Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

Fireflies Nursery Ministry

by Carol Lim

LBC Nursery Ministry, aka Fireflies, serves the youngest members of our church, ages 0-3 yrs. I’m sure by now you’ve seen some ladies with pink or blue smocks each Sunday morning enjoying the worship time with the little ones on your way into the sanctuary. I currently serve as the director of Fireflies along with Lillian To (scheduling coordinator) and Brenda Hom (curriculum coordinator). Our staff of about 30 ladies of all ages (college & up) absolutely loves the children that the parents entrust to us while they worship. Each staff member is currently scheduled to serve about once every 3 weeks. Besides on Sunday mornings, we also serve on other occasions such as Christmas Concert, LBC Annual Banquet, and other events as needs arise.

Fireflies are divided into 2 areas: Nursery 1 (from birth to about 16 months old), and Nursery 2 (from about 16 months old to 3 years old). We not only have play time, snack time, and potty time, we also have Bible lesson time for Nursery 2 children where they learn different attributes of God. For instance, during the month of February, they are learning about God’s sovereignty through the story of Jesus calming the wind and the sea and how He is the boss of everything (Matt. 8:23-27). They are taught the same lesson for the whole month along with a memory verse. For February, they are memorizing Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

I’m particularly blessed to be part of this ministry not only because I get to participate in the lives of these children who grow up ever so quickly, but also because I get to be involved in the lives of other fellow sisters who serve here. We encourage the ladies to consider the times of serving as an act of worship. We try to hold each other accountable in our spiritual walk and be intentional even in our conversations while we serve. Because we have a number of moms serving as staff members, younger ladies are finding this ministry to be such a valuable opportunity to be learning from the older women in dealing with children (as in Titus 2).

If anyone is interested in joining Fireflies, we ask that you be:

  1. Female
  2. A member in good standing
  3. Interested in caring for children
  4. Desiring to grow spiritually and to learn from other ladies

For more information please contact Lillian, Brenda, or myself. Thanks!

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #61

by Pastor John Kim

To the LBC family!

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #61
Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it – that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc.

Listlessness is something that we would often disguise as “I just need to clear my mind” kind of mentality and is ultimately revealed to be an escape from being fixed and focused on seeking Christ. Our tendency to being easily distracted contributes to this as well and the main consequence really is a loss of a discipline for the sake of godliness. While we must be careful that duty alone does not govern our motivation, there are times when the patterns of disciplines are disrupted by seasons of mindlessness that go back to our heart motivations.

Why is it that we are so easily moved away from Christ in our minds? Is it not the enemy that seeks to tempt us with thoughts that would sway us from the Savior? Are we not often pulled to conform to the world instead of being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2)? Knowing that we have this tendency as we face the daily onslaught of worldly thinking, it is no surprise that we are exhorted by the apostle Paul to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). It is only in the Word of God that we find the center of our thinking provided and that is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. When the cross is the focal point of our mind, it will not lead to listlessness because to dwell on the gospel can only result in the glory of God becoming the end to which our whole life can then find its ultimate fulfillment.

Colossians 3:1-2
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

If our mind is sent on Christ and the things of Christ, we will be able to transcend the earthly mindedness that we are often found wallowing in and instead we can be seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). When we are mindful of Christ and following the way of the cross, not only do we individually find benefit but we are then able to truly contribute to the unity of mind that should characterize the church.

Philippians 1:27
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

When we are living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, it will be revealed through a firm unity shown in one spirit and one mind striving for the faith of the gospel. The work of the gospel is then maximized by our Christ-mindedness.

Philippians 2:1-5
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

When we are of the same mind, it will result in a self-sacrificing service of one another that follows in the footsteps of Jesus, who displayed the ultimate self-sacrifice through His obedience to the point of death on a cross so that we might have a Savior who could save us from our sins.

To put it another way, let me ask a series of questions regarding the state of your mind:

  1. Do you find yourself easily distracted from the things of God?
  2. Does the glory of Christ seem like a fading shadow to you?
  3. Do the things of this world seem more attractive than the things of heaven?
  4. Are you disinterested in the lives of your fellow brothers and sisters?
  5. Do you rarely think of the gospel in your everyday life?

