Tourist Trap

 A town of vaporous joy

(on the shoulders of God's canvas)

where every wonder is a ploy-

overpriced and underhanded.

Travelers scurry, anxiously searching

for a relaxing escape.

Parents' hope precariously perching

on the valleyed, kitschy landscape.

Families carry memories

they try to recreate.

Acting out documentaries

of joy, but it won't replicate.

A man that I do not know

tells me he loves this community.

I count him as part of the show,

taking his insincere opportunity.

Vapid connections, conversations-

cacophonous counterfeit depth.

A masquerade of expectations;

I am dancing with the rest.

Surface roots are all some know,

skimming dirt, missing richness.

When deeper truths hum low,

shallow roots miss this.

But souls have grabbed these joy clouds-

elation, excitement, electric smiles.

The "community" is just a crowd

but the man intends no guiles.

In a temporary town,

there's permanence behind Main Street:

Where tents and facades abound,

foundations and structure lay beneath.

Emulsifying

I am of two

blending into one -

emulsifying

into something

disgusting.

I am brightness

electric energy,

yet difficult

and abrupt

as a result.

I am darkness -

a closed door.

But easier

to see and hear

when even here.

Poisonous perception

dissolves both of me,

producing grey.

Darker days

lead my way.

Painted Tree

A tree
picked up her leaves
and painted them green.
I thought of you at the funeral.

The wind blew
and she held on tight,
but I could see
Winter claimed her.

The paint was

unconvincing.

Your smile in all black.

Her grip was

failing.

We all saw
Winter claimed you.

Advent 2017

Electric red behind me

carried on evergreen aroma

through a nostalgic, melodic sea

in this Christmas corona.

Layered humbly 'neath these songs,

my dear love reads stories to my joy.

My soul settles in, for here it longs

to linger for awhile and enjoy.

What a grace from our Father

in granting me such a family;

Undeserved gift from Master Potter

who pledged love infallibly.

Yet these lights are a shadow

of his fulfillment - the Holy Son.

This peace is a reflection shallow

of what Christ already won.

In this moment I perceive

my need to be rescued from my sin

and the salvific grace I received

from the one and rightful King.

In the giggle of my babe,

I hear the score "the Lord will provide,"

first and foremost in the Son displayed,

hinted at this Advent night.

Advent 2016: Broken; Healing

The world is broken:
I felt it in the hearts of a nation

     who put their hopes in leaders.

Yet we heed people like us:
wicked, prideful, and vain.

Fools - we reject the righteous

for conniving campaigns.

The world is broken:

I heard it in the cries of a family

     lamenting a loss.

They dress in the weight of

emptiness: a massive thing.

Absence ne'er becomes native - 

The world isn't answering.

The world is broken:

I saw it in the eyes of a mother

    who never met her child.

But Spring oft follows death;

The womb can be filled again.

Movement of God's own breath:

Hope of young eyes opened.

The world is healing:

I know it in the hay of a manger,

    cooing at the beasts surrounding.

Born sinless (unlike me),

the Christ-Child come to Earth

to spread good news as ivy:

Through him, there is second birth.

The world is healing:

I know it on the tongues of the Church

     praising their God and King.

We may lose child or friend

and mourn with great comfort,

knowing the King with no end

who, for our sake, suffered.

Confident They Were Created

Rolling hills -

rolling me home.

The soft curves of land

comforting in their beauty and ease.

I slip through

to my hometown,

eager to settle back down.

Confident they were created

for me.

Or I for them.

The joy of the Creator

rooted in each graceful

peak and valley.

Suffering for Joy: Easter 2016

Friday's glory realized:
Sunday, the King claims his prize!
The lashes opened doors;
We see what suff'ring's for.

Drew yourself close to vile man,
suffered at his sinning hands,
laid your life down for a short time
but with the strength to rise again.

Guilty mocked your triumphant death
and cheered your releasing breath.
Yet for your joy you endured
that we may praise our sin's Cure.

What glory in your resolve!
The chains of death dissolved
by Savior, Christ. Blood shed for sin -
He'll have the joy set before him!

Christ, you found and perfect me,
part of a world returning.
In your strength and witness,
remove my sin and weakness.

My Suffering, Your Suffering: Good Friday 2016

Where have you gone, my Lord?
Don't you hear me in dischord
hoping to hear your voice?
Some peace and I'll rejoice.

