My sweet and beautiful Christ.

My peaceful and comforting Spirit.

Oh, how He loves me so very much.

He loves me so much that only because of Him I get to share the wonderful good news that there is the one true God who is continuously relentlessly, passionately, lovingly pursuing each and every one of us.

My God loves me so much and I love him with every fiber and atom of my being.  I will bless the Lord and with all that is in me, I will forever praise, glorify, sing and bless His holy name.

I am going to sleep loved by and in love with my Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 16:7-11
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Let\’s Chill by Guy

Why ‘The End’?

My vision for this blog was clear and simple: an online collection of my thought processes and feelings.  A notebook or journal if you will.

If the content was good enough for you to keep coming back and read, then that was just an added bonus.

I started this ‘journal’ to really try to figure out myself.  In the last three years, I figured out this much:

I am an extrovert. Extrovert in the sense that I become energized by being with people.  Lots of people is doubly good.  Lots of strangers is triply good.  It is in my quiet and alone time is where I expend that energy out.

I like to cook. This actually started like five years ago.  That much I knew.

I still like to draw. This is a natural skill that I can use to teach my son who seems to have that talent as well.  I pray and hope I can nurture that well.

I am theologian. This is a quite a bold statement.  So bold I cannot believe I just wrote that down.  Yet, my favorite definition of the title comes from Herman Bavinck, who stated,

“A theologian is a person who makes bold to speak about God because he speaks out of God and through God.  To profess theology is to do holy work. It is a priestly ministration in the house of the Lord. It is itself a service of worship, a consecration of mind and heart to the honour of His name.”

If that apt description holds true, I have no choice then to claim that title as mine.  For the record, I am not even claiming to be in the same stratosphere of the saints before me.  I dare not hold the jacket of the Stotts, Packers, Pipers, Carsons, Sprouls and MacArthurs of this world. I can’t run with the Mohlers and Grudems.  I am not even sitting at the cool kids’ table with the Driscolls, Chandlers and Devers.

I feel like that kid out of high school who doesn’t know if he is getting drafted this year.

I am like Jerry Reed, I gotta long way to go and a short time to get there.

Yet, this much I know is true.

I love God with every fiber of my being.  My eyes cannot unsee, my ears cannot unhear and my heart cannot unknow God’s revealed glory in my life.  I know that I know that I am his son.  I am his forever.  At my lowest point, he is with me.  When I blaspheme his holy name, Christ doesn’t stop working on my heart to be taken aback and gasp at my sin.  Christ knows my sins and iniquities and doesn’t stop for a second.  It is like I am always having open heart surgery but I am fully awake, fully aware and I am staring down at my own chest, watching him in awe and be amazed at his skilled and delicate hands.

I desire to do nothing more to boldly, joyfully and tearfully to give my life over for public display and to teach and preach the beauty and wonder that is the very good news of God.

Whatever I do know in my little bitty head: scriptures, theology, thoughts, memories, doctrines, references, quotes.  Whatever intelligence, wisdom and charisma I might hold, that is simply not my doing but that would be by God’s grace alone.  I do acknowledge these gifts of the Spirit.  I do know that for His glory, he could take those gifts and everything from me and he would have done me no wrong.  If I have lost everything, I still have God and therefore, I have everything.  Absolutely, he is my lot, inheritance and portion.  Forevermore.

Awesome. Now, that we have that established…

What about writing?  What about the blog?

I am going to keep this blog up indefinitely for archival sake.

Next, I will start a new blog that will bit lighter (probably with some crazy non-sequitur domain name that will make me all cool and hipster like)  and have a forum to talk about food, art, culture, philosophy, sciences and whatever else hits my head on a whim.  Heck, I might go crazy and post up some photos.  (Oh yea, I used to be a combat photographer.)  This will get the most play and be directly linked to my Facebook/Twitter/whatever-social-network-of-choice.

Finally, within that domain, I will sub-domain (think fancytheolog-term-here.whatever-domain.com) that will carry my thoughts and papers on God, Scripture and all other points in between.  (The Ruth and Roman series will be ported over to this sub-blog.)  If you wanna follow, fine.  But you will have to dig for it to find it.  Once you find it, hold on for the ride.  It will be deep, rich, thick, weighty and I will not apologize for it.  It will always be a work in progress.  I will take the liberty to go back and edit past posts for better clarification or where I have gone off in error.  I want this blog to be an online source of all of my notes.  This is for my sanity sake and in a way to keep myself accountable—not only in the content but the timeliness of the content.   I will include my self-study syllabus for the next three years.

Err, I got nothing

I will see you cats on the flip-flop.  Laters.

