Stay Tuned…

Merry Christmas

The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light;

     those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

     on them has light shined.

You have multiplied the nation;

     you have increased its joy;

     they rejoice before you as with the joy at the harvest,

     as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

     and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

     and his name shall be called

     Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,

     on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

     to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness

     from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

-Isaiah 9:2-3,6-7 (ESV)

Why I Love Switchfoot

Baby Got Book!

 

Thoughts?

Prosperity Gospel and Economic Recession?

For the past few weeks, it’s been hard to ignore the news coverage regarding the virtual collapse of the American financial industry.  From talk of foreclosures, credit crunches, “predatory lending,” and bailouts, we’ve been inundated with bad news.

Today I read an article which poses the question, “Is God to blame?”  Or more to the point of the article, have preachers of the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” unwittingly driven their flocks into financial ruin?  This Time magazine article entitled, “Did God Want You to Get That Mortgage?” provides an insightful peek into a nefarious and thoroughly wrong-headed teaching which has been running rampant in parts of Christianity.

As a personal note to pastors and those who aspire to teach in the Church, let this be a warning that what is said and taught each week in the pulpit has very real consequences–both for now and eternity.

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For a short and compelling reply to the Prosperity Gospel, see John Piper’s video.

Stay Tuned

As you can see from the new layout, Post Tenebras Lux isn’t dead just yet.  I’m currently in the process of taking my ordination exams, so stay tuned for some updates, articles, and generally random musings in the near future.

I Couldn’t Have Said It Any Better

I’ve recently started running after a long athletic hiatus.  This Nike commercial pretty much explains why.

On Transition and Sermon Prep

Typical.  When one has nothing to do, nothing happens, but yet when a week is really busy suddenly there is time to blog.  Escapism, perhaps?  This Sunday I’ll be preaching at Christ Our Hope Church in Wake Forest on 1 Peter 5:6-11, which is primarily concerned with hope through suffering.  I don’t anticipate that this will be a “fun” topic to study and preach, but hope that time spent preparing will be sweet and rich food for the soul.  If my sermon should bomb, then at least I will have had time drinking deeply of God’s wonderful promises in this passage.  The Lord knows that I desperately need to hear this.

It seems that there is so much to say of late.  Since my last post my son, Timothy Anselm Jones, was brought into this world.  I’ve often heard new fathers talk about how powerful witnessing the birth of their children is, but never could really sympathize.  When I saw my son for the first time, however, I had to choke back the tears.  Rarely have I ever been struck so speechless.  My son means the world to me now, and I find myself wanting to be there to meet his every need.  It seems that he is taking me (and his mother!) up on this offer, as Janel and I haven’t been sleeping too well.  Young Timothy seems to enjoy spending time with his mom and dad in the very wee hours of the morning, much to our chagrin.

I have been encouraged over the past few weeks in my search for a pastoral call.  God has blessed me with a couple of initial phone interviews for assistant minister positions, which has meant so much to me.  Though I may or may not proceed further in the search process with these congregations, simply having some “bites” has helped to lift my spirits and remind me of the unwavering faithfulness of our God to care for His children (Matt 6:33-34).

Enough escape for now.  It’s time to get back to the sermon prep.

Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

A Morning Meditation

If you even periodically read this blog, you’ll have noticed that nothing of substance has been posted in several months.  Let this fact give testimony for my personal spiritual condition during this time; meager at best.  The Lord is good and merciful, though, and has not let me go.  Praise Him!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity regarding what lies in our future.  I hope to write a narrative of this in the form of a personal testimony in the very near future, but suffice it to say for the moment that I currently have no answers.  Yet what I do know is this:  “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins.  And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains!”  These words penned in that great hymn, “There Is A Fountain,” seem to have been inspired by Zechariah 13:1, which states, “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”  These words, written over 2500 years ago, are just as true today as the day the ink dried on the parchment.  Right now that Fountain gives life to the dead!  Praise Him!

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.  (John 3:13-14)