If the answer to these questions are more a “yes” than “no”, you might have some issues with how you take care of your mind. It is not a good thing to be lazy about the care of your mind. In fact, if you do not set a proper guard over your mind, you just mind find yourself listing off so far from the cross of Christ that you no longer even think or feel or act like a Christian. The price for listlessness can be costly so don’t underestimate the amount of time that is lost in your mindless wanderings apart from Christ.

As the Great Command in Matthew 22:37 states, let us love God with all our mind and in so doing offer up our minds in worship along with the rest of our whole being to His glory.

Praying that you would be mindful of Christ,
Pastor John

Announcements:

  1. LKC will continue this Wednesday at 6:30pm.
  2. There will be no Friday Night Bible studies this Friday as we will be having our all-church Mission Bowl Pep Rally at 6:30pm at the church. Everyone is invited to come for a fun evening as we prepare for the Mission Bowl.
  3. The Women’s Mission Bowl will be held at UCSD Muir Fields this Saturday. All participants are asked to meet at the church at 7:30am for a joint service with the other churches. The tournament itself will start at 9:30am at UCSD and end around 5pm.
  4. For the Mission Bowl, we need a count of those who are interested in purchasing lunch that day. We need to know ahead of time because of the arrangements that need to be made with UCSD. If you an e-mail Naomi Yu by Wednesday evening with the number of lunches you would like to order, it will be $3.50 per lunch. Please contact Naomi at naomiyu@gmail.com.
  5. For the Mission Bowl, there is also a need to help with the food prep and distribution. If you are available to help this Saturday, please contact Naomi Yu as well for this opportunity naomiyu@gmail.com.
  6. Project Ahualle is continuing until March 19 and there is still opportunity for you to contribute to their fund as we hope to help the Ahualle family not only enjoy their time here but to also provide for them resources and gifts that would be an encouragement to them in their ministry. You can pick up an envelope at church and then give your contributions to Pastor Patrick by this Sunday. We would like to have all the contributions by this Sunday because we hope to send any additional funds that we raise with them when they leave on March 19. **One thing that we would like to ask is if anyone has any extra guest passes for Disneyland or California Adventure that you can donate, please let me know as soon as possible. We are also continuing the fundraising for Project Ostrava (April 20-28, 2010) so please prayerfully consider supporting that trip as well.
  7. This Sunday, we will be having an all-church fellowship at 5:30pm to celebrate our time with Pastor Jorge and his family. It will be a potluck dinner so we are asking if you could bring a contribution of a dish that would be one of your favorites that you would like the Ahualle family to try. If you could bring a generous portion to share with everyone, that would be much appreciated. Please mark any serving dishes or utensils with your name so that we can know who it should go back to at the end of the evening. There is a rumor that Pastor Jorge and Norma will be custom making a 1,000 Tucumanian empanadas so you will not want to miss this event!
  8. This Sunday we will be having a special 2nd hour presentation by Pastor Jorge as he will be sharing about the work in Tucuman as well as his perspective on missions. So the adult Sunday School classes will not be meeting this coming Sunday but will resume the following week. Please stick around for this as it is going to be a great opportunity to see what God has blessed our partnership with in the ministry at Tucuman.
  9. We will be going over John 10 this Sunday so please read the chapter in preparation for the message. For the children’s message we will be going over the aspect of PEACE from the fruit of the Spirit. Please remind your children to keep a good record of their notes and pictures. They are doing a great job!
  10. This Sunday will be the last Sunday to signup for the Singles Retreat, which will be on March 19-21 at Pine Valley Bible Conference Center. The cost is now $150 – please signup this weekend! Also, for those of you who have already signed up, we will be getting hoody sweatshirts so please give the appropriate size to Maria Oh if you have already registered. If it is the same size as the t-shirt size you submitted, then you don’t need to do anything else – we will just use that size. But if you need it a little bigger, please let Maria know by tomorrow no later than 5pm. If you have not yet registered for the retreat, you will need to register by tomorrow in order to get a sweatshirt as we will not be ordering any extras due to the extra cost. If you know someone who wants to register, please make sure they do so by e-mailing Maria Oh at ohmaria@gmail.com.
  11. We will be having one last DTR series on the following dates: March 21, 28, April 11, and 18. They will be held on Sunday evenings at the church from 6-8:30pm and will be focused on presenting a God-centered, gospel-oriented, biblical worldview towards the issue of dating. We will be addressing some issues that have not been addressed in previous sessions so it will be mostly new material that will build on previous messages. So invite your friends, both Christian an non-Christian as we will be presenting the gospel through this series as well.

Living Theology #15 – Miracles

by Garrett Glende

“It’s a miracle!” The expression is heard often in our culture, but do we ever pause to give much thought to what is actually being expressed by these few words? Most likely the person really just means that something highly unlikely just happened, maybe by luck or good fortune, but for the Christian the term “miracle” has a much more profound significance. When we think of miracles in the US, thoughts of defeating the Russians in Olympic hockey or something that happened on 34th street at Christmas time come to mind. But are these really miracles? Did God really have anything to do with an underdog US squad defeating the mighty pros from Russia? What is a miracle anyway and does God still work this way? Most importantly, how should we respond as Christians?

As we make our way through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, it may seem like a weird time to bring up this topic, but he places it here because it is under the larger umbrella of God’s interactions with the world, two of which we looked at earlier (creation and providence). Grudem defines a miracle as “a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself.” The qualifying phrase “less common” is necessary, as everything in the world is brought about by God’s action or decree, so there has to be some sort of distinction between a normal action of God and a miracle. Miracles are used specifically to make God’s name known and bring people to worship Him. Jesus and the apostles performed miracles so that their message would be authenticated and we often see that the crowds react in fear and amazement at what they have witnessed.

There are three words used in Scripture to speak of miracles. The first is “sign” (semeion) which is something that distinguishes itself from something else, usually referring to God’s power and omnipotence. The word “wonder” (teras) is also used when an extraordinary act causes people to be amazed and awe-struck. Thirdly, “mighty work” (dynamis) is used to describe the great power behind the miracle. These three words fit well into the definition that Grudem provides, showing that miracles are powerful events that point to the majesty and wonder of God, leaving the audience astonished.

Do miracles have anything to do with us today though? We don’t see seas parting, people feeding thousands with a few loaves and fish, or men rising from the dead. So is it logical to think that God doesn’t act in this way anymore because we never see it? We must first recognize that the high concentration of miracles throughout the period of biblical revelation was purposeful. The many miracles that Jesus and the apostles performed were done with the intent of authenticating their message. We no longer see these things performed by believers today because we have something more sure than signs and wonders, the holy word of God. Still, we must not think that God could not intervene in this way if it was pleasing to Him to do so.

We don’t see the same spectacles that the Israelites and early church members saw, but we still can see God’s hand working every day in our lives. Surely God does intervene directly throughout our time here on earth, but many times we might not notice. He could allow a car to swerve just in time to stay clear of you on the freeway or bring about a generous friend in a time of need. If we acknowledge the doctrine of God’s providence, then we know that He really has a chief role in all of life’s events, but there are certainly things that happen that are out of the ordinary. We should not presume on God that He is unable to get us out of seemingly impossible situations, as we so often do. When tough times come, it’s easy to give lip service to God’s faithfulness and provision, but do we really believe in our hearts that God can work miracles? Hopefully our knowledge of God’s power and sovereignty will cause us to trust Him more in all circumstances.

Encouragement of Children

by Elder Mike Chon

Since February is “Encouragement Month” at our church, I was thinking about what it means to encourage one another. I first began to think about our church and how we can encourage each other, especially since every Sunday many opportunities are presented in how we can accomplish this. Whether serving in the different aspects of the Care Ministry or writing encouragement notes or even a music note, which by the way I’m hoping to see soon, which are all good ways to encourage one another. But the question we all have to wonder is “for what purpose am I encouraging my fellow brother or sister toward?” And hopefully we can all answer and say that we are encouraging one another so that we will help each other to love God and Christ more in our lives. As I began to think more about this, I couldn’t help but think about how my family, especially how my kids encourage me to love God and Christ more.

