An Explanation of the Blog's Title

Proclaim. Herald. Declare.

It's the 3 simple words that describe God's calling of my life:

1) Proclaim the Name of Jesus Christ, the Eternal God-Man.

2) Herald the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Crucified and Resurrected Savior of the World.

3) Declare the Supremacy of Jesus Christ, the All-satisfying and All-powerful King of the Universe.

Proclaim. Herald. Declare. -Colossians 1:28-29

"But God": A reflection on Ephesians 2:1-4

Oh, the helpless and hopeless plight of I,
That I was born dead and not alive,
Forth from the womb was I
Dead in trespass and dead am I
As I follow the prince of air
Dead men choose not life, nor breathe air,
New life is given, not chosen
When dead, man’s choice is frozen.

By nature, by birth, I am like the rest of mankind
No good in me, no good will you find
Oh, the sad state of my soul beneath,
The weight of sin crushing me underneath
The wrath of a good and holy God
Thank goodness for verse four: “But God”
But God, being rich in mercy, He saved me
Though I was His enemy, he loved me

Oh, what a great love with which we are loved,
We once the children of God’s wrath,
Now the children of His great love,
Birthed forth by a blood spattered cross love
Upon which Christ received the wrath.
Oh thank you Lord for verse four,
If not for it, upon me, your wrath would pour
Thank you God for what Paul jotted down
For in all the Bible no better word than this is found…

But….

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…

Book Review: "Godology."

Title: Godology
Sub-title: Because knowing God changes everything
Author: Christian George
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Book Type: Christian Living/Spiritual Growth
Page Length: 172
Chapters: 11 (Foreword, Prologue, Epilogue)
SRP: $13.99
Suggested Audience: Believers ages 18-30.

Strengths: This book speaks to a generation that few people seem to be talking to in their own language. This book reads like it was written by a college student—a very, very intelligent college student. And it was. George is a PhD student at St. Andrews in Scotland. This book deals with topics that many Christians, especially Christians of my generation, have never thought about: biblical/theocentric meditation, journaling about God, and the importance of silence.

Weaknesses: If you’re over 30 years old you would have to keep a highlighter and a teenager close by as you read—you’ll need someone to translate the lingo, which is all over every page and at times is more difficult to read than Koine Greek. George quotes the Message as his primary Bible translation source.

My Thoughts: This book was good. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to take a fresh look at Christian theology and the way we relate to an awesome and powerful God.

I thought the title was shady at first; it made me nervous until I saw that J.I. Packer wrote the forward. In an age when heresy and blasphemy trickle off the shelves like water from a waterfall, it’s always good to check the credibility of the author before your read his/her work. If J.I. Packer approves of it, you can bet it will be theologically sound. Not to say that Packer is infallible, but he was the head of the oversight committee for 100+ person translation team of the ESV which is used by John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Mark Driscoll and other stout orthodox Christian leaders.

I don’t like the fact that he quotes the Message constantly throughout the book. I think he’s just trying to simplify things, but I would’ve liked to see the PhD student at the University of St. Andrews quote a legitimate Bible translation (all the Message fans just got angry). I sure that Christian George does serious Bible study from the NASB, ESV or at least the NIV for goodness sake (I can say that without malice as a former hardcore NIV reader). It may not seem like a big deal but this book is already in danger of not being taken seriously by the scholarly type as it is. Fortunately, George quotes J.C. Ryle, C.H. Spurgeon, Dwight Schrute and Homer J. Simpson to add some real weight to the book.

This book was entertaining to read but it’s also very spiritually engaging. I recommend this book for anyone that needs a break from reading the normal Christian Living book that deals with the topic of theology. I have no doubt that readers would think about new things for the very first time and old things again in a new way after reading Godology.

Notable Quotes: “And the God spoke. Perhaps a word, then a sentence. From the same throat came three chords—Father, Son, and the Spirit—a holy harmonic. Suddenly, stars burst into being and planets got their spins on.”

“We fight an inward battle, a civil war of the soul, a ‘holy violence,’ wrote J.C. Ryle.”

“One difference between philosophy and theology is that philosophy begins with man and thinks up to God. Theology, on the other hand, begins with God and thinks down to man.”

“We can question the Bible, but beware; the Bible can question us back. God’s Word is samurai sharp, slashing through armor and cutting through pride.”