No. My heart sinks like stone
and I'm sick to my bones.
Do I suffer in vain?
Can you hear my soul strain?

You show me your stained brow,
crested with my mocking crown.
You let me dig the thorns in tight;
I cheered with scoffers at the sight.

Why lay down your life on that tree?
Why endure such hostility?
I'm vile: dirt before holy eyes!
There must be a reason for your demise...

Contrast: Advent 2015

Born to a sinful man who tried to teach me faith,
instead I inherited his constant need for grace.
Like countless others born on that day.
Like countless others born the same way.
My life was serving the god of my gut:
Ignored the Love self-worship cut.
Vain-hoping to avoid the reaper,
but I'm a weak man - my gut, weaker.
The god of my gut cannot turn the Earth,
it won't stop my death, never caused my birth.
Shortly, my flesh lays in the ground.
In myself, no hope will be found.

But there is a Son different than I,
begotten of the Holy Father on high.
Unlike any other man come to Earth.
Unlike any event was the virgin birth.
This Son served the only Master that matters:
One with God, a woven-bond never tattered.
Lowered in a manger, at mouths of stock -
helpless babe, yet the world's Founding Rock.
He still held them in place, put breath in us,
while he lowered himself to crawl in the dust.

Humbly, his flesh laid in the ground.

But in the tomb he can't be found.

Won't we see our need for this Savior?
Forget our foolish hopes in labor?
For I cannot turn from my gut on my own
but must trust in Christ by faith alone,
that his death and raising paid my debts.
In his promise to claim me, I find rest.

Not the season of giving, but one gift:
The birth of Christ, who lowered to lift
his people to God despite our sins,
a strength I'd never find within

Desert Heart

I would bring praise to the
god of my gut
but You interrupt with the
Goodness of your Grace.
Milk and honey
to the bitter dry soul of a rebel.

The wicked desert -
broken, burned, bare.
I do not know what to do with
Rain Released
from Heaven.
Surely, it didn't come from my lands.

At the gathered water
look for new life
springing forth in the desert heart.
Aching for answers.
Saved by mystery
but I need not know why to be satisfied.

Long Expected: Advent 2014

I have been waiting like a nation waits for a king.
I have been waiting like a mother for what labor brings.
I have been gripping at my chest with homesickness absurd
but I still live in my hometown! What, this sickness, could've spurred?

Akin to Israel, who, rejecting God, still waited -
expecting Him to defeat some government they hated.
They, not knowing what they needed, filled their hearts with idols,
even in waiting for kings with military titles.

I am of the same heart - hard to a defeating Savior -
because I wanted to save myself with romance or labor.
I was conquered by another force. Oh, the emptiness!
Yet, the crushing weight of ignoring the Lord's holiness.

Then came thou long expected Jesus, first as a baby -
You taught your sheep to follow you, wherever you may be.
A sweeter advent yet when you arrived to forgive me
and I will not forget the kindness of your grace and mercy!

Now we wait for your return as bare branches wait for Spring,
for they'll be full of life again as when we see our King.
In your past advents we rest; For your next advent we hold,
where we will bow at your feet and your glory we'll behold.

Shadows: Advent 2014

The Sun rises, the Sun sets,

and Night's fingers grip Earth.

In the Moon, we won't forget:

the Sun is set for rebirth.

As the Earth is frozen down

to the depths, trees pass away -

Yet our brother Spring comes 'round

like the start of a new day.

Even as a child is born

to show life can be made,

that we may not be forlorn

having seen such might displayed.

All to prepare us for Light

that casts these simple shadows

of gripping Death born to Life -

soon they will seem so shallow.

I take great joy in Winter,

who taught to rightly love Spring,

and these shadows that whisper

of the rebirth Christ will bring. 

Being a Christian Always Looks Similar

Lately, a Relevant Magazine article has been making its rounds through my social media circles. The article, titled Being a Christian Doesn't Always Look Like You Think It Should, lays out an argument for why we need to allow room for grace in each other's lives. It may look different when Bob is saved than when Alice is saved. A relevant (pun intended) example in the article is Shia Labeouf's recent proclamation of faith. The statement in which he said he was saved, he let two expletives fly. It's a good article and I encourage you to read it. But I encourage you not to take from it what many have.

