Is All Truth "God's Truth"?

One of the more popular topics of debate within both secular and spiritual circles is whether all truth comes from God or if there is secular truth that does not originate from the divine.  Many question if there are two different types of truth?  Is there spiritual truth and secular truth?  One author probed if there is truth with a capital "T" and truth with a small "t"?   

Jesus addresses this issue several times in the Gospel of John. 

John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noe one can come to the Father except through me.

John 17:17 - Make them holy by your truth, teach them your word, which is truth.

Jesus Himself is the personification of truth.  All truth points to God and finds its foundation and its significance in Him.  2 +2 does not equal 4 without God.  The reality and the consistency of that fact is based in the reality and the consistency of God. The fact that our body needs oxygen to survive; or that color is a reflection of light; or that pi is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter are all truths that point to the reality of all powerful God.  God is truth and all truth comes from God.

The challenge, though, is not just to be aware of that fact.  John Piper addresses that particular issue in his web blog...http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/all-truth-is-gods-truth-admits-the-devil

Alongside “All truth is God’s truth,” we need to say, “All truth exists to display more of God and awaken more love for God.” This means that knowing truth and knowing it as God’s truth is not a virtue until it awakens desire and delight in us for the God of truth. And that desire and delight are not complete until they give rise to words or actions that display the worth of God. That is, we exist to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and merely knowing a truth to be God’s truth does not glorify him any more than the devil does.

The simple realization of the fact that all truth is God's truth is not enough. Truth should point man to God.  Real truth, when properly understood should give us a glimpse of our Creator.  It should give us a desire to better understand and to more intimately know Him.   

It was the psalmist that said, "the heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display His craftsmanship."   The magnitude and the beauty of the heavens point people towards the reality of a personal God.  How sad when scientists and humanists alike view truth in all of its magnificence and yet reject the Author of that truth.   Once again to quote John Piper: "All truth exists to make God known, and loved and shown."

So be amazed at the beauty and the precision of the universe, discover the exactitude and the miraculous functionality of the human body, seek to understand the laws of physics and thermodynamics.  Let me encourage you, though, to not stop there.  Allow the truth of God to result in a greater personal love an dedication for the God who is the Author of it all.

Thankful for a Healthy Heart

Psalm 139:14 - Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it!  

Several weeks ago I took my annual stress test and echocardiogram to evaluate the condition of my heart.  These annual cardio check-ups are due to the fact that twelve years ago I suffered a heart attack and underwent triple bypass open heart surgery.   Yes I know what you are thinking, how could such a young and physically fit guy have heart problems?   Well, let's just blame it on my mom's side of the family. 

For the past eleven years I have passed each of these annual exams with "flying colors."  Everything was smooth sailing up until this year.  Several days after this year's stress test I received a call from my cardiologist's office saying that something appeared to be abnormal with the nuclear imaging.  I needed to have a heart catherization.  

You have no idea what such news does to me.  Although I may appear to be courageous and full of faith on the outside, I must confess that I am a huge wimp on the inside.  I immediatly jumped to the worst conclusions and convinced myself that I had just a short time to live. Yes, now was the time to get my affairs in order because I was not going to live much longer.  :)

Last Monday they performed the heart cath and to my surprise (and lack of faith) everything was fine.  There was no need for open heart surgery, stents or any other procedure.  I was going to live!

There is an amazing and miraculous part to this story.  The heart catherization revealed that one of my three bypasses had collapsed. You would think that such an occurance would have caused a shortflow of blood to my heart and a potential heart attack, but that was not the case.  In my doctor's words, "my heart fixed itself."   The surgeon stated that other collateral veins and arteries picked up the slack for the collapsed bypass so that my heart not only did not suffer damage, but it is as strong and healthy as always. Of course you and I know that my heart did not fix itself, God fixed it!  Isn't that cool?