For those that do not know, my wife and I have three kids. Our oldest son is three and a half years old, our next son is two years old and our youngest is a daughter and she is 9 months old. You may be wondering how three such young children can ever encourage me to love God and Christ more. Let me explain. For those that know our family, you know that our three kids are pretty active and loud. Usually what you see at church is not even half of what occurs at home. Defining them as “active” is one of the biggest understatements that you can ever say to us. Here are a couple of examples of what our kids can do, especially our boys. One day, our boys decided to come into my office and within a matter of minutes they emptied my shredder and covered the entire office with the shredded paper. Then on another day, they managed to go into our bedroom empty out all the clothes from our drawers, pull all the sheets off the bed, and knock off the clock from the wall in a matter of a few minutes. Now these are a couple of incidents that our “active” boys can accomplish in record time. So how do they encourage me to love God and Christ more?

Before I had children, I always wanted children. But my motive for wanting to have children was purely selfish. The only reason I wanted to have children was that they were fun and cute, and that it was something that married couples have to call themselves a “family”. But soon I realized that having children is not about meeting my needs but instead they are one of the instruments that God uses to make me holy. There is not a day that goes by that God humbles me in my role as a parent. In my attitude toward my children, my selfishness, my anger, my frustration, my lack of patience, my lack of love, and my belief that I need to have control over them. Even though they make mistakes and even sin against me and with each other, my heart continues to be challenged in how I respond in those moments. As parents our greatest desire is to see our children love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. My greatest fear is that I would provoke them and cause them to be discouraged (Col. 3:21). That they will grow up thinking that they need to please daddy and that they will be fearful of punishment if they don’t do that. What kind of God am I communicating to our children when fear of punishment motivates them to please another man? So how do they encourage me to love God and Christ more?

My children have shown me that being a godly parent cannot be done by reading books on parenting, by going to seminars on parenting, by listening to “advice” from other parents alone, but instead it needs to be founded on God’s love for us. Each day has its challenges, but through them and spending time with our children my love for them continues to grow. I cannot imagine the love that God has for us to be willing to sacrifice His own Son for people that hated Him. Not only that, but my children are the greatest examples of God’s forgiveness in my life. I have often asked for forgiveness to my children for my lack of patience, for my anger, for punishing them too severely, and they have always been so quick to forgive me and extend love to me. With all of these things, they remind me so much of the gospel that has saved me from the life that I once lived and how truly it is something that I don’t deserve. They are a daily reminder of God’s love for me and Christ’s sacrifice on my behalf. As parents, we face many challenges and difficulties, but through them all, we have the blessing to be able to grow in our love for our Lord and Savior through the ministry of encouragement from our children.

Weekly Links (3/05/10)

by Stephen Rodgers

Alright, so I’m up in Los Angeles at the Shepherd’s Conference, and I’m slightly desperate to get some sleep before the sermons tomorrow, so forgive me if my scintillating commentary is a bit on the light side this week (and all God’s people said “amen!”).

I’ve got a couple of links to videos that I’d like to post, but I haven’t had a chance to check them out myself yet, so I may do that over the weekend once I get back to San Diego. Considering they deal with two different pastors that I admire, I’m hoping that they pan out and I can give you a little bonus post this weekend.

See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

Ushering Ministry

by Min Kim

I still remember my first day as an usher. I believe it was the fall of 2000. I approached Peter Lim and told him that it was weird for me to show up to Church and not serve. I thought I should be serving somewhere and not come to Church and just sit there. He suggested that I be an usher. I said yes, and from that day forward I was an usher. But to this day, I still don’t know how I became the head usher. I do it enjoy it and I have been overseeing this ministry for the past 10 years.

The Church is called to worship God with all their heart (Matthew 22:37), and in spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24). The worship service should reflect His character and nature because He is a God of peace and order, and not of strife and confusion (I Corinthians 14:33). The worship service must exalt and glorify God. So the ushers serve by helping others worship God without any distractions and help keep order during the worship service.

