Easter Sanity

Psalm 139 is supposed to be comforting.

But it is also a bit unsettling. God sees everything you do before you even do it. Meditate on that for a bit and watch your brain unravel. This is why David says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”

There are many truths which are meant to lead us to worship. Period. If they lead you to dissection you’ll end up insane and faithless.

The first time I watched that Louie Giglio Indescribable video I was floored. The second time I was undone in a strange type of way. By the third time I wasn’t even sure if my faith would endure. My heart started dissecting when it should have been worshipping and I cracked.

The heavens above declare His handiwork. Everything in creation shouts out that Jesus is marvelous. But in the darkest of moments something in my heart began to question—is this really what it is all about? Are the stars really hung to give glory to a Jewish carpenter?

Even still there are high thoughts which cause me to crack a bit. I’m supposed to be a seminary-trained theologian but I’ve got to confess there are waters too deep for my heart and mind to handle at this point. I don’t just mean stuff I don’t understand. I mean stuff that if I start poking around at it’ll swallow me up and throw me into a pit of darkness.

What I really need is Easter.

The empty tomb unclutters my mind. It shouts down the voices of doubt. It screams louder than my questions. Meditating on something mind-boggling like the omnipresence of God can make me wonder where I could go to flee His presence (Psalm 139:7). The thought is too high for me.

But Easter is when the Lord lays his hand on me (v5). The resurrection proclaims that even the darkness is not dark to you, O God!

I don’t have answers to all your questions. I don’t know all the details of Creation. I don’t understand the Trinity. The thought of eternity is too magnificent for me to comprehend. I don’t know why God has done things that He has done.

No, I don’t have all the answers or even that many. But I do have the empty tomb. And that is enough. Christianity is the most falsifiable religion ever. You find the carpenter’s bones and we’ve got nothing left. But you can’t find them because He is not there, He has risen!

I love Easter. Easter keeps me sane.

Today in Blogworld 03.31.15

The Millennial “Adulthood” Delusion

“Millennials aren’t growing up because we think adulthood is more about self-discovery than self-discipline.”

The Happiest People in the World

This will surprise you…but not really.

Want to Get to Know Someone?

Make them laugh. This has benefit for discipleship relationships.

How to Know If You are Dealing with a Manipulator

You are likely in a relationship with a manipulative person. Here is how to know and a bit of help for how to deal with a manipulator.

I think I know how he did this trick…but I’m also quite amazed that he pulled it off:

But God Owns Him Abundantly

I’m working through Michael Haykin’s excellent work on John Sutcliff, One Heart and One Soul. In that book he mentions a bit of a revival that sprung up at Sheephead. Here are the words of John Ryland on the instrument of that revival:

You ask if I have heard of a revival of Sheepshead—I have seen it. The instrument is Mr Guy…the plainest rough-hewed preacher you ever saw or heard…3 sabbaths back 24 gave in their experience there, the Church meeting lasted from 4 in the afternoon till 12 at night. The devil roars woefully there. Guy never spares him in the pulpit and he never spares Guy out of it—the poor man is often distressed almost to death about the greatness of the work, and generally goes up the pulpit stairs in chains, but God owns him abundantly…(83)

I love that last phrase, “God owns him abundantly”. Whether God uses me in a revival or not is up to Him. But I pray that at the end of my days it can be said of me, “God owns him abundantly”.

Today in Blogworld 03.30.15

Parents, Let’s Be Honest

I agree. I haven’t a clue what I’m doing most of the time.

On Pre-Jesus Mythical Figures

Brandon Smith tackles an important question: do Pre-Jesus mythical figures debunk Christianity?

Pastor, Should You Write that Book?

A good sermon series does not a good book make.

Why PhDs in Theology Commit Adultery

A PhD in theology does not equate to personal holiness.

I’m always amazed by optical illusions. These 5 are pretty crazy: