Always Ready

In Peter's first epistle to the Christians of the diaspera, he wrote these words, (along with the rest of that epistle and his second epistle), to encourage them in the faith:
"14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil", (1 Peter 3:14-17, emphasis mine).

In the summer of 2007 a number of events led to some very drastic changes in my life, (to read the story in entirety, see Part I and Part II). Almost immediately, I became a biblical apologist overnight. For those of you who don't know, the word, 'apologetics', comes from the Greek word 'apologia', which means, "to give a defense", so to give an apologetic for something, is to give a sound argument for your position. The phrase, "know what you believe, and why you believe it", became a phrase that was one of my greatest passions to not only know for myself, but also to teach others what I have learned and studied. In the summer of 2007, essentially, I threw out the window nearly everything I'd been taught since I was converted at 16, and begged God to, "open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law", (Psalm 119:18), to, "give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart", (Psalm 119:34), and, "Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments", (Psalm 119:73). By the grace of God, and the Holy Spirit giving me understanding of the Scriptures exegetically (exegesis means, "a critical interpretation or explication, especially of biblical and other religious texts", in other words, allowing the text to speak for itself and not reading into it one's own interpretation, nor isolating a particular portion of Scripture, but critically looking at it on a whole and in the proper context), I began to piece things together, and the more I had discussions with those much more learned in the faith than I, the clearer things became. It was last July, in which I formally took upon myself the title of 'reformed Christian', after I finally came to a decided position on the teaching of the sacrament of baptism as the Scriptures teach; as an aside, it was over a two-year period of studying this doctrine that I finally came to a solid position, but that is a story for another day. :)

Last year at some point I came across what is often interchangeably called, 'reformed apologetics/VanTillian apologetics/presuppositionalism'. It totally changed my views on how to go about defending historical orthodox Christianity. For those of you who are interested, I'd HIGHLY recommend that you listen to, 'The Great Debate: Does God Exist?', between Dr. Greg Bahnsen (PhD. in philosophy and Masters in Divinity) and Dr. Stein (PhD in philosophy), which took place at the University of California, Irvine, 1985. The audio leaves something to be desired, so I would strongly recommend that you follow along using the transcript.

Click here for audio.
Click here for transcripts.

For more information about reformed apologetics/VanTillian apologetics/presuppositionalism, I'd encourage you to visit the following website: http://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/greg-bahnsen-vs-gordon-stein-the-great-debate/

Hope you enjoy and are edified!

Grace and Peace,
Alison

“If Only...” Living with Regrets

It has been many months since I've posted anything on my blog; now with the semester over and my CNA class nearly done, I have a bit more time on my hands to work on those things that got left on the wayside in all the busyness of school.

This past December (lasting through February), in God's gracious providence, He brought about one of the most trying and difficult times of my life. The clouds of depression, loneliness, and regret swept over me gradually, eventually culminating in one of the most trying times of my adult life. Had it not been for the grace of God keeping me in the Beloved (Christ) and firmly grounded in sound doctrine and theology, I am certain that I would have been shipwrecked.

"As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!" Psalm 40:11 (ESV).

I wanted to share an article that my pastor told me about that was extremely helpful to me during my season of darkness. It was definitely a means by which God used to begin to address and root out some of the things in my life that had been festering beneath the surface for quite some time. Through the months of darkness, God instilled in me a greater trust in the simple truth of the gospel, His complete sovereignty, and that He truly does work all things together for my good and His glory (Romans 8:28, paraphrased). Praise be to God for His abundant grace!

Here is the article, written by Ed Welch entitled, "“If Only...” Living with Regrets". To read this article from the original source, click here.

My prayer is that this article would be as much, or more so, of a blessing and help to you as it was to me.

Grace and Peace be unto you,
Alison


“If Only . . .” Living with Regrets
By: Ed Welch

It feels so right – so spiritual – to live with regrets. It means you feel bad for the wrong things you have done or think you have done, and that sounds like a good thing. If you forget those wrongs, you are acting like they were no big deal.

How many “if only’s” do you have in your life?

If you have a scrupulous conscience, you lost count long ago. For the rest of us, there are a few basic categories of regrets.