The duties of the ushers are: collecting the offering, collecting white slips, door monitoring, some security duties, and assisting with administering communion.

If you are a member of LBC and would like to serve in this ministry, please let me know.

Living Theology #14 – The Providence of God

by Garrett Glende

Continuing on in the study of God’s interaction with His creation, we will now consider the issue of God’s providence. Grudem defines the term as “God being continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.” A full discussion of this topic would require a lengthy article (Grudem’s chapter alone is about 40 pages), so we’ll only cover the essentials.

The doctrine of God’s providence starts with the fact that He is creator of all things, thus giving Him lordship over all (for further insight, check out last week’s article). Providence basically boils down to the nature of God being God. If He were not in control of any single molecule, then He really isn’t its God. Scripture affirms that every act of creation happens under the sovereign hand of God and we see that inanimate creation such as rain and snow obey the voice of God (Job 37:6) and that animals are dependent on the goodness of their creator (Psalm 104:27-29, Matt. 10:29). While there are “natural” explanations for why it rains and why the grass grows, we know that God is truly behind it all, working ultimately for His own glory. Moreover, God has sovereignty over all aspects of our lives. Grudem writes, “our words, our steps, our movements, our hearts, and our abilities are all from the Lord.” While we do make real choices, we must also submit to the clear teaching of Scripture: that God’s providence extends into our own lives completely. Psalm 33:14-15 says that God fashions the hearts of the world and Acts 17:28 says that it is in Him we live and move.

It’s not difficult to admit the truthfulness of Scripture at this point, but the next question for many is a challenging one to tackle. What about evil? If God is in control of everything, doesn’t that mean He knows and allows all the bad things in the world? What we believe about God and His relationship with evil will strongly influence our lives when tough times do come, so we must believe rightly about what is called theodicy. First, it is imperative to note that God is in no way the author of sin. He tempts no one (James 1:13-14), bears no responsibility for the sinful actions of man (Luke 22:22), and will judge all sin. However, Scripture is clear that God uses evil for His own perfect purposes, His own glory, and our own good. A clear example of this is in the story of Joseph, where the many sinful actions of Joseph’s brothers landed him enslaved in Egypt, yet he was still able to say that “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen 50:20). Evil actions such as the brothers’ hatred of Joseph, their desire to kill him, and their selling him into slavery, ultimately were meant for a greater good by God. Later on in the verse we read that this purpose was “to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Even more than Joseph’s story, we see that God uses evil in the crucifixion of Christ, an event that ultimately leads to our salvation. Acts 2:23 says that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God [and] crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” The ultimate evil act, the murder of Jesus Christ, is also the most glorious event in all of history because of the divine providence of God in working out all things for His glory.

The most important thing that this means for us is that God has a purpose to everything that goes on in this world. Nothing is meaningless. When devastating news comes, when cancer strikes, when earthquakes kill thousands, or whenever we see evil in this world, we can rest on Gods promise in Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” We can have hope in knowing that there is not one atom in this universe that is outside of God’s sovereign control. As John Piper says, “God doesn’t do things willy-nilly.” There is always a purpose to what He does and His ultimate purpose is the glorification of Himself, most beautifully seen through the gospel. Many want to argue that God can have no involvement in the evil things that happen in this world. “What kind of good God allows such horrors?” they ask. Well, consider the alternative. If God does not permit evil and use it for His glory, then there really isn’t any purpose in the countless atrocities that happen every day. So when a family member gets cancer we just have to call it bad luck, because God certainly couldn’t have any purpose in such a trial. This view of God is unbiblical and unhelpful in dealing with many counseling situations, as we will not be able to offer any sort of reason or purpose for someone’s suffering. Hard times will undoubtedly befall us, but we must confront them with a biblical worldview. Our understanding of the providence of God will help us respond to evil, knowing that God is working in our lives to conform us to the image of His Son. In this way we can have hope even in the darkest of hours.

