What? You have no answer? But, Death, why do you have no answer? How will you terrify me, if you have no answer?

O Death, I will tell you the answer. Where is your sting? Where is my sin? It is hanging on that tree. God made Christ to be sin—my sin. When he died, the penalty of my sin was paid. The power of it was broken. I bear it no more.

-John Piper

Read John Piper’s mini-play on death.

So I came back from high school retreat and helped Mike cook for 22 people.  In the process I learned a lot about his cooking style and how some things work and some things don’t.  I decided I’d bring this cooking home and expand my horizons beyond fried eggs, rice, ketchup, hot dogs, and ramen.

Who says guys can’t cook?  And do we all have to be lazy?  Besides, guys — I’m speaking particularly to you, wouldn’t you want to be able to cook a nice meal for your future wife.  Better start now, because I’m sure she is not going to like a can of spam on top of instant noodles.

So here is the start of my second blogging series (beautiful hymns is a bit more serious than this though), where I will test out my cooking skills and show results.

Tonight was inspired from one of the meals from high school retreat.  It is chipotle pasta with cajun corn.  I changed the chipotle sauce slightly to have less barbeque sauce and less heavy cream.  I also change the type of noodles I used and I was also too cheap to buy shrimp.  However the rest is most nearly the same as the retreat version.  I added as a side cajun corn, which is just a fancy name for the same sauce (plus some extra chipotle powder) on top of the corn.

I surprised myself in that it actually tasted good.  :)  You should try it too, I got the recipe from food network and modified it to my liking.  Here is my modified version:

Ingredients

• 1 ounce olive oil
• 1 hot link, cut thinly diagonally
• 2 1/2 ounces heavy cream
• 3 ounces Chipotle Sauce, recipe follows
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup cooked rainbow rotini
• 1/4 cups diced mushroom
• 2 cups of corn
• 1 teaspoon of diced garlic

For chipotle sauce:

• 3/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce Dijon mustart
• 1/2 ounce chipotle seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• (I had no cayenne pepper, if you do you should add some)

Directions

Combine all the chipotle ingredients and blend together or mix together in a bowl.  You can put in a container and save it for other dishes.

In saute pan over high heat, add olive oil, diced garlic, diced mushrooms and hot links. Sear links until browned.  Lower heat to medium. Then add cream, chipotle sauce, and pepper. Add cooked pasta. Toss to combine.

This recipe is actually very simple.  It only probably took me 30 minutes to prepare and cook.  The great thing is that I tripled the amounts and now I have tomorrow’s lunch and dinner :).  Woohoo!  What should I cook next?

(Oh and Kendrick, don’t know if you remember back to the game we played at Jer’s house.  And everyone was trying to predict what profession I would choose from.  You were very surprised I picked photographer over chef.  To make you happy, I will declare them both to be equally desirable secondary positions.)

Today, a short interlude in examining the history of hymns to surveying an aspect of “modern” worship.  John Stackhouse provides some very interesting commentary on the volume of worship teams today:

The Protestant Reformation yanked musical worship away from the professionals and put it back in the pews. Luther composed hymns based on popular melodies, including drinking songs. Calvin insisted on taking lyrics from the Psalms. This was music in which almost anyone could participate. The problem today, to be sure, is rarely elaborate music. We could use a little more artistry, in fact, than we usually get with the simplistic and repetitive musical figures of many contemporary worship songs.

No, the contrast with the Reformation is the modern-day insistence that a few people at the front be the center of attention. We do it by making six band members louder than a room full of people. But a church service isn’t a concert at which an audience sings along with the real performers. Musicians—every one of them, including the singers—are accompanists to the congregation’s praise. They should be mixed loudly enough only to do their job of leading and supporting the congregation.

Amen to that.  Worship teams should remember that corporate worship is well…corporate.  This is part of the beauty of hymns, because it pulls the focus from modern musicality and performance into praise for God.  (I should add we can get lost in “performing” hymns as well, so let us — no matter the method of worship — focus solely upon God and his saving grace through Christ Jesus).

I encourage you to read John Stackhouses’ full article here.

Today I will dig the history behind a song that we have sung often in our worship services and college fellowship. I hope and pray that you will be encouraged as I have been from learning about this hymn.