1. Things you did that were especially shameful, which means that they became public and the public did not approve of them. Perhaps you failed in school or work, had legal problems, or did something immoral.
2. Things you did that either purposefully or (more often) unintentionally hurt someone else. Car accidents, sexually transmitted diseases, poor parenting of a wayward child, and recklessness while intoxicated make this list. “If only I had left 5 minutes later I wouldn’t have hit that person.” “If only I hadn’t gone to that party…etc.”
3. Things you think you could have done to avoid a catastrophe. If you have a specific moment when the course of your life took an irreparable turn for the worse, then you will be able to think of dozens of things you could have done differently. Bad marriage? You will review the list of old marital prospects and wonder why you didn’t pursue them. Most anyone who has known someone who committed suicide will be afflicted with regrets. “If only I had just called.” Most women who have been sexually violated ruminate, “If only I . . . (yelled, trusted my instincts that something was wrong, went with my friends).



I knew a woman who was so filled with regrets that the burden of them felt normal. The first “if only’s” registered as weights on her soul, but it’s like wearing ten-pound ankle and wrist weights all the time, after a while you no longer notice them. You feel sluggish and tired all the time, and everyone else seems to be going at a different emotional tempo, but, somehow, that’s normal.


Here is the paradox.

We live with regrets because we think we should. We think it’s the right thing to do—that it is our duty before God. But…

The Kingdom of Heaven is regret-free. The truth is that the triune God liberates us from past regrets. His will is being done. Bank on it. Neither your human limitations nor your sins hinder the good plans of your sovereign Father.



Let’s go one important step further. It is God’s will that you jettison past regrets. They only make you feel unqualified and, therefore, unfruitful.

Now to the line up. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Jonah, Peter and Paul, to start. They all had good reason to have a bad case of the “if only’s”. King David is the most severe example. His sin with Bathsheba resulted in the death of their son and his conspiracy to cover up the adultery caused the death of her husband. (2 Sam.12) Even worse, his sin of numbering the people led to the death of 70,000 Israelite men (2 Sam. 24). His remorse was great, and his repentance sincere, but you won’t find lingering regret. In its place is doxology to the Lord who freely forgives sins.

Consider Jonah. He was an enigmatic character whose flight from the Lord nearly resulted in the death of an entire crew and did result in his being swallowed by a fish. A belly of a fish is an ideal place for regrets, especially when you know you brought it on yourself – “if only I would have just gone to Nineveh” – but instead it became a holy place where Jonah came to his senses and proclaimed, “Salvation is of the Lord.”

Regrets? What about Paul? He watched approvingly as Stephen was stoned to death. (Acts 7:59-8:1) He zealously hunted down Christians, sent them to prison and approved of it when they were put to death (Acts 26:9-11). Yet, after his conversion, though he clearly disapproves of these acts, he does not dwell on past sins, rather he writes: “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) The irony is that Paul isn't even talking about his sins, because he is so confident that his Lord is in control and his sins are completely forgiven. He is talking about the "good" things on his resume.

But, in the post-resurrection era, it is Peter who is our mentor in handling regrets. After all, he knew Jesus from the beginning, and assumed that his egregious sin of denying that on the night of Jesus’ arrest demoted him back to the rank of fisherman. Not that there is anything wrong with fishing, but Jesus had changed Peter’s vocation to fishing for people (Matt.4:19), and, for Peter, regular fishing signaled his own conviction that his sins disqualified him from Kingdom service. Peter assumed that his calling was no longer valid. But breakfast with Jesus and a walk on the beach changed everything. (More on this in the blog, “The World’s Best Epilogue— Ever”).

Try to find a hint of regret or “if only’s” in his two letters. Instead, following King David’s lead, Peter opens with perhaps the most spectacular and eloquent statement of hope in the New Testament, which ends with this exhortation: “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). He is reminding us that life in Christ rests in what Jesus has done and looks forward to what he will do. We are visionaries. We look ahead. We hope. We aim to be drawn by the beauty that is almost within reach rather than be restrained by the regrets of the past.

Hearing anything here? Hope rising? If not, you believe that the Kingdom of Christ is where you pay for past sins, past indiscretions, or just being a human being who isn’t omniscient and omnipresent. You believe that if you store up enough regret and remorse you can finally sneak out of your self-imposed purgatory – though, as you already know, no matter how much you stockpile the stuff you always feel as though you must add a little more. That is not the Kingdom where Jesus reigns.