“Why? No Really…Why?”

By Pastor Patrick Cho

As a fairly new parent, I am understanding more and more clearly that merely teaching my child to behave a certain way does not necessarily solve the problem of disobedience. If my child’s rebellion springs from her heart, then her heart needs to be addressed and not only her outward behavior. If the heart is not addressed, even if one behavioral problem is “corrected” another one is sure to arise. She will simply find some other way to manifest her rebellious attitude. I might get my child to come to sit still during dinner, but she might later deliberately throw her food to the floor in anger. The problem is that she is not learning to lovingly trust me in obedience, and her selfish heart is not being addressed. She is simply being taught that she will get in trouble with Papa if she doesn’t sit still.

The same fundamental principle applies to adults as well. Oftentimes people make decisions without ever considering if there is a biblical basis behind those decisions. Although they might profess that they seek to honor God with the decisions they make, when it actually comes time to make day to day decisions, God is not really on their minds. They don’t turn to the Scriptures to figure out how God might direct them. Instead, their decisions are made based solely on practicality, convenience, and ease. If it isn’t convenient for them, people don’t seem to care about pursuing the most God-glorifying decisions. They reason to themselves that there can be no other way. They look at their circumstances and conclude that their decision must be best. They fail to examine what are the real desires of their hearts.

Let me illustrate this with an issue that has been a fairly hot topic at Lighthouse in recent months. In my personal conversations, people have brought up the issue of daycare probably more than any other topic, so let’s think through it. For whatever reason, more and more parents are choosing to place their children in daycare instead of having Mom stay at home to raise her children. Regardless of what your position is on daycare, whether you think it’s ok or not, the issue I want to address is the reasoning behind the decision. Perhaps the couple looks at their financial situation and concludes that they need a second income. Perhaps the wife simply doesn’t want to stop working because of all the hard work she put into her career. Perhaps raising a child has proven to be too challenging and she simply needs a break during the day. Regardless of whether you conclude that these reasons are good or bad, the sad fact is that they are only based on practicality. There is no thought of “How does the Bible instruct us in this?” or “Is there a biblical principle that could help guide our decision making?”

The big question to consider is: What is the basis behind the decisions you make? Too often people are saying things like “That’s the way our parents did it, and we came out fine” or “All our friends are doing this and they go to church” or “I know of churches that have their own daycares and their pastors are ok with it” or even “You’re being legalistic to tell me I can’t” to justify their actions. What isn’t being considered is “Is this really what God would want me to do?” or “Is this the decision that would be most consistent with what His Word says?” or even “Am I really seeking to glorify Him in this decision or am I only looking to get what I want?”

I suppose this begs the question, does the Bible actually teach that all decisions are to be biblical? My answer is a resounding YES! Someone might argue, “Some decisions are too trivial to filter through a biblical framework.” To which I would apply, “Doesn’t the Bible instruct us to do all things to the glory of God – whether we eat or drink or whatever we do (1 Cor. 10:31)? Or doesn’t the Bible instruct women to dress modestly, not with gold or pearls or costly attire (1 Tim. 2:9)?” Certainly there are few things more mundane than what you eat or drink or wear. These are not the big life changing decisions we make, but the way we make them matters to God!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 speaks of the inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency of the Word of God. Through the wisdom given in God’s Word, the believer is given everything they need pertaining to life and godliness (cf. 2 Pet. 1:3). The psalmist praised the Scriptures for the comprehensive instruction it gives so that in it we are given all we need to live this life in a way that pleases God (cf. Ps. 119). To not go to the Scriptures is like saying, “Thanks God, but I think I can handle this on my own.”

Besides, there’s an undeniable correlation between the commands given in Ephesians 5:18 and Colossians 3:16. In the one passage, believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. In the other, we are called to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. The relationship between these verses is such that at the very least there is an intimate relationship between being Spirit-filled and Word-filled, and at the very most these two ideas refer to the same thing. The greater issue is that these commands are present tense continual commands. There is no time in a person’s life that he should stop being filled with the Spirit. And there is no time when it is ok not to have the Word of Christ dwell in him richly. What true believer in Christ would ever say, “I don’t desire to live a Spirit-filled life.” So, in what decisions we make are we permitted to not consider the principles of God’s Word? Hopefully you are reading this and concluding: None!