Many people have read this article and thought "this is a great reason why I should never comment on someone's sin or ever let anyone comment on mine! Who are they to say if I'm sinning?" Or, as one commenter put it: 

There is nothing worse to me than human beings deciding what a sin is and who's doing it. As you said, that's God's territory! We should never be in the place to judge someone else or to tell them they're sinning.

 To gather this understanding is to gather the wrong one. Dr. Preston Sprinkle did not say that sinning is fine and only between you and God. He said how someone is sanctified (changed to look more like Christ, perfected) will look different for everyone.

In the interest of fairness to Dr. Sprinkle, I contacted him. I summed up these responses and asked "do you mean to say no Christian should comment or correct on another Christian's sin, no matter the circumstance?" His response was encouraging (highlighting is my own):

I absolutely do not think that a believer should never correct another believer. To NOT correct would be unloving. 

For what it's worth, the article summed up a chapter I wrote in my book, Charis: God's Scandalous Grace for Us. In that book I talk about the relationship between grace and obedience. I believe a true believer will obey. Otherwise, he's not a true believer. 

The article was simply trying to show that what this looks like will look different for different people... 

 Dr. Sprinkle rightly lays out some of the ways a Christian will always look the same. Christians, if they are loving, will correct their brother and sister when they are in sin. Christians will obey while resting in grace.

We see both of these concepts in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Paul specifies that we are to judge the church and, in fact, purge evil from among us. Jesus, the guy many people pin as the poster boy of not judging, gave us clear instructions in Matthew 18:15-20 to confront our brother in sin, first in private, then more publicly to help him understand what he's doing is serious.

Why do we do this? Because Christians are to obey God our Father. This concept is nuanced, and is well beyond the scope of a blog or an amateur as myself. I encourage you to find a sound Biblical teacher to show you more about this. We can see it briefly in 1 John 3:4-10. This is very difficult language to hear, is it not? I quite often still sin. Am I to understand I am not a Christian? I think the obvious answer is no, both from other scriptures discussing confession of sin (how am I supposed to confess something that I never do?) and observation. Again, I encourage you to discuss this with a pastor or leader who is strong in the faith.

It is clear, from Dr. Sprinkle's response and the Bible itself, that we are not supposed to allow our brothers and sisters to continue in sin. We should follow Jesus' model and confront them privately about it first, in hopes of gaining our brother. But we must understand that Christ's perfecting and sanctifying of his Church will look different person to person. Help them and do not think it strange if they have more trouble with a particular sin than you.

In Light of the Trees

I don't own much gold but I've seen a field, a forest of it.

It isn't mine but it's as if it's been given to me

so I might feel rich enough that I will not covet.

But you know that I do, in light of the trees.

The dresses of the fields, as they prepare to wed,

the birds of the air, as they look for food and feast,

confused by man, as he sleeps and complains of his bed.

For we are covetous, not thankful in the least.

But we mustn't forget who gave us all our wealth

or Jealousy and Desire will lead us to our death,

for they are wicked mistresses. But they don't need stealth;

One grabs my hand, one my filthy heart, saying "we know best."

No. I will find wealth in riches that were never mine.

I'll find shame in my money, disgrace in my stock.

When I sleep and I am examined, may the Lord find

in my vault, my heart: the Savior, the Lamb, Eternal Rock.

The Importance of Doctrine

I am being discipled/mentored by a great man from my church. I could write a whole post about men who have inspired me, but that's not what I plan to do now. My point in bringing him up is that he suggested we start memorizing 1 Timothy. At 24, I still consider myself a young person in the church and akin to Timothy in that way. We are four verses in and I already have marveled at what God's word has for us, then and today.

It is easy to get distracted from what we must focus on. The good doctrines that Christ himself and the early disciples have taught. Even in the wake of Christ Jesus' death and resurrection, people wanted to distract from his doctrines. As Paul instructs Timothy:

 "... charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith."  

(1 Timothy 1:3b-4 ESV)

We see that so early in the Church's history and today, people were teaching different doctrines, myths, and other distractions. We see the danger of doing such things. We see the reason we should trust the original doctrine.

Is it not interesting how it seems that human nature never changes? The same issues Timothy had to deal with at Ephesus are the same issues we may deal with today. Many have tried to distract themselves and others with theories and conspiracies as to the way the world or God works. We try to divert ourselves with teachings contrary to, or outside of the Bible, theories of angels, demons, and heavenly creatures, and conspiracies of where Jesus' bloodline really came from. This is the same today as it was in Timothy's day.