Maybe you believe your regrets will be your protective talisman to help make sure you don’t repeat past sins. That makes sense and sounds spiritual, but it’s a false gospel. It is the sweet mercies of God that compel us to fight sin. One way to identify the nefarious nature of regrets is that they do not give mercy the prominent seat at the table. These regrets might be so stubborn that they will only leave through repentance. While you have been repenting of your perceived contribution to past regrets, the real reason to repent is much closer to the present: you are saying, “Lord I don’t believe that you cover my past, though you probably cover the pasts of other people, and I certainly don’t believe that confidence in your goodness and hope for tomorrow is even permissible.” Call it unbelief. If you want to get nasty, call it pride, in which you believe yourself rather than the Lord. Either way, repent.

I have my own regrets—you have yours. God’s mercies are stockpiled even higher.

Ed Welch is a counselor and faculty member at CCEF.

Was Dr. King Nice?

I read an article this morning written by R. Scott Clark about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of my childhood heroes. I was greatly encouraged by it and thought you may be too, so I have posted it here for you to read if you are so inclined, but I would highly encourage you to do so. To view the original post, click here.

Grace and Peace,
Alison



Was Dr King Nice?
Posted on January 17, 2011 by R. Scott Clark

Before I encountered evangelical Christianity I had an opportunity to learn a little about African-American history. I’m not sure why, as a middle-class white kid, I was attracted to it, maybe because no one else was? Maybe it was the underdog aspect of the larger narrative (an oppressed people overcomes enormous hardship)? Maybe it was my setting? More on that below. Whatever the attraction, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the central figures of modern American history. I had not yet turned 7 when he was assassinated in Memphis but I recall clearly that my home town was torn apart by riots, which had to be quelled by the national guard. Racial tension was a fact of life. In the mid-70s the courts instituted busing to try to integrate Omaha Public Schools.

It’s not 1968. Americans have come a great distance since then but we have some ways to go. White folk are more optimistic about how far we’ve come than African Americans. We probably haven’t made as much progress on what used to be called “the race question” as most white folk think.

When it was instituted, the King Holiday was not terribly popular. It is still resented in some circles. The lingering resentment over the holiday is a pale reflection of reaction to Dr King, especially by white folks, during his life. Given Dr King’s heroic status today one might think that everyone adored Dr King and grieved when he was murdered. It’s not true. A great lot, probably a majority, of white folk in America regarded King as a rabble rouser who was stirring up trouble unnecessarily. In the midwest, where I was raised, he was not widely regarded as a “nice black man.” In that context “nice” was code for “knows his place” and “doesn’t speak up.” It wasn’t that King wasn’t polite or even that he was violent but he made people uncomfortable, he challenged the status quo, he did not accept that African-Americans couldn’t participate in society; he didn’t accept “separate but equal” because he knew that separate wasn’t equal.

Evangelical and Reformed folk can learn from Martin Luther King Jr. Evangelicals, whole mostly come from the pietist tradition, many of whom emigrated to North America from Northern European countries, who settled originally in the midwest, who lived in small communities and who developed an ethos of “niceness” (getting along) in that setting, routinely confuse “niceness” with Christianity. Few of the outstanding figures in Holy Scripture would qualify as “nice” by midwestern, pietist standards. To be sure, those biblical figures, as they are mediated in and to pietist congregations, often become as homogenized as the milk handed out in Sunday School, whether in children’s Bible stories or flannel graphs. The prophet Joel and the book of James don’t feature prominently in pietist piety because they just don’t fit the mold. Nevertheless, there they are in the canon of Holy Scripture and neither of them was “nice.” Indeed, none of the prophets were “nice. Being “nice,” getting along, doesn’t get one thrown into a cistern. It doesn’t get one’s head cut off. John the Baptist wasn’t nice at all, was he?