What also needs to be pointed out is that you can even make seemingly good decisions without a biblical basis. (Remember the illustration of the child learning to behave a certain way without having the right reason for doing so.) Going back to the example of daycare, perhaps you do not believe in putting your child in daycare. Isn’t it possible (and certainly often the case) that the basis behind this decision is its practicality, as much as the reasons given by those who do put their children in daycare? Perhaps you reason “This is what would be best for my child” or “I just want to spend as much time with my kid as possible.” Again, biblical principles might not be in the picture at all.

One might reason, “But isn’t it enough that I am coming to the right kinds of decisions?” My response, this time, is a resounding NO! Why? Because while you might get one decision correct, if practicality is the sole basis for your decision, you might be starting to set a pattern for yourself for unwise decision making in the future. Sure, you got one decision right. Who’s to say you’ll get the next one right? So, the goal is not only to come to the right decision. The process of coming to that decision is just as (if not more because of precedence) important.

Again, the issue of daycare aside (regardless of whether you think it is permissible or not), what is the basis behind the decisions you make? In the end, what is the reason for pursuing your choices with as much commitment as you do? Here you need to be honest. You might fool those around you, but you can’t fool God. Could it be that there are simply some things we want in life so badly that we don’t even want God to get in the way of our getting them? We might mask our desires with external shows of holiness. We might reason, “But I prayed about it,” or “God has given me peace in this decision.” But if we really are not looking to His Word for the right principles to guide our decision making, how can we conclude that God is more pleased with our decisions or line of thinking?

Please understand that the purpose of this article is not to condemn daycare or to say that those who put their kids in daycare are evil. It is simply a challenge to consider why we make the choices we do. What drives us? What are our hearts’ desires? Do we have certain things in our lives that we want so badly that we are willing to make choices that might not be the best before God’s eyes? These are important questions to consider because you need to know that God cares not only about the decisions we make, but also about how we come to make those decisions.

Book Review: Persuasions – A Dream of Reason Meeting Unbelief

Book by Douglas Wilson

Review by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Becoming familiar with Pastor Douglas Wilson and his writing style has always given me a helpful dose of reality in living out the Christian life thoughtfully, and this book is no different. I’m already getting ahead of myself, but I know Pastor Wilson from reading a few of his books and his blog, and it has always left me challenged and encouraged to think afresh of commonly-tread truths gleaned from Scripture. Especially his recent engagements with well-known “anti-theist” (a self-designated title) Christopher Hitchens have shown Wilson to be a winsome communicator of Christian theism, despite your personal position regarding the existence of God.

For those taking the Introduction to Presuppositional Apologetics class at church, this would be helpful supplemental reading, one that weighs in at only 88 pages and is very easy to read. Similar to John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character’s name describes who he is: Evangelist. It is a collection of “case studies” of encounters Evangelist has with people of many different persuasions, drawing them to encounter the Great Persuasion of the claims of Christ. All set in a dream, it portrays, in very intriguing imagery, moments where this servant of God tries to point people to the upward Road that leads to the City, instead of choosing the one that leads to the Abyss. However many road signs are laid out for people to be warned of what’s ahead, God has many of His evangelists, like this one, to be God’s expression of love to those who are deceived into believing many lies that end up defining them. Though they have actual names, it does not take long to discover where they stand themselves. Each meet-up consists of roughly 7 pages, with conversations you would love to eavesdrop in.

One such encounter involves a man named Randy who is very much unashamed of being with many women throughout his life, and how he views Christians as people very ashamed of even discussing the topic. Listen in:

Randy: “Look, you religious types are all alike. You look down your noses at people having a good time, and you’re envious. You wish you could get a little action. But you can’t because of all your rules. So you cram your rules down our throats.”