Paul tells his true son in the faith that these practices will only lead to speculation. There is no firm evidence in them and they cannot be trusted! I think it is obvious what can happen when our faith is in something that is not solid. Anyone who has been saved by Christ's sacrifice has already experienced this. Our faith went from something weak and failing (ourselves, others, money, idols, etc) to something strong and unwavering (Christ Jesus, our hope). Why would we wonder from this rock to other unfounded claims? It truly is foolishness.

This is the reason we should trust the original doctrines: they have been given to us by God as a solid place to stand. He has given us this stewardship of the good doctrines to rely on and profess. We ought not be distracted by preachers telling us that we must exhibit X gift to be saved, distract ourselves with theories outside of Biblical text, or focus on bloodlines to find some new hidden truth. We have been given the Gospel: We are wicked sinners who need a savior, namely Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again to pay our debts to a perfect God. This is the important doctrine, the good doctrine, that we must not be distracted from.

How sweet and important this truth is. Paul's warning to Timothy still stands to us today. Charge the church to not get distracted from the Gospel.

Reflections on a Year of Marriage

This past Sunday, my wife and I celebrated a year of marriage together.  I've made jokes (in poor taste) about how I might keep her around for another year. But honestly, the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce scares me. I know I am not the best husband and that many things I do frustrate my wife. I lack patience and I am easily frustrated by things she does with no intention to frustrate me. Really, I am afraid of myself because I know I am capable of ruining any relationship I am part of. That's my sin nature. A recent conversation with my co-workers left me to consider this in a different light, however.

We were discussing my anniversary trip with my wife and my fear of heights. We did some hiking at Devil's Lake as part of our trip. This hiking took us up on bluffs that overlook the lake, providing beautiful views and a great opportunity to wonder at God's creation. I am terribly scared of heights, though: A ladder freaks me out. So getting too close to the edge of these bluffs scared me quite a bit. I was telling my co-workers how she tried to get too close, for my comfort, to the edge of a particular rock and I asked her not to. My wife, being the considerate woman she is, obliged.

It was this story that confused one of my co-workers. Why did she have to do what I asked of her, if going to the edge of the rock made her happy? Why should my comfort be above her desire to reach the edge of the rock and look out onto the gorgeous lake? And he makes a good point. I should not demand my wife follow my wishes for comfort when it gets in the way of her happiness, as long as she is safe and righteous in doing so. So was she wrong to listen to my concern?

My job as a husband is to hear my wife's wishes and concerns and act accordingly. My wife showed this perfectly when she backed away from the edge; She sacrificed her happiness for my comfort. This should always be our focus.

The Bible is full of calls for us to die to ourselves as Christ died on the cross (Galatians 2:20, Luke 9:23, etc.). How this looks in my marriage is putting my wife's needs ahead of my own. If I am to love my wife like Christ loves the church, I am to give myself and my needs up for her (Ephesians 5:25). For example, if I want to confront someone in public about their behavior but my wife asks me not to, I should give up my desire to make someone uncomfortable and myself happy for the sake of her desire.

This is something I knew, but not something I realized God was forming in me. When I think about it, I give up my desire for my wife's needs a lot more than I would want to. In fact, after explaining this a little to my co-workers, they were still confused or thought it rare. I really have no one to credit this to other than Christ and his work in me. If it were up to my desires, my wife would be here to serve me, not the other way around. I praise God he has already changed that as much as he has and I pray this sanctification continues to happen.

That Autumn Evening, That Summer Afternoon

Bring me to that autumn evening,

surrounded by people I didn't know,

masking my nervous feelings

with extroversion following in tow.

The chance to meet that pretty girl.

I'm not sure I said I had a "type"

but how her lips revealed those pearls,

skinny jeans, dark haired swoop. This felt right.

Don't bring me to those winter months

when her heart beat somewhere else

while mine left my chest to follow it. To hunt

in vain, its veins dragging behind itself.

Show me only when she corrected herself:

I mean my ex-boyfriend.

Like for a moment Spring forgot himself

and didn't wait for Winter to end.

Bring me to that spring evening.

I can't believe how gorgeous she is.

Masking my nervous feelings

with wit and prayers to grant this wish.

I still remember how at home I felt

on that uncomfortable sofa

in a strange living room. But I held

her with "forever" - a lasting aroma.

Bring me to that summer afternoon

and I've never been more nervous before.

