Pelican Problems and Human Hopelessness

I don't know who has stayed up to date on the oil spill in Louisiana, but I haven't been. I did however see some disturbing pictures of pelicans slowly drowning and being consumed by this oily filth. Some of the footage was so dreadful, I felt a deep pain for these pelicans.
Let me say that I don't have any special love or ties to animals, but I think I know what the difference was about these animals compared to most. I didn't see filthy birds covered in oil. I saw helplessness and hopelessness (h&h), and that triggered something within me.
Being a Christian I see h&h everywhere I go especially when I am at college, because there are so many non-believers walking in the town of Muncie, in this nation, and even in our world. There are so many people covered in oily filth and muck, and they continue to tread heavy, and the sad thing is they don't see it. At least the pelicans understand there true predicament, but people are walking dead in their transgressions.
Some of the pelicans are technically not dead yet, but they might as well be because there is nothing they can do to rescue themselves from the weight of the oil. They have no way of cleansing themselves. They have nothing to eat or drink except for the sludge they find themselves in currently. The only hope they have now can only come from an outside source. If someone has the desire to show compassion to one of these birds, then hopefully it's not too late and they can be spared.
This is basically how you could find me before I became a Christian, and how you can currently find non-Christians. We are technically alive: we breathe, walk, laugh, jump, cry, etc. At the same time you can pronounce us dead. Like I said earlier we are walking dead in our transgressions. There is nothing we can do to rescue ourselves from underneath the weight of our sin. We have no way of cleansing ourselves from the filth of our sin. There is nothing we can do or say outside of our totally depraved heart's. Same as the pelicans, we too need help from an outside source. Someone that desires to show love and compassion on putrid beings like ourselves. Unlike the pelicans, we don't have to unknowingly hope if it's too late or not to save us. If that special someone decides to show love and mercy on us, then we can be assured that we will be saved. It's not too late, it's never too late. We know that our filth will be fully taken from us, and will be made pure.
Friends that special someone is Jesus. He decided to show us love and mercy while we were walking dead in our transgressions. Jesus stepped in and took our filth from us, and by trusting in his work alone for our salvation we will be made pure and righteous before a just God. If we are truly trusting in God and nothing of ourselves, we can be fully assured that Jesus didn't miss a spot and he totally wiped away all our filth and shame.
Out of this truth let us walk in purity and holiness. Let us run away and repent from the muck that we have been saved from. Just because we have been cleaned doesn't mean we are allowed to get dirty again. Out of love and thanksgiving let us cling to our Savior and stay away from the oily pit of sin.