Evangelist smiled and slowly shook his head. “I will not defend the rules; they are not mine to defend, they are God’s. He will apply and defend them adequately enough. As to your accusation of envy, I have only one thing to say. If I see a 400-pound man on the street, I do not envy him all the additional pleasure he has had at the dinner table. Nor do I envy you your time in bed.”

…

Randy’s laughter was increasingly nervous, and he had a hunted expression.

“I just couldn’t live like you do. I want to spend my time around pretty women.”

This time it was Evangelist’s turn to laugh, but there was no mockery in it. “Then why do you spend time with women who are not? My wife, Compassion, is a beautiful woman, and her beauty begins on the inside. I have never been ashamed of her. I would be very ashamed indeed to be involved with a woman who was willing to be used as a thing.” (p.13)

The exchanges Evangelist has with people show a familiarity of the Christian worldview, as well as a reflective mind in drawing conclusions with his interlocutors they might not necessarily want to embrace, even if it is a logical outflow of their own presuppositions. Interestingly enough, Pastor Wilson had noted in a later interview* that he was not aware of his approach in engaging unbelievers having a name (Presuppositional Apologetics), much less a developed system of thought started by Cornelius Van Til. To seek to be consistent with one’s assumptions about the world is to collapse into living an inconsistent life, unless one’s assumptions are that the God of Scripture exists as a Trinity and has spoken in a way we can understand, with a message that shatters all other messages void of truth. Evangelist’s job, ultimately, is to honor his Master by pointing those heading toward the Abyss to come and honor their Creator and come towards the City on the basis of Jesus the Christ who died to bring them to Himself. How he points many to this way is by reasoning with them to live accordingly to their unbelief, which is what cannot be done, nor do they want to, in outright defiance of the One who made them.

I’m sure many of us can find great help from this book, if we know anyone with these kinds of persuasions: one who pursues immorality, one who considers the law of God irrelevant, a feminist, an agnostic, an unbelieving scholar, an atheist, one against election, an unhappy married couple, one hurt by hypocrisy in the church, an anti-Lordship advocate, a pantheist, and evolutionist, and a Roman Catholic. Know anyone of these persuasions? Or do you yourself fit any of these persuasions? I found it to be of helpful assistance in drawing me closer to Christ, as well as give me a useful tool to be winsome in my speech, not just among unbelievers, but brothers and sisters in the church who have been saved out of these false systems of thought. If read, I believe you will also grow in tactful speech. May God be glorified as we continue to live our lives as servants willing to be out on the Road, pointing people to the way that leads to the City and away from the Abyss.

To listen to the interview this book and his most recent project Collision, please go here.

Editor’s Note: March 2010

by Stephen Rodgers

Well, March is now upon us, Beacon 3.0 has been running smoothly (except for the couple hours last week when I broke it during an upgrade; by the way, thanks Kyle!), and we’re all another month deeper into 2010. I don’t know about you, but the time just seems to fly by!

This month brings with it a few new changes to the Beacon. Personally, I’m super-excited about all of them, but just to highlight a few for you:

  • Garrett Glende has moved up to the San Jose area in preparation for the church plant, but that isn’t going to stop him from completing his Living Theology series (current motto: “about 14 done, only 44 more to go!”). I know that I’ve been enjoying it immensely, so please keep him in prayer, since he’s going to be juggling work, moving, and writing.
  • Cesar Vigil-Ruiz has joined the staff, and he has a desire to keep us all supplied with a near-endless stream of book reviews. I worked with Cesar years ago on the original Beacon, and let me tell you, this is going to be good stuff. So keep a weather eye.
  • And last but not least, Richard Shin has put together a series of interviews for the upcoming church plant that really are a must-read. His asks a lot of questions that expose a more personal side of the preparation, and getting to see these has been like an early Christmas for me. I think you’re going to enjoy them and well as be encouraged by them.

And as you might have figured out, these additions mean that we will be moving from a 4-times-a-week-schedule to a 5-times-a-week schedule. So unless something goes wrong, you will have new content every weekday.

Well, I hope that serves to whet your appetite for what’s coming. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or ideas, feel free to track me down at church, or send me an email.

Pro Rege