The Song

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

‘On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.’

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

The History Behind the Song

Edward Mote is the man who penned this song. He grew up as part of a poor family and did not come to know Christ until the age of 16. He recognized his very sinful past self:

“My Sundays were spent in the streets. So ignorant was I that I did not know that there was a God.”

-Edward Mote

From then on forward, Edward lived a life devoted to the LORD working as a cabinet maker and eventually became a preacher of a baptist church in Hosham, England. At one point during his service to the church, the congregation had offered him the deed to the church building as gratitude for his service.  He responded saying:

“I do not want the chapel; I only want the pulpit, and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that.”

-Edward Mote

What a true man of God! To value the preaching of God’s word over the physical values of the church building. He was a man who lived with eyes set on Christ as opposed to the gains of this world. In fact when he was on his death bed, unable to preach anymore, he said:

“The truths I have been preaching, I am now living upon, and they do very well to die upon.”

-Edward Mote

The church, in his honor, engraved in the cornerstone:

“In loving memory of Mr. Edward Mote, who fell asleep in Jesus November 13th, 1874, aged 77 years. For 26 years the beloved pastor of this church, preaching Christ and Him crucified, as all the sinner can need, and all the saint desire.”

The hymn “The Solid Rock” was penned in 1834, but originally had the title of “The Gracious Experience of a Christian”. Edward Mote intended to write out the life of a Christian based on the truths he stood upon. His intention was to emphasize the anchor, the rock, and the stronghold of Christ in the believer’s life. Everything else will fail as a foundation. Interestingly about this hymn are the missing stanzas that were found in the original poem, emphasizing the redemption from the fires of hell:

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
‘Midst all the hell I feel within, on His completed work I lean.
I trust His righteous character, His council, promise, and His power;
His honor and His name’s at stake, to save me from the burning lake.”

-Edward Mote

Edward Mote understood the truth of God and what it meant for his life. To trust these truths was to stand upon the promises of God and death, resurrection, and glory of Christ. Praise God for raising up such a man to encourage many generations.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

-Matthew 7:24-27

May you be encouraged, as I am, to continue to hold fast to the rock that is Jesus Christ.

A modern rendition from Charlie Hall

Charlie Hall - The Solid Rock (On Christ The Solid Rock)

Sources

http://articles.christiansunite.com/article6027.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Mote

A little Intro to this series

I’ve been listening to a lot of hymns lately and appreciating the worshipful words of truth and adoration towards God.  It only brings about more and more praise to God.  These hymns are so rich with the theology and doctrinal truths of God and filled with an outpour of relationship with God in light of these truths. In all honesty, very rarely can modern worship songs evoke such truth and emotion to properly worship our Lord and Savior.  It made me think about the history behind the hymns I listen to.  What drove these men and women of God to write such beautiful worship.  What experiences did they have that led them to understanding the truth of God, rather than just knowing about it.

In light of this, I’ve done some research on the history behind some of the more popular hymns we sing in churches today.  I am surprised at how God has used these individuals to evoke such awesome praise to Himself.  Oh how I desire the day to be alongside these same people praising the same God for his goodness, justice, grace, and mercy.

Beautiful Hymns #1: Blessed Assurance

The Song

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in His love.

The History Behind the Song

Fanny Crosby was the author of this beautiful hymn detailing the greatness of assurance of salvation and the hope tied with our assurance.  She is one of histories most prolific hymnists, having written over 8000 hymns.  But what sets her apart is that she is blind.  At the age of six weeks, she was improperly treated for inflammation in the eyes that caused her to go blind.  However, being blind was not considered a hindrance in her eyes.  God provided her with such a humble and loving heart:

“It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sigh were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.”

-Fanny Crosby

What beautiful assurance Fanny did have.  To trust in God and know that her deficiencies were for a purpose.  And she held tightly to the hope which we have in Christ:

“The first face ever to gladden my sight will be when I get to heaven and behold the face of the One who died for me.”

-Fanny Crosby

It didn’t bother Fanny to be blind all her life on Earth.  For she knew that the day she would see in heaven would be to behold our Savior and our King.  This is such an encouragement for my faith.  I want to hold fast to Christ just as Fanny had done.  As Hebrews states:

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Here is a great version of the song:

Avalon - Blessed Assurance

Hold fast to what is true and unchanging:

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.