I am so thankful that I serve an all-powerful God that has not only cured my wounded heart, but He also cleansed my sinful heart.  Hallelujah what a Savior!

 

Miami Herald Article on Hollywood Community Church

http://tinyurl.com/3hmyzpg

Should a Pastor be a Theologian?

Recently, I was recommended an article by my friend and missionary Mike Todd on the debate as to whether a Pastor should be a Theologian.   The editorial begins with a joke that I trust that you will find as amusing as I did... 

The story is told of two seminary professors who were walking in a cemetery when one said to the other, "Look, two men are buried in this grave." His colleague asked, "How do you know?"

"Because the tombstone says, 'Here lies a pastor and a theologian.'"

Is theology just for professors?  Do pastors have the responsibility to not only understand theology but to teach it to their congregation as well?  Those questions are clearly and biblically answered in this article that was written more than ten years ago.  http://www.founders.org/journal/fj43/editorial.html.  Let me encourage you to take the time to read it. 

Key Quote:  "Theology is best learned in the crucible of life and ministry, which means that a pastor must regard himself as a life-long learner and student. To aid in this process, a pastor should regard the study of theology and the discipline of thinking theologically ongoing responsibilities of his calling."

As the author Tom Ascol states, "Recovering the pastor-theologian model is not optional for a ministry which is committed to being biblical. God's Word requires pastors to see themselves in this light." May God help those of us who are honored to bear the title of "pastor" to be committed to a strong biblical theology.

Proud Parents!

Vickie and I are so proud of the way that God is using our two sons.  Both Justin and Mark love the Lord and are called into full-time ministry.  God has blessed them with a unique situation in that they are on the pastoral staff of the same church.  Justin has served as the Worship and Youth Pastor at Grace Pointe Church's Naperville Campus for the past four years.  Last year Grace Pointe hired Mark to be the Youth Pastor at their Plainfield Campus.  How cool is that?



This past Sunday they were eached asked to preach at their respective churches. Below you will find the links where you can find both of their messages.  Let me encourage you to take some time and listen to their sermons.  I am cofident that you will be encouraged and challenged in your walk with the Lord.

Justin's message - http://www.gracepointenaperville.us/media.php?pageID=15

Mark's message - http://www.gracepointeplainfield.us/media.php?pageID=29

Dare to be a Disciple!

Today at Hollywood Community Church we began a new series of messages from the Sermon on the Mount.  We have titled the series The Character of a Disciple.  The premise of the series is that the Lord, in this His signature message, outlines the characteristics of those that call themselves His disciples.  

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is not a responsibility that we should take lightly.  To the contrary. such a role should only be accepted with a sense of reverence and heartfelt obedience.  I am afraid that there are way too many "Christians" today that desire the advantages of salvation without the accountability. They long for God to bless them while they long for the world to accept them.  They seek the rewards of discipleship without fulfilling the responsibility of discipleship.  It is that precise point that the Lord addresses in Matthew 5-7.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his classic book The Cost of Discipleship addresses the reason why Jesus' disciples were called blessed.

Therefore Jesus calls his disciples blessed.  He spoke to men who had already responded o the power of his call, and it is that call which has made them poor, afflicted and hungry. He called them blessed, not because of their privation, or the renunciation they have made, for these are not blessed in themselves.  Only the call and the promise, for the sake of which they are ready to suffer poverty and renunciation, can justify the beatitudes (p. 106).

The fact is that the disciples realized that the characteristics of discipleship went hand-in-hand with the acceptance of the call.  In other words, their obedient response to the Lord's call to discipleship included a willingness to surrender themselves to him and to his will for their life.  They weren't looking for the easy path nor were they giving a half-hearted commitment.  They were all in.

How about you?  Have you realized that the call to discipleship is a call to commitment?  Are you all in?

Jesus said it this way...

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  Luke 14:27

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.  Luke 14:33

Let me encourage you to take the discipleship challenge.  Dare to be a disciple!