Make All Things New

This month, Philadelphia Magazine released their list of the 50 Most Influential People in Philadelphia. It was an enjoyable read for me to find who are the people influencing culture, politics and the like. The magazine sought to list Philadelphia’s 50 most “powerful” men and women. They define power as “the ability to get things done (bills passed, jobs created, buildings built).” However, this year they broadened the their definition and came up with five areas of power: Transformational, Influencer, Institutional, Lifestyle and Willpower. The list is of names and accomplishments is quite fascinating. From state representatives to corporate VPs, the things people are doing in wielding their power for the city is impressive. Of course, there is one name absent from the list: Jesus. I know, I know that may sound crazy. I’m sure he wasn’t even considered as being a part of what is happening in hopes for prosperity and renewal of Philadelphia. Is it silly to see this as a huge oversight?

But I can’t be too upset about it or blame them. Look, I’m a believer, yet too often my life fails to reflect Christ as among the top 50 influential people in it. So I don’t point a finger, rather, I bend my knees and pray that God would continue to change me, my marriage, our family and our church into to more dependently reliant on Christ to show his power off in our city.

While Jesus may not know be recognized as among “Philadelphia’s 50 Most Influential”, there will be a day when all will recognize his power, influence and glory:

“God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

Earlier this week, our small backyard shed was broken into and the lawn mower and power edger were stolen. It seems we are having a bit of a crime wave in our small, suburban town. A number houses have been broken into and now a few lawn mowers have been stolen as well.

While I don’t mean to minimize these crimes (the police told me they suspect it is all drug related so that’s no good anywhere), I do find it highly ironic that – for all the warnings we have received about the dangers of moving to the city of Philadelphia – we’ve been victims of crime on more than one occasion here in the suburbs. I jokingly tell people, “We need to move to Philly quick, because the suburbs are dangerous!”

I am not writing this to try to demonize the suburbs or even making fun of them. My point is that sin is sinful and all around, no matter where you live. Crime occurs as a result of our lineage in Adam, not our place on a map.

Perhaps the most dangerous place to be has little to do with where we live but what we believe. Thinking that people are safer in the suburbs simply because the crime rate may be lower is one of the dangers of the suburbs. If we think we are safer because the crime is lower, could we not be lulled into complacency about the real problem? The real problem is sin. And the real danger is missing sin’s presence because of crime’s absence. I’m not suggesting that all suburbanities are disillusioned, simply sounding a warning to consider.

We must not be forgetful or ignorant of the sin and around us and most importantly, the sin within us. If comfort and security comes from where we live, we must fight it. Our battle is not merely with the crime and criminals of this world but with the evil powers that blind the minds and hearts of people (Ephesians 6:12. 2 Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, our only hope, our true security and comfort comes from Jesus, the One who has already defeated and overcome these evil powers.

“When people, especially those who love rap music, when they hear Christian rap, it’s just an automatic respect if the quality is good,” Gray, a biblical counseling major, said. “… People stop in their tracks, and they lend you an ear. It’s almost like Mars Hill, the Areopagus. It’s just this marketplace where people want to hear your ideas.”

“When they hear relevant metaphors and similes that are from the culture but are affiliated with God’s Word and the Bible, it’s just a wonderful tool in the hands of God,” he said. “And I’ve seen so many people, I’ve just seen their jaws drop and I’ve seen the Holy Spirit dig inside of their heart and start to remove that stony heart. And they hear the Gospel through rap music.”

And those are just two of the great quotes from a Townhall.com article on Flame preaching the gospel through hip hop. It is well worth your time.

In a previous post I mentioned that Mark Driscoll would be interviewed for ABC’s Nightline. Well, here it is:

(HT Jason Garwood)

Today I am experiencing something that is quite difficult for me to receive… the love of Christ shown through fellow believers. I never really thought I would have such an issue with this but apparently I do. It stems from my own pride – I hate my pride. It sickens me and pray that it would be killed through the work of God the Spirit in me.

The short story is that we have a large, dead tree in our front yard and I really don’t have the extra money to pay to have it taken down. On new year’s eve, a large branch of the tree fell just missing our front porch. While we were thankful for God mercy in not destroying our house (or worse!), our neighbor was just upset that the tree was still there. I want to be a good neighbor and I understand (most) of his concern, we were just stuck with how to remove the tree. I had been praying about it for a while and finally approached an elder in our church. He is out there as I type this with some other guys taking the tree down. The wood will be helping another family in the body to heat their home. I am certain my neighbor will be happy (he made a formal complaint with the borough even though we agreed to have it taken down by the end of the this month). So, it appears that everyone will be happy and God will be glorified through this whole experience. Yet, I remain uncomfortable receiving the comfort, love and care that my brothers in Christ desired to show me. I don’t want to be at work in my office while they are work at my house. My pride tugs at me to go and pay them back for their efforts. But alas, I won’t be able to. I have other things to do. I have no way of really paying them back and ultimately, they wouldn’t desire remuneration.

So, I wonder…how does my pride prevent me from full embracing a greater grace and mercy that was shown to me through Christ on the cross? How does my desire to payback subtly deny my ability to accept grace? In short, is my response to people taking this tree down for me similar in any way to my response to what God has done for me through the gospel?

Freely it has been given, based on no merit of our own. No matter how hard we work in this life, no matter how much “good” we give back, we can not earn what God has freely given through His Son. And I am exceedingly grateful for this! I hope that you would be too. I am thankful for the love Christ has shown to my brothers and I am thankful for the love Christ has shown through my brothers. May their service today be a reminder of Christ’s service to those who would believe. And may the Lamb receive the glory of His suffering!

Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle will be featured on ABC’s Nightline tonight.

Trevin Wax is giving away copies of each of his 10 favorite books he read in 2008 plus an ESV Study Bible. It’s free to enter.

No, I haven’t changed my understanding of the doctrine of man.

I actually won a drawing from the Feeding on Christ blog. I am thrilled to get a copy of the books (I am a big John Owen fan). In fact, if our next baby is a boy, we had already planned on his middle name being Owen.

Sincerely, even if I hadn’t won, I am glad I found the Feeding on Christ blog. It’s worth checking out.

Westminster’s The Gospel and Culture Project just got a new website (I’ve been anxiously awaiting this relaunch). Check it out!

From the site:

The Gospel & Culture Project (GCP) equips Christians to understand and apply the Gospel as truth capable of transforming human culture. We accomplish this through a group of interwoven initiatives:

Gospelandculture.org is an online community where specialists in specific areas of cultural interpretation and theological application dialogue with fellow believers about contemporary questions. The site also communicates about the ongoing work of the GCP and promotes its initiatives and events.

Forays are monthly gatherings held in the University City area of Philadelphia that explore aspects of contemporary life through the lens of the Christian faith.

In fact there is an event in Philly tonight (I wish I could go) entitled:
Jesus Watching Mad Men: A Gospel Model for Understanding Television, Film and Cyberculture Spectatorship

I encourage you to check out the site and subscribe to their feed.

From Dan Edelen

Overheard countless times in the last two months: “I am concerned about the poor performance of my investments and savings.”

Not heard even one time in the last two decades: “I am concerned about my poor performance in laying up treasure in heaven.”