-1 Peter 1:22-25

Psalm 39 reminds us the shortness of life and how our days are numbered:

Psalm 39

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:“O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!
Selah

Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
When you discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
surely all mankind is a mere breath!
Selah

“Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!”

Matthew 25 reminds us of the inevitable judgement to come for our lives.  Oh may you be found in Christ at this time.  Confess your sins and Believe in Christ’s redemption through the cross, for life is very short compared to eternity!

The Final Judgment

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

-Matthew 25:31-46

I’m not the type to make resolutions, because I know I don’t have the discipline to keep them.  But this time around, I feel it is necessary to force myself into disciplining myself.  There are things lacking that i can improve upon and now is a good time to make myself responsible to fix (by God’s grace and strength alone) them.

My first resolution is to read more. A whole lot more.  My initial goal is to finish an entire book every two weeks, meaning on average about 100-150 pages a week.  If I set some time everyday to read, this goal is entirely achievable.  And for those wondering, here is a list of books I’m intending to read. (not the full list, as I’m sure a lot of interesting books will come about during 2009)

Books I own, but are really short
Pierced by the Word
Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Non-fiction books I own
What Jesus Demands from the World - John Piper
Don’t Waste Your Life - John Piper
Desiring God - John Piper
Heaven - Randy Alcorn
Overcoming Sin and Temptation - John Owen
Humility: True Greatness - CJ Mahaney
The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment - Tim Challies
In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of Atonement
I Kissed Dating Goodbye - Josh Harris
Finally Alive - John Piper

Fiction Books I own
The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (This will count as several books)

Deeper Theological Books I own
The Justification of God - John Piper
Systematic Theology - Wayne Grudem
Systematic Theology - Culver

Books I do not own, but most likely will get.
Foundations of Grace (Long Line of Godly Men) - Steve Lawson
John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, Doxology - Various
Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ - John Piper
Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate - Jerry Bridges
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism - Mark Dever
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism - Tim Keller
Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution - Michael Ovey
The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards - Steve Lawson
The Expository Genius of John Calvin - Steve Lawson
Praying: Finding Our way Through Duty to Delight - J.I. Packer
The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

My second resolution is to read the bible cover to cover in 2009.  I am going to be following the bible reading plan in my brand-spanking new ESV study bible.  I am excited to read through God’s truth again and I pray that God will teach me a lot about how to live a life pleasing to Him and how great a graces he has given me already.

Finally, my last resolution is to be just plain responsible.  I know this is vague, but there is a collection of minor things I can improve on.  For example my organization of bills and documents in my office and also the cleanliness of my place.  All things I need to set regular schedule to attend to in 2009.

If you are reading this (which I doubt many are), I encourage you to check in with me to see where I am.  More than likely I will fall behind, but with God’s grace and for His glory I may keep up.

John Piper:

“Would you be satisfied to go to heaven, have everybody there in your family that you want there, have all the health and restoration of your prime, and everything you disliked about yourself fixed, have every recreation you’ve ever dreamed available to you, and have infinite resources and money to spend, would you be satisfied…

if God weren’t there?”

Psalm 73:25,26

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Shia Linne

For the glory of your name I’ve been made your own
By your grace justified through faith alone
That’s why I’m lifting up my hands and I’m raising my voice
Even though the world thinks I made the craziest choice
They can laugh all they want Lord- I do not care
And I don’t want to go to Heaven if God is not there

What if we add the information that the conditions required to create these very rare places were the same conditions required for scientific discovery? What if those rare places in which observers can exist in the universe are the best overall places for observation? … Our thesis is simply that the narrow circumstances that allow us to exist also provide us with the best overall settings for making scientific discoveries. We argue that the very conditions that make earth hospitable to intelligent life also make it well suited to viewing and analyzing the universe as a whole.

-From Intelligent Design 101 (Kregel Publications, pg. 145)

King David knew this very well:

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

Observe the early church:

The Fellowship of the Believers

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. attending the templeAnd day by day, together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

(Acts 2:42-46)

They Had Everything in Common

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

(Acts 4:32-37)

How often do we evaluate our acts of fellowship with the acts of fellowship in the early church?