Awaiting the Mysterious and Rejoicing in the Revealed

For this blog post, I'm going to talk about Trip Lee's new album, Between Two Worlds, but there might not be too much order to this rant.
I'm very excited and anxiously awaiting this new album for a couple reasons. 1.) I'm interested in what the music will sound like for this CD. All the guys from the 116 clique has a different sound or feel to each of their CD's, so how will Trip's be different from all the others? 2.) I really want to see what analogies, creative outlooks, and play on words Trip is going to bring to the table. For instance, Trip's last album (20/20) was based around seeing God through the right lenses and seeing God in a correct biblical view, and from this we get the creative title of the album 20/20. 3.) I'm most excited to see how God has revealed himself to Trip, and how that revelation will be portrayed to his listeners. What has God put on his heart to write about and bless others with? How has the gospel become more alive in his own life, and thus transfer over into his music? These are the main questions that most excite me.
Being a musician and someone who rights his own lyrics, these are things I think about when writing my own songs. I take things that God has revealed to me, and I put it into a song that tries to relate what I've learned and give it to others. This isn't always my train of thought when writing songs. Sometimes they are more personal and relate to what I've gone through or what I'm currently dealing with in my life. Even though the song may be written for personal use, I've come to see that others can relate as well. Since we are all fallen creatures, I think that's why others can relate to my lyrics because there is always a problem and solution to my songs (fallen condition and gospel solution).
Going back to Trip's new album and me anxiously awaiting it's arrival, there is a biblical connection I've made from this. Me awaiting for the arrival of this album can be compared to Christians awaiting the arrival of Christ's return. I have some knowledge of this album, but there is a lot left unknown. I know when it is coming out, I know the premise behind the whole album, and I've listen to a track from it, but there is so much that I don't know that keeps me wanting to know more, and keeps me patiently awaiting its arrival.
In comparison there are also things we know of Christ's return but there is also so much left unknown. We know for a fact that Christ is coming back, but we don't know when. We know that Christ is not coming as a humble Savior, but he is coming as a mighty Judge. Is his return going to look exactly like the picture that is painted in Revelation, or is this just a human example for something that is beyond our knowledge? We know that there will be a new heaven and new earth, we will dwell with God, and we will be his people forever. There will be no more tears, pain, or death, and Christ will make all things new. But there are so many mysteries of God in the Bible, not just Revelation, that we won't know until we are fully glorified at Christ's return. The mysteries of God keep us coming back for more. Trying to figure them out keeps us anxiously awaiting the arrival of his Son, because when that time comes the mystery will be revealed, the unknown will be made known, and we will praise him for the work God has done for us.
The Father called his sheep and gave them to the Son. The Son gave himself up for them and brought them into right relationship with the Father through faith, which is given to us by the Spirit's work of regeneration in our hearts. Through the work of the Spirits regeneration we are given a new heart and a new life, which allows us to persevere to our final breath or until Christ's return. These truths are the reasons we will be giving praise to God for all eternity, and the work of God will never become old in our lives as long as we truly see the goodness of the Lord's sovereignty, mercy, and grace at work in our lives.
This post explains why I'm excited for Trip Lee's new album, and how we can make a biblical connection through this waiting process that I currently find myself.

The Only Reason for Boasting

So I went to a Cubs game last night down in Cincinnati. I don't know who is familiar with the electronic races that happen on the jumbotron TVs, but I'll try and explain them.
For this particular race there were three race cars on the TV, and then they showed the three people who represented each one of the cars. Person #1 would be paired up with car #1. Person #2 with car #2, and so on.
The cars drove from start to finish, and whatever car number won then the person who was paired with that number won a prize. It would show the person who's car won, and they were cheering as if they played a role in the race. If you didn't catch on earlier, the race is totally done by electronics and is totally random. I was probably the only person in the whole stadium that made a biblical analogy out of what I just saw.
Basically the winner is the one who is justified. What did he do to be justified? He didn't do anything. He sat and watched the car do everything for him. Then he started cheering like he was the one who was driving the car and had won the race. Are you starting to see a biblical connection?
We can only be justified because of what Christ has done for us, but most of the time we like to boast and act like we were the one's who have obtained our own salvation. That kid can and should only boast in the work of his race car, just as we can and should only boast in Jesus Christ and the work he did for us. He lived a perfect/sinless life, he atoned fully for our sins on the cross, and he proved his divinity by fulfilling the Scriptures and rising from the dead on the third day, and he is now seated at the right hand of God interceding for us constantly.
This analogy isn't anything special, but it does show us a picture of how we should view pride and our own glory. From what I just said, we shouldn't have any pride, because what have we done in order that we should benefit? We need to stop trying to justify our pride, and give it to God, the only one who has something to boast about. And for us, we can only boast in what God has done as well, because in him is where our benefit is found.

"Sinking Fast"

Verse 1:
You drowned your Son in our pool of sin.
Time after time we dive back in.
Send your Spirit and throw us a line.
Most gracious Father hear our cry.

Chorus:
Holy, Holy, is your name.
Only Your kingdom will still remain.
Let your will be done in our lives./ 3x through - Let your glory be our lives.
This is our heart; Lord hear its cries.

Verse 2:
Show us how deep the water goes.
How many times will we dip our toes.
It feels so nice and it's hot outside.
I think I'm going in just one last time.

(Chorus)

Verse 3:
I'm in the water now and I'm sinking fast.
I dove right in; I'm taking a bath.
But it's okay; the water has changed.
I'm swimming now in a pool of grace.