]]> http://www.iamlivingproof.org/2010/05/14/the-future-by-guy-or-why-stop-writing/feed/ 0 http://www.iamlivingproof.org/2010/04/28/the-end/ http://www.iamlivingproof.org/2010/04/28/the-end/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:49:09 +0000 Joseph Louthan http://www.iamlivingproof.org/?p=1548 Thank you. ]]> http://www.iamlivingproof.org/2010/04/28/the-end/feed/ 1 http://www.iamlivingproof.org/2010/04/27/brothers-focus-on-the-essence-of-worship/ http://www.iamlivingproof.org/2010/04/27/brothers-focus-on-the-essence-of-worship/#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:00:03 +0000 Joseph Louthan http://www.iamlivingproof.org/?p=1531

In all of this we bear witness that we are confused about what true worship is. Genuine affections for God are an end in themselves. I cannot say to my wife, “I feel a strong delight in you so that you will make me a nice meal.” That is not the way delight works. It terminates on her. It does not have a nice meal in view. I cannot say to my son, “I love playing ball with you so that you will cut the grass.” If my heart really delights in playing ball with him, that delight cannot be performed as a means to getting him to do something.

— John Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

If we would not say these things to our spouses or to our children, how can we say this to God, “God, I worship you so that you bless me.”  That is preposterous.

Piper goes on to say:

I am not denying that authentic worship may have a hundred good effects on the life of the church.  It will—just as true affection in marriage makes everything better. My point is that to the degree that we “do worship” for these reasons, to that degree it ceases to be worship.  Keeping satisfaction in God at the center guards us from that tragedy.

I pray that our hearts say this to God, “Lord, I worship you alone because You are God alone.”

difficulty: Easy
servings: 6

summary:

“This dish is much better the second day. Just cool the stew down in an ice bath, or on your countertop (the Health Department is unlikely to raid your kitchen). Refrigerate overnight. When time, heat and serve. Goes well with a few boiled potatoes. But goes really well with a bottle of Cote de Nuit Villages Pommard.”

ingredients:

• 2 pounds beef shoulder or neck, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup red Burgundy
• 6 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 bouquet garni (a tied bundle of herbs, usually thyme, bay and parsley)
• A little chopped flat-leaf parsley

directions:

Stage One: Season the meat with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat until it is almost smoking. Add the meat in batches — NOT ALL AT ONCE! — and sear on all sides until it is well browned (not gray). You dump too much meat in the pot at the same time and you’ll overcrowd it; cool the thing down and you won’t get good color. Sear the meat a little at a time, removing it and setting it aside as it finishes. When all the meat is a nice, dark brown color and has been set aside, add the onions to the pot. Lower the heat to medium high until the onions are soft and golden brown (about 10 minutes). Sprinkle the flour over them. Continue to cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the red wine. Naturally, you want to scrape up all that really good fond from the bottom of the pot with your wooden spoon. Bring the wine to a boil.

Stage Two: Return the meat to the pot and add the carrots, garlic and bouquet garni. Add just enough water (and two big spoons of demi-glace, if you have it) so that the liquid covers the meat by one-third — meaning you want a ratio of 3 parts liquid to 2 parts meat. This is a stew, so you want plenty of liquid even after it cooks down and reduces. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, and let cook for about 2 hours, or until the meat is tender (break-apart-with-a-fork tender).

You should pay attention to the dish, meaning to check it every 15 to 20 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to make sure the meat is not sticking or, God forbid, scorching. You should also skim off any foam or scum or oil collecting on the surface, using a large spoon or ladle. When done, remove and discard the bouquet garni, add the chopped parsley to the pot, and serve.

ht: The Washington Post

Patients do not serve their physicians. …

But even that analogy doesn’t get it quite right.  Even trusting our doctor to tell us wise and healing things to do may leave us trying to do them in our own strength.  God is not only the doctor who prescribes.  He is the nurse who lifts up our powerless head and puts the spoon in our mouth (or who hangs the bag of intravenous medicine). And He is the medicine.

— John Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

To which I will add:

Patients do not assist their surgeons.  Instead…

God is the chief surgeon who is in charge and runs the entire facility making sure that everything has been done in preparation for your surgery and your new life. – Psalm 23:1

God is the anesthesiologist relaxes you and puts your body at rest. – Psalm 23:2

God is the cardiac surgeon in the operating room that has expertly cut you open and swap your heart out so that you now can live a full life. – Psalm 23:3 cf Ezekiel 36:26

The work is difficult and long and there will be pain.  Sometimes, it will be scary.  But never fear for your surgeon will be there ever single step of the way.  There is no use for follow-up appointments because the cardiologist has been with you the entire time. – Psalm 23:4

There is no chance of relapse.  There is no change of transplant rejection.  Even when the world tells you the odds are against you, your nurse is helping you day to day and he never leaves your side.  Psalm 23:5

All of this was necessary for you to now be fully alive.  What you need to understand is that you were dead before.  Now that God has done all the work, you are free to live life with the fullness of joy.  – Psalm 23:6

Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

For most of the day, I have been spewing out the most horrendous cuss words at breakneck speeds. Furthermore, I am logically contemplating how I would use my size, speed and strength to my utmost advantage and bring harm to those who would export such blasphemous bad news to nations of the world who, in fact, desperately need to hear the good news of God and Christ crucified upon that blood-soaked, sin-stained beautiful & wondrous cross and His resurrection that conquered Satan, demons, hell, sin and death.