Colored panes bounce off white dress. The room

disappears; Her tide of beauty takes the shore.

But bring me back here, a year from that summer

and let me live, lips lock and hearts take room

in each others' chest. One flesh - one Drummer

for both beats. Leave me here to be her groom.

---

This is a poem I wrote for my wife for our one-year wedding anniversary.  Please enjoy.

We Deserve It

I was listening to an internet radio station recently when an ad came on for a flower delivery service. The narrator's claim was that men should buy flowers for the special ladies in their life because the ladies deserve it. Isn't that an interesting thought, to buy flowers for your wife/girlfriend because she has done something to deserve them? What am I to do when my wife does not deserve flowers? This ad lingered in my head for a while, as I considered that my wife, Joelle, does not deserve my love, nor I hers. I'm a hopeless romantic, huh?

This is a truth we should find joy and hope in: None of us are deserving of love. If we take the Bible seriously, and as fact, it is obvious throughout the whole book. The reader may be familiar with the biographies of Adam and Eve, the first two humans who were created by God and he loved them. Why? They had done nothing to lend to their creation and clearly had no time to do anything of worth before God set his love upon them. He loved them out of his own choice, not because their actions demanded it. Later in their lives, they committed the first sin, or disobedience of God, letting sin and death enter the world. As Romans 5:12 says "...sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..."

Now because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, we are all disobedient and destined for death. All of mankind are born sinful and all "the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth." (Genesis 8:21b) We came to a place as a species where every act, thought, and will is wicked; we "glory in (our) shame" and our "god is (our) belly," (Philippians 3:19) finding it good to be evil and worshiping our selfish desires.

This is not only clear in scripture, but it is clear in the world. Death is an obvious component, with over two million deaths in 2010 in the U.S. alone, according to the CDC. Even the presence of wickedness is obvious to the naked eye. I do not feel the need to point out specifics, as the reader may turn on the news and see for themselves. There is obviously something wrong with the world, and it is obviously mankind.

Why would I find joy and hope in this truth of the wickedness of mankind? I think it is most clear by showing the opposite situation, when I do not believe this truth in my relationship with Joelle (or any friend, really). When I think I deserve the love of my wife, I am less satisfied in her love. When I think I have earned her affection or my actions demand she make me dinner, wash my clothes, and spend our time as I wish, I am not happy when she does these things. Rather, I am upset and angry when she does not clean the apartment, tend to my every need, or wake up when I do. As well, when I think she should deserve my love, I find no joy in showing it to her. If I think she could ever deserve me making her lunch in the morning, hanging up curtains, or buying her favorite soda, I will not ever do it out of love, but out of "necessity" and with grumbling.

However, when I hold our flesh's wickedness to be true, I find joy in her love for me because I know I did not deserve it. When I come home or wake up to a clean apartment, I know that nothing I did dictated Joelle should do that for me. She did it out of love. Furthermore, when I remember Joelle could never earn my love, I find joy in showing it to her. I make her lunch in the morning knowing that she didn't deserve it and I am showing her not an action that necessity was laid upon me to do, but one I wanted to.

I hope it is clear I am not writing of my relationship with my wife, but our relationship with God. We know we have done nothing to deserve his love and have only shown wickedness and contempt toward him. Yet he sent his son, Jesus, not because we deserved it, but because he wanted to. I am not speaking solely to non-Christians here, so Christians don't tune out - we all must continually understand what Jesus Christ has done for us. He lived the perfect life we could never live, died the death we could not, raised to life again, and ascended to pay for the sins we commit daily.

This means his payment is completely and exclusively out of his grace and mercy for us. Again, we have done nothing to necessitate these actions and have done nothing of love to him that would demand his love for us. So when we first realize the position our sin has put us in with God, we must turn to Christ and ask for this grace and mercy that comes only through faith because we cannot work our way to it. And after we have accepted his free grace and are saved as Christians, we must continue to realize we have not earned his love and cannot. There is no arrogance to be had and no striving to be done, the work is completed and being completed in us.

So I find joy in this truth of our wickedness because it means God loves me out of his own will, and out of true love. I never have to work for his favor or affection - I cannot - but simply have faith in Christ's death and resurrection. I will close with a quote from rap artist Propaganda, explaining that our value is not determined by anything we do, but by how much one loves us:

But worth, value, and beauty is not determined by some innate qualityBut by the length for which the owner would go to possess themAnd broken and ugly things just like us are stamped "Excellent"

"But Christians Still Sin..."