With all his sins and flaws, there were echoes of the prophets in King’s rhetoric. He called a nation to repentance. He was, in his own law, a relentless preacher of the law. America is not the Israel of God, it is not the church, and one might well think that King should have resigned his ministerial office in order to pursue his social-cultural-political agenda, but King made the white majority uncomfortable and he did so pointedly, intentionally, and consistently. Toward the end of his career he was helping to organize a “poor people’s campaign.” That aspect of the movement would likely have split the civil rights movement between the economic progressives and the stricter constitutionalists. Whatever one makes of King it was not possible to ignore him then (or now). Had he accepted the prevailing ethos of (pietist) American evangelicals, would anyone have known about King? Would there be a King holiday? Would the Civil Rights Act (with all its flaws) have come into existence? Probably not. Evangelicals talk a great deal about exercising “influence” but that desire is almost certainly at odds with the ethos of “niceness.”

Reformed folk can also learn from King. We are far too concerned about “getting along,” about being popular, with being accepted by the largely baptistic, pietistic, evangelical majority in North America. We’re the sweaty, pimply-faced boy in the corner, at the dance, with the bad hair, the ill-fitting trousers, trying to work up the courage to ask one of the popular girls to dance. We’re just a little too eager. What we need is not wardrobe makeover and grooming tips (however useful those things might be). What we need is courage and King had courage. There’s little question that King knew that his life was in jeopardy. He could have lived quietly and been quiet successful. He was not quiet. He spoke up. He acted on his convictions. He shocked the majority. He challenged the status quo. He challenged widely accepted premises, even at the cost of his own life.

We, who confess the Reformed faith, who seek to articulate and live out a Reformed piety and practice, don’t need to try to look or sound or act like our pietist cousins. We can respect their tradition for what it was but just as King (and others) demonstrated a resolute willingness to accept disapproval in the interests of a greater cause we must be willing to be what we are, even if it brings the disapproval of the pietist majority.

Niceness is a cultural phenomenon not a virtue. It’s also a temptation. Dr King faced many temptations but he pursued his course in spite of them. For a quarter century Americans have set aside a day to remember him, not because he was nice, but because he called a nation to be true to its constitution and ideals. Reformed Christians are also tempted to niceness and temporary popularity. Don’t do it. Our long-term value to American Christianity does not lie in niceness but in the heroic struggle to articulate and live the faith we confess, even when it brings us into conflict with the prevailing ethos.

"Strive to Enter the Sabbath Rest"

This morning my pastor, Rev. John Hartley, preached a phenomenal and insightful sermon on the True Sabbath. He faithfully exegeted Hebrews 4:1-11, his sermon title is the title of this blog entry, click here to listen.

Grace and Peace,
Alison

Top Ten Picks

It's not a secret that I'm a big fan of music; all sorts of genres. When it comes to lyrical content and musical style, I am quite picky and have a very specific taste. I wanted to share what I've called, my 'Top 10 Picks', however, this is only the Top 10 Picks of music that is free of charge. Hope you enjoy and are edified!

-Alison

1. 'Jesus, Lover of My Soul' by: Reformed Praise. Click the 'basic/raw demo' version.
2. 'Heidelberg Catechism' by: Voice, to view lyrics, scroll further down given page.
3. 'Behold the Lamb' by: Christ Our Life
4. 'Called Beauty' by: Jenny & Tyler. Click 'View A-Z', find and click on 'Jenny & Tyler Winter 2010-2011 Sampler'. Enter your email address and zip code, and a link will be emailed to you where to download the entire album at. I love this song because it is based upon Ezekiel 16, a passage very near and dear to my heart.
5. 'The Purchased Possession' by: SALOS (Joshua Klein)
6. 'Betrothed to Jesus' by: Abraham Juliot. This song is a bit more tricky to find for free download. Click here, scroll down and on the right-hand side, there is a playlist. Select the song 'Betrothed to Jesus', and then click on 'MP3' to download the song. **Note: While I do enjoy Abraham's music, I do not hold to some of the things he believes doctrinally or theologically; I only state this because this is a link to his blog, otherwise I would've remained silent on the issue; he still remains a dearly beloved brother in Christ.
7. 'Go To Jesus' by: Erin Alderson
8. 'By Grace Alone' by: Reformed Praise, click on the 'basic raw/demo' version.
9. 'O the Grace that Saves' by: Christ Our Life
10. 'Creator of the Stars of Night' by: High Street Hymns. Click 'View A-Z', find and click on 'High Street Hymns Christmas & Advent'. Enter your email address and zip code, and a link will be emailed to you where to download the entire album at.