Yet, beyond all the promises in the Bible that God will protect and keep and care for His flock in spite of our wickedness and folly, one verse became ultimately clear:

“Vengeance is mine.” declares the Lord of Hosts.

My tearful response, “I will wait for You, my Lord and I will hope in You.”

Say to your beloved flock: “Christ offers you this today as a gift.  If you see Him as true and precious, if you receive the gift as your greatest treasure in life and trust in it, you will have a peace with God that passes all understanding.  You will be a secure person.  You will not need the approval of others. You will not need the ego-supports of wealth or power or revenge.  You will be free.  You will be free.  You will overflow.  You will lay down your life in the cause of Christ for the joy that is set before you.  Look to Christ and trust Him for your righteousness.”

Tell them with joy and passion and power that they can’t give anything for it. It’s free.  This is what Christ came to do: fulfill a righteousness and die a death that would remove all our sins and become for us a perfect righteousness.  Live in the mighty joy and freedom of this gospel.  And preach it!  Oh preach this to your people again and again.

— John Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

Why do I want something that has caused me so much grief and anguish?  Something that has wanted to constantly war against my lovely and beautiful?

Can this flesh be perfected?  Can this flesh be perfect?

I cannot see how.

It is impossible.

Let my flesh die.  Let my spirit and soul live.  I don’t need my flesh.  It is destroying me.  It is kicking my ass on day-in day-out basis.

God, how can you make this flesh new?  How can you make it to where I am not decaying?  How can you make it to where disease and iniquity are not lurking behind ever corner waiting to master me?  How can you make it to where sin would wage war inside of me no more?  That I have to continuously fight to take every thought captive.

I don’t know any other way of life.  This life on earth is the only thing I know.

Please say there is relief!  Please say there is rest.  Please say there will be time where I don’t have struggle.

This fight is beating the mess out of me.  Some days, I don’t see how I can win in the end.

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

It is you!  My hope, my faith and my love belongs to you and you alone.

The only thing I have to go by is what you have said in your Word.  I can only believe this and trust in this because I know that I know your Spirit dwells in me and gives me the capacity to understand and trust in you.

My God.  Help me.

To the end.

Help me run this race well.

You are my finish line.

You are my goal.

You are the only one I want to see.

Now…

I am focused on you, I now know: you must make everything right standing with yourself.

You went to the Cross and died.

You rose from death and lived.

So that you give us your Spirit in order for us to live.

So that our souls will know and love you.

So that our flesh will be made right back when you declared it to be good.

Romans 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

This is your righteousness.  This is what it means to make everything right standing with you.

I trust you.  Do you work.

I will bless you, Lord, with all of my soul and with all that is in me, I will forever bless your precious name.

Amen.

This is the act.

This is the act of the Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead because Christ Jesus was perfect and righteous before God.

Because we believed in Christ Jesus, that is to say, we trust that Christ is Lord and King and ruling and reigning over all and we live our lives according to that trust.  Because of that trust in Christ, our faith is counted to us as righteousness before God.

Romans 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness

Okay.

We get to stand before God.

Now what?

The fact that we get to stand before God and stand in his presence, that means that death has no hold on us.

Death had no hold on our Christ because of His righteousness.

Romans 6:9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

How do we know Christ was perfect, righteous and blameless?

Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Hebrews 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Hebrews 9:13-14 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

1 Peter 1:17-19 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Because of our faith, His Spirit now dwells in us:

John 17:23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Again, it is because of our faith in Christ, our faith is counted to us as righteousness.  It is everything that he has done and nothing that we have done that makes us righteous and blameless before a holy and just God.

Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Ephesians 5:27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Philippians 1:10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

Philippians 2:15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Colossians 1:22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

1 Thessalonians 3:13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,

2 Peter 3:14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

It is all due to Christ’s perfect life is now our perfect life and all of our sins were weighted upon Christ’s shoulders on the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is more than just simply knowing of.

We might know of God.

We might know of Christ.

If we grew up in the right church, we might know of the Holy Spirit.

We might know of Christ dying on the cross for our sins so that we won’t have to suffer in hell but get to live wonderful lives in heaven.

We can know of something all day long.  When you actually have let that knowledge of truth and trusting in that truth begin to change who you are from the inside out and not just an outside appearance of being “good”, then what do you think you life would look like?

Because I trust who God is, I no longer have to love God or my neighbor but I get to love my God and my neighbor with joy and gladness.

Because I trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross, I know all of my sins, past, present and future, were all killed and buried by Jesus’ death and burial and now I am no longer under condemnation.  Furthermore, no longer can I harbor bitterness and unforgiveness towards any person who has ever done me wrong because my God has taken care of it.  I am only identified by what Christ has done for me and not by what others have done to me.

Because I know that the Spirit of God dwells in, I no longer have to do good things in order to please God but rather I get to do good things because they are pleasing to God.

Therefore…

This is the promise.

This is the promise of God that even though our bodies will perish and decay because of sin that has entered the world because of our exchange of Creator for created things, we will live because the Spirit of Christ that dwells within us can never die.

We get to be with our beautiful and gracious God forever.

What is it like to be with God?

Finally alive.

Fullness of joy.

Pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.