I have known a lot of Christians in my short 23 years. You know what's interesting? Each of them sin daily, including myself. Day-in and day-out I sin constantly, continuously, disobeying God's law in exchange for some selfish acts... but I talk as if I no longer desire to sin. Phrases like "free from sin" or "a slave to righteousness" can be heard from my lips, with actions to argue fervently against my words. I know I'm not the only one. Someone recently said to me they became a Christian but they always fall back and go into their old sinful ways, leading to a lot of frustration in their lives. If you ask any honest Christian, they will say the same. So why is this? Why do Christians sin so much?


First, it is important to address why Christians say they should not sin any longer. A Bible study I'm in studied Romans 6 right after the conversation I mentioned earlier (I pause here to give a hat-tip to those I study with for the wisdom they shared in the Spirit that I will be using in this post). This chapter is filled with language of freeing believers in Christ from sin, and instead having them cling to righteousness. Paul, the writer of Romans, ends chapter 5 saying that where sin was abundant, God's grace was extended even more, so that it will be in control through Jesus. He continues like so:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(Romans 6:1-11, ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Paul's argument in this passage is that the increasing extension of grace in the presence of sin is not a reason to continue sinning. The evidence of this is Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus' perfect life, death, and powerful raising are the ideal visual of how our life in sin has ended and our life in God's righteousness has begun for the Christian. Our sinful nature (old self) was killed with Jesus so it would be destroyed and we are no longer slaves to it. So if we died with him, we surely have been raised and will live with him. His resurrection shows his conquering of death and, therefore our sinful nature, so that we are free to live to God. "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14, ESV)

Here is the instruction for the Christian, who is dead to sin and alive in Christ, free from sin's power and free to live for God. We have no more reason to sin, we no longer are required to by our master unrighteousness. We are no longer subject to the law, which brings death, but we are subject to grace, which brings life.

Some may raise the question "if we are not subject to the law, doesn't that mean we can continue to sin with no consequences?" That is Paul's next point. Christians are not free to do whatever they want, but in this analogy they are free from sin's rule and have switched to being under the rule of a righteous God. This next passage displays a basic truth of human nature: we are always slaves to our nature. Before I was a Christian, I was a slave to my sinful nature and my flesh's selfish desires but now that God has single-handedly changed my nature through his Son, I am a slave to righteousness. I do the things I do because I want the things I want. When I wanted to sin, I sinned, but now that my nature wants to do good in God's name, I do good in God's name.

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:15-23, ESV)

 Here's what this might look like if we put it in a modern analogy. Say you have a job and while you're working, someone you don't recognize walks in and starts telling you what to do. You find out he does not work at the company and therefore has no authority over you. Do you follow his instructions? No. You continue to do what the boss you know tells you. Fast forward a year. You've left your place of employment and have come to work at a new company. Who do you find is in charge but this man who tried to tell you what to do a year ago at your old job. Do you follow his instruction now? Of course!

I hope we understand now the transformation that happens when we are committed to Christ. Our nature changes from a selfish, sinful nature to one that desires to serve God, we are not slaves to sin, but to righteousness. This is where the confusion between what we read in scripture and what we see in our lives comes in. If the Bible tells me that Christians are not supposed to sin, why are they sinning as much as anyone else?

A major key to understanding comes not in the sixth chapter of Romans, but in the fact it exists. If we all stopped sinning as soon as we were saved, would this chapter be necessary? What would the point be to tell Christians that they should not sin or that they are no longer slaves to their flesh if they could not sin? But this passage, and those like it, exist as an encouragement to live in the manner we have been newly created to be. It would not be here if we did not need to hear it and we were not still capable of sin.

Christians are like the person who was in the military for years under the same commanding officer. They were trained to snap to attention at the sight of their officer and do as he said. Once they left the military, there was no need to present themselves to the officer the same way. But walking down the street they see their former officer and out of habit, because it used to be required of them, they snap to attention before they realize it is not necessary. In the same way, we used to be under sin's rule but have been set free. However, it was so ingrained in us, we still act as if it has dominion, as if we need to snap to attention every time we see opportunity to sin.

There is a truth in the Bible we refer to as sanctification. This is the progressive act of shaping us to look more like Christ everyday and to remove the habits of sin from our lives. This work is not promised to be complete until the day of Christ, when he returns. So we struggle with sin as God shapes us, knowing our salvation is secure, not using it as a reason or excuse.

