God's creation? God made each one of us in His image. If this doesn't radically alter the way we view one another, I don't know what will. Perhaps we use the phrase too loosely or maybe we've become desensitized to it.

STOP.

LISTEN.

THINK.

You are made in the image of God. I am made in the image of God. We are the pinnacle of God's creation. Let us represent God for who He is. Let us truly love one another. I fully believe that if we truly love God we will ardently love our brothers and sisters. James 3:8 says, "...but no human can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord the Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." It is impossible to love God and not others.

Everyone has been made in the image of God. We were beautifully and wonderfully made. Let's worship God for who He is and for making us the way we are.

Eternity.

Eternity is such a hard concept for me to grasp. Honestly, the idea of eternity kind of freaks me out. I know that it is going to be amazing because it is what God has ordained, but in my finitude, I only know things to have beginnings and endings. Nothing on Earth, nothing that is finite, lasts forever. This is all I know and God’s promise of eternity promises to shatter all my notions of what life is actually like. In my finitude, David’s rhetoric in Psalm 145 is somewhat of a foreign concept for me to attain. It is when I think about this that I remember that when David wrote this Psalm, he himself was a man just like me. He probably wrestled with this topic as I do, but He realized that the only prudent thing for someone who loves God is to praise and bless Him without ceasing. God created everything. Our logical response to God and His love is adoration and praise.

My Personal Creed on the Doctrine of God.

I believe:

There is one God (Deut 4:35,39; Isa 45:5; James 2:19) manifest in three persons (Gen 1:26; Isa 6:8; Matt 3:16-17, 28:19): the Father (Luke 15:11-32; Rom 8:15; James 1:17), the Son (Isa 9:6; John 5:18; Rom 8:17), and the Spirit (Matt 3:16-17; John 15:26; Rom 8:16; Eph 4:4-6). All three persons are equally divine (John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4) yet have distinct roles (Matt 3:8-12; John 3:15-17, 6:38-40; Acts 2:1-36).

God has always existed (Gen 1:1; Ex 3:13-16; John 8:56-58; Heb 11:6). He did not create Himself nor was He created by anything else. He is sovereign over everything (Ex 4:21; Deut 10:22; Ps 47:1-4; Matt 6:30; Acts 17:26; James 4:13-15). He is the creator of all things (Gen 1:1-2:25; Psalm 104:24; Jer 27:5; Neh 9:6; Acts 14:15) and therefore is unique from everything He created. God created everything so that He would receive glory, honor, and praise (Isa 43:7; Neh 9:6; Rev 4:1-11).

God is love (Ps 98:3; 2 Chr 6:14; Hos 11:1; John 3:16-17; Rom 8:39; 1 John 3:1). Everything He does comes out of His love for His creation (Gen 1:31, 2:18, 6:1-9:19; Ps 139:17-20; John 1:1-18).

God does not exist within the confines of His creation. He is completely independent in His sufficiency (Deut 10:14; Ps 50:12-13, 121:4; 1 Cor 10:24) yet still relates to people in a personal way (Judg 2:18; 2 Sam 24:16; Ps 34:15; Luke 7:11-16). He is continually and constantly present in all of creation (Ps 139:7-12; Jer 23:23-24; Matt 18:20). He is all knowing (Num 24:16; Ps 147:4-5; 2 Pet 3:18). Has an interpersonal knowledge of His creation (Ps 139:1; Luke 12:7). God is completely powerful (Gen 1:1-2:25, 11:6-8; Matt 19:26; Acts 1:6-7). He is unchangeable (Ps 102:25-27; Mal 3:6).

God continually reveals himself through His creation (Ps 19:1-2; Rom 1:19-20; Col 1:15). God created all people with an inner knowledge of Himself. Many people deny this inner sense of God and in doing so suppress the truth (Rom 1:18, 3:3-4). God is truth (Isa 65:16; Eph 4:20-21).

Through God’s word and His creation we may and do understand limited aspects of who He is (Phil 3:10; 1 John 4:7-8), but we will never fully understand Him (Job 26:14; Ps 145:3, 147:5; Isa 55:8-9; Rom 11:33-34). Furthermore, we will never be able to fully comprehend any single attribute of Him. Every attribute of God is always completely true of Him (Mal 3:6). His being and His attributes are inseparable (Ex 34:5-7).

God is jealous for His honor and glory (Ex 20:5, 34:14; Ezekiel 20:44; Zech 14:9; Hebrews 1:1-14). He is glorified by the expression of His character in His people (Num 25:10-15).

God did not create anything that is evil (Gen 6:5). By His holy nature (Isa 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16) He must stand opposed to all that is evil (Gen 6:6; Ex 34:5-7; Job 34:10).

Our Inability to Comprehend God.

Have you ever thought about the uncertainties in life? I mean really. Have you REALLY pondered why there are so many things that are just beyond our grasp? It seems like every time we find an answer to something we are instantly faced with a million more questions.

How does this relate to our understanding of God?

What do we really know about Him?

I fully believe that we will never know all of who God is. I don't even think we'll ever be able to even fully understand any single aspect or attribute of God. For many such knowledge of our inability to know God can be quite disheartening. Think about it. We are called to seek after and learn about a God who we will never fully (or even mostly) understand. That's a lot to swallow. We learn with the expectation of mastering the subject of our learning. To most this would make the study of God a futile journey.

For some reason, I actually am motivated by the fact that I'll never be able to fully understand God. My inability to nail Him down drives me to study Him more. The more I learn about God the less I realize I know about Him. He constantly amazes me. His greatness is astounding. I can't help but worship Him when my eyes see a God who is far bigger than anything I could ever dream of. I am so small and He is so great.

I think we've forgotten God's holiness. By this I don't believe that we have completely discounted His holiness, but we emphasize His personal aspects so much that we bring Him down to our level, thus de-emphasizing His holiness. The more we learn of Him the greater He becomes in our eyes. We can never become discouraged in our study of God. Our inability to know Him should cause us to fall to our knees in worship.

Let's see God for who He is.

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable." - Psalm 145:3