(Chorus)

"Godly Gravitational Force"

The cross of Jesus Christ is a magnet for souls. Everyone knows that positive and negative attract, so the positive in this case is the cross and the negative are God's elect. By God's sovereign will he draws us to the center of human history, which is the cross. Through this process we rebel against God and try to fight his pull on our hearts, but God's pursuit of his bride is in his sovereign hands and he will not and cannot fall short.
We fail to see the glory of the cross at times, and turn from it and act like it never happen so then we can go on sinning. But if the cross is at the forefront of our minds then why would we ever want to sin. At that moment, we see our Savior bearing our pain and suffering, we see our hope for eternal joy. Let's not forget about the resurrection though. Through that we now have a living Savior who is interceding for us, sin and death have no power over us anymore, Jesus has made a way to get to his Father. As Christians this is what we should be looking towards, running towards, and building our lives around. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul talks about the Resurrection of the dead. If Christ wasn't raised from the dead then our faith is in vain, but since he has been raised from the dead it proves that he is God and our work , if done for God, is not done in vain.
Back to the magnet analogy... Once we get to the cross and surrender ourselves through faith, the "positive" charge of Christ (his righteousness) is imputed to us and we have a new charge (identity). Now in one sense we have the same charge as Christ, so we take the good news of salvation we have received, and pursue the other negative charged elect that have yet to hear of the gospel. In another sense we still have a negative charge of our own, and need to continually be brought back to the cross ourselves. Basically justification and sanctification. We are fully given a positive charge (100% righteous), but we still have a negative charge as well (because of our depravity we won't be fully glorified until we reach heaven).
I know it's not a perfect analogy but the main thing I'm trying to say is that God calls people and grants us the grace to put saving faith in his perfect Son, and from the love, grace, and mercy that was shown to us we should be compelled to share it will others. That's the basis of the analogy. It's just a way to show God as the Good Shepherd of his sheep and the Bridegroom of his church.

"Good Friday Meditations"

- We welcome him (Jesus) in with the loudest praises of Hosanna, and we send him out with the loudest cries of crucify.
- He accepted both pleas with humility and made a plea of his own, which he prayed that his Father would be glorified.
- The most evil scheme of the devil was used for the greatest good by God.
- The sin that put our Savior on the cross was also paid for that same day.
- The darkest hours in all of history are the most glorious as well.
- The hands and feet that received the nails should have been mine.
- Jesus should mock us in our sin but he loves us instead. We mocked Jesus in his sin on the cross and shouted false
accusations, but he loved us through that as well.
- Christ can glorify God through the worst event in history and I forget to glorify God through the best times in my life.

