This week we are in Nicaragua. The whole week will be spent training pastors and church leaders on Survey of The Old Testament. Please be in prayer for the work.

"Quote" of the Week

¹³ Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. ¹⁴ The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Proverbs 13:13-14 

We live in a culture where image is everything.  Don’t believe me just walk down the magazine isle at Wal-Mart.  You don’t see people like me on the front cover and the reason why is because the world puts a lot of stock into outward appearance and style. 

Let me ask you, “Do you think the celebrities who frequent the front page of GQ and Vanity Fair are on the front cover ultimately because they are people of substance?"  Not saying that some are not, but 9 times out of 10 the reason for them being on the cover of those magazines is because of their outward appearance.  And this is not just in Hollywood, we see this in Christian circles as well. 

Some of the most well-known preachers on TV are not necessarily the ones with the most substance—the most doctrinally sound.  I would argue that some have very little substance at all to their message.  Then why are they on TV?  Why are they so popular?  A lot of the time it’s because they either look good on camera or are gifted communicators.  Many are not drawn to pastors because of the content of their message, but in the way their message is presented—not with what’s being said, but how it is said. 

The believers Paul writes to in Corinth were the same way.  At this time if Greek speakers looked impressive and used ginormous words showing off how educated they were and if they were wise by the worlds standards and had a style that showcased their brilliance, their wisdom, their charm and their wit, great crowds would flock to these guys. 

Well in 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul gives his audience some great news.  He tells them that these characteristics are not what God is looking for in His representatives.  Paul proves this by example saying,  

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.

Though Paul was highly educated and could have showcased his brilliance, he held back from showcasing these things because he knew lofty speech and human wisdom does not save.    

Now know that Paul is not speaking negatively about the importance of study and knowing what we believe.  Paul is clear here that his role and our role as believers is to know and communicate the Testimony of God—the Scriptures and the only way to do this is to read it, study it, memorize and meditate upon it so that we can in turn effectively communicate it to others. 

What Paul is speaking against here is adding our own two cents—putting our own spin on the Testimony of God thinking, “If I add this here or that there then this person will be more likely to respond.”

It is so important for us to realize that God doesn’t call us to be His PR person, He calls us to be His witnesses.  He doesn’t need us to dress up His message and put our own spin on things or to add elements to it to make it more appealing.  He just wants us to know His word and communicate it clearly to others.   

This should encourage us.  Maybe you are thinking to yourself, “How could God use me?  I’m not that popular, I’m not a gifted speaker, I’m not educated and don’t have a huge vocabulary.”  That’s fine—that is not what saves.  That’s not what brings sinners to repentance—that’s not what makes people right with God. 

God brings change when His word is learned and clearly communicated to others.  Jesus calls for His followers in Acts 1:8 to be His witnesses and that’s great because that is something we all can do.  Now if He said, “Go out and be funny in my name that would exclude some because some of us are not very funny.”  If He said, “Go out and draw people to me through with your looks and your intellect that would leave many of us out.” 

Instead God gives us an assignment we all can do.  He says, “Be my witnesses—go spread about me.  Grow in your knowledge of Me through My word and share that message with others.”

"Quote" of the Week

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." -Apostle Paul

HAPPY REFORMATION DAY!!!

It’s Reformation Day—when the church celebrates and commemorates October 31, 1517. It was on this day (a Saturday) that a 33-year-old theology professor at Wittenberg University walked over to the Castle Church in Wittenberg and nailed a paper of 95 theses to the door, hoping to spark an academic discussion about their contents. In God’s providence and unbeknownst to anyone else that day, it would become a key event in igniting the Reformation.  -Justin Taylor

For more on Martin Luther and the Reformation click HERE

"Quote" of the Week

“The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.” -Martin Luther

WHERE DOES HUMAN WISDOM LEAD US?

Scripture is clear that when you hang your hat on human wisdom—when you elevate it above everything else what naturally results is a rejection of Christ and the cross.  This should make sense to us shouldn’t it?  Think about the characteristics of those who value human wisdom—they elevate self, they promote human reasoning and self-effort and believe those things to be what truly makes the world a better place. 

Well the message of the Gospel tells us the exact opposite.  It teaches us that our thoughts and our actions are corrupt.  In fact, Scripture teaches that human wisdom is the reason why our world is a mess to begin with.  Didn’t Adam and Eve prove this to be the case in the very beginning?

Even though God told them that if they ate of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden they would surely die, they chose to listen to Satan and trust in themselves rather than believe and trust in God.  As a result of that act, sin came into the picture and ruined and wrecked God’s perfect world.  Though they thought this decision they made apart from God was going to make their life better as if it wasn’t perfect already, what happened as a result of them trusting in themselves is that their lives got much worse.

Scripture is clear that though good has come from human wisdom, it falls short in the most crucial of ways. For example, though we have made all these advancements in the field of medicine, there really hasn’t been any real progress in explaining what life is all about.  Though we have made great strides in our legal systems--in our theories on the way the law is to be applied, we cannot explain why people continue to hate, exploit, abuse and kill one another at an increasing and alarming rate.

Though we have some of the most advanced forms of communication in the world, we are really not any better at communicating with one another, which is the reason why we have families at odds with one another and why divorce rates are through the roof.

Truth is when answering the most fundamental and foundational questions of life.  Questions like, “Does God exist and if so what is he like?  Who are we, why are we here and what’s wrong with the world?”

The good news is that where human wisdom has fallen short, God has come through for us.  He has provided answers to those questions in His word.  The Scriptures tells us who He is and what He has done for us--that we are special because we are created in His image and that sin is what is wrong with the world.  His Word also tells us that He has created us to live in relationship with Him and how that relationship can be restored through the person and work of Christ.