We are all born with a nature of sin and selfishness and like a man in jail, we are unable to declare ourselves free and walk out the front door. Someone else needs to do this for us. That is why Jesus lived a perfect life, died, and raised from the dead to conquer sin and death. Now those who trust him are set free, and even though we are continually breaking habits, we know it is a process and find freedom knowing it is God's work in his children.

Arrogance in Planning

My life has had a lot of changes in the last month or two. I got married, moved out of my parents' house, and started attending a different church (congregation) with my new wife. These changes were either not how I saw my life going or happened sooner than I thought they would, but they were the will of God. That's a little bold to say, isn't it? Whenever someone claims that something is the will of God, it can strike us as kind of hokey, or even arrogant, but I can say with confidence that something that has already happened in my life was just that. In fact, it is arrogant of me to talk about my future with certainty, thinking I control it.

We find evidence of this in James 4:13-16. Verse 13 sets up the situation many (all) of us put ourselves in, making a plan to do something tomorrow, or even today. I am sure I have already done this today, and I'm sure you have as well. In fact, this morning I woke up and said "I'm going to drive my wife to work, then sit at a coffee shop and blog, read, and write some poems. Later we'll go to the beach with her family." So far, this is actually working out for me, but verse 14 reminds us that we cannot have confidence in that because we don't know what the day will bring.

Think on this a bit. How many times have we made plans and knew everything that would happen that day without a doubt? Never. How many times have we made plans that never came to fruition because something outside of our control affected them? This verse is backed not only by our belief that the Bible is infallible, but by common, empirical evidence. Humans do not control everything in the world, and they cannot. My plans are not the be-all and end-all of the universe and I should not hold them as such. Countless events could have happened this morning to keep me from driving my wife to work and writing this blog in a coffee shop that my plans had no control over. For my life is short and insignificant compared to time as a whole; it holds no power over the world.

At this point, if anyone here says "well it is unwise to plan then" should continue reading James 4, for this is not the point nor the end-goal of this passage. The reader will notice that the correct and right way to plan is given in verse 15 and it still very much contains planning, but in humility. It is alright and good to make plans and goals, but with the understanding that God is Lord and is in control. My attitude this morning should not have been one of confidence that I would be able to drive my wife to work and come to a coffee shop, but one of humbly knowing that my plan may not come to be the way I envisioned it because I am not in control.

Here are the implications of this verse and attitude: nothing happens in our lives apart from God's will. There may be some friction between the reader and this statement, so let me try and sand it down, although I don't believe this will ever be an easy pill to swallow. I'll start with a question: why would the correct attitude be to say "if the Lord wills" if he is not 100% in control? Then he would be helpless to affect our plans like us, and we could not leave them up to his will. It would not be correct to say "if the Lord wills" because there are forces beyond his control that might upset not only our plans, but his will. So if he was not sovereign (in control), we could not say "if the Lord wills" but rather "if it just so happens." Here, an objector could say that he does not will everything, but allows some things to happen. Does this language not imply things happen outside his will? But this is not what the divinely inspired James writes. I see no way calling the statement "if the Lord wills" correct leaves room for God to not be sovereign over all or for him to simply allow something to happen outside of his will. If it happens, it is God's will.

This opens a whole new mess of why we suffer or experience pain. Why do we get cancer* or get into horrible car wrecks inside of God's will? To be honest, we will not perfectly understand here on Earth, but many wise people have written about just this if you are seeking a better understanding. What we can know is that God is good (Psalm 100:5), is working everything for our good (Romans 8:28), and is sovereign (Proverbs 19:21). We can also know that making plans with confidence is foolish and arrogant, because we are not in control like God is.

When my bride and I wed, when we signed the lease of our apartment, when I left the congregation I attended for our new one, I could be confident it was God's will for my life. The Bible teaches that nothing could happen outside of his good and perfect will and I can be happy knowing we acted inside of his will, as these decisions were not sin. So as we grow to be more like Christ in our Christian walk, we should ask him to humble us in our plan making. We should strive to not speak of plans as if they were in our control, but rather desires subject to change. God is Lord of all and his will will be enacted in our lives, through or despite our plans.




* This link is to a blog that was written by my late father-in-law during his battle with cancer. I highly recommend reading the whole thing if you are struggling with the question of "why?"