God turned his back and poured out all his wrath on his own Son, and I will never have to experience that because of what Jesus has done, and the faith that he grants to me. Let's not forget that he did this evil to someone he loved. What about an enemy with God? What is he going to do to them? I was an enemy of God's at one time, and what did he do to me? He welcomed me into his family and allowed me to dine at his table. He called me a son and heir with Christ. I am a part of God's holy family. I am pure and righteous in the sight of God.
Let's see how I got to this point in my life. Well I go to church every week, God likes that. I went on a mission trip last summer, God must be all smiles after that. I read my Bible and pray sometimes, bonus points. I haven't done anything majorly wrong to anyone. I listen to the best Christian artists, and read only the holiest of books. I'd say I'm doing pretty well, wouldn't you... Hell No! What good is any of that to God? Why would I try to add onto the perfect atoning sacrifice of Christ? Jesus was mocked, ridiculed, shouted at, spit upon, scourged and flogged with whips that had pieces of glass, bone, and metal on the ends of them. He was beaten with rods, and had his beard plucked. He was stripped down to his flesh, which there wasn't much left of, and had a "crown" of thorns forced onto his head. He hiked up a hill in the blistering sun with a large cross-beam on his bone-piercing flesh. He basically had railroad spikes driven into his healing hands and faithful feet. He was hoisted into the air so everyone could see and scoff some more, they placed bets on his clothes. The soldiers probably placed a wooden block under his feet, so he could use it to push off with and catch a breath, but nonetheless it prolonged his life, so his crucifixion would be as long and excruciating as possible. With every struggling breath he took, his tender back was naggingly scrapping against the thorns from the wood.
This is no slap on the butt you get from your parents when you are in trouble, and it stings for a bit then the next moment it's gone, but our creator hung there bearing the weight of our sin for hours. Saying the Father crushed his Son is true but I feel like the word crushed just doesn't do justice, and I hope you now feel the same way.
Did Jesus go through all this so that one day ________ (insert your name) could try and gain, earn, or attain salvation through my own pathetic works. My greatest and awesome deeds are mere ashes under God's feet.
Did Jesus go through all this just so I could have a chance to go to Heaven one day, and live my life wondering, "Am I good enough? Will I get there?"
Jesus went through all this to glorify his Father and satisfy all the Father's wrath. He paid for our sins (actions, thoughts, and words). God cancelled the ransom that was placed on our lives by the fall of Adam, and it was paid in full by Jesus' death on the cross. Now I don't have to question and wonder if I will be good enough to make it to Heaven one day. The debt has been paid, and his sacrifice was sufficient. Stop trying to do something in order to stand righteous before God. If your foundation of getting to Heaven is the good deeds you have done, then what good is it if it falls to pieces with every sin you comment. If you're trying to outweigh the bad with the good then that is impossible. Even if you only sinned one time in your whole life, no amount of good deeds could ever make up for that one fall. This is why Jesus' atoning sacrifice is so important because without it we are still dead in our sin, but with it we are made alive with Christ and we can stand righteous before a Holy, Holy, Holy God.
When I say there is nothing left for us to do in order to obtain salvation, I mean there is nothing left for us to do. If your hope for salvation is found only in Jesus' perfect life, atoning death, and bodily resurrection, then rejoice with me today on this Good Friday.

"Who Am I?"

Being an art major and a Christian, I have came up with an analogy that talks about God's love, mercy, grace, and sovereignty. Being an artist and especially a character animator means I get to play God in the sense that I am in control of how my art turns out, or how a character will move. I take the role of sovereign ruler, and I can show however much love, mercy, and grace I want to my characters.

1.) When my characters don't move exactly how I want them to, or if things aren't going how I feel they should be going, then I can get frustrated and might stop working on my project for the day. 2.) If a certain character isn't easy to use then I can give up on them and try a different character that is more user friendly. 3.) There are hundreds of characters to choose from when figuring out which one I want to use to animate a scene; the choice is up to me. 4.) I choose the scenery, I choose which characters will be placed in the same scene with each other, and what their situation is in life or in the story.

Let's look at how this relates to Christians. 1.) God instructs us how he wants us to live our lives, but we decide to glorify ourselves instead of God. Instead of God getting frustrated like I do with my characters, God is patient and shows his love and grace. 2.) He doesn't give up on his creation like I tend to do. He is always in control and is always watching over us. Even the people with the hardest of hearts, God can soften. God is persistent with his sheep. 3.) There are billions of people that God could choose to use to carry out his will, and it's a privilege that he would choose to use any of us. It shows God's sovereignty in his choosing, his love by choosing to use sinful people to carry out his plan, and the grace he gives us to speak truth. 4.) God chooses our parents, the people we come in contact with, and the friends that God provides us with. He puts us in what country, state, providence, island, or town he has planned for us. He gives us the talents we have, and the health or lack of health that we have.

Basically, we should be grateful for anything that God gives us, but we get mad at God when things don't go the way we want them to, or if we don't get what we want. Like good things are entitled to us. Who are we to complain to a God that has given us his own Son, who lived a perfect life, died in our place, rose from the dead to conquer sin and death, and made us righteous before a holy, holy, holy God. We have access to God through Jesus Christ now. WOW! That's incredible. But we continue to complain about so many little things in our lives, and forget the greater truth of the Gospel, which never changes.

The point of the analogy is to show how humans respond poorly to meaningless situations in life, and how amazingly God responds to our sinful actions everyday. What a great God we serve. His patience through all my sin continues to amaze me. He continues to call me a son of God and an heir with Christ. Why? What have I done to deserve such grace?... simply nothing.