I am constantly amazed when I reflect on Exodus 33. God landed some striking words to Moses and the Israelite people. God said, "Depart from here.to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob., to the land flowing with milk and honey.BUT I WILL NOT GO UP AMONG YOU." (emphasis mine). God was not happy with Israelite people. God has just made a covenant and in just a short time the Israelites had already broken it. God, in His grace, was still going to allow the Israelites to live in Canaan because of His faithfulness to keep the covenant despite the fact He had every right to not carry on. The Israelites understood rightly that Canaan was nothing without God's presence. It describes their reaction that as "the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments." I think I tend to get eternal life confused in this way. A lot of us get eternal life wrong. I am not sure if that is the twenty-first century application of this text, but I think I can take this as an implication. Eternal life means nothing without God's presence. Heaven is nothing without God's presence. We can sing of the streets of gold and the pearly gates, but they are nothing but trash without the presence of God. So many times I forget how sweet eternal life will be, not because of the gloriousness and beauty of Heaven, but because of the gloriousness and beauty of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Hey everyone,
I know you guys are suffering from the remnants of Ike. Just to give you the heads up of what is happening down here. Around 3 p.m. yesterday, Louisville lost power. The entire city was affected by 40-50 mph winds. There is a lot of damage and a lot of people still without power, including Faith and I. We will be remembering you in our prayers and hope that God will reveal His good will for you no matter what your circumstances look like. If you will pray for Faith and I as we are dealing with not having electricity. It has been very hot down here. The only reason I am able to make a post now is because we drove a while to find a coffee shop that had electricity and free Wi-Fi. Take this time to reflect on God's awesome power. In all reality, He could destroy everything in a single hour if He desired to. This should cause us to be in awe and fear of our great God. Remember Romans 8:28, that says, "And we know that God causes all things (including weather) to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." God bless you all!

In Christ,
Joey

So I was sitting next to a Korean woman in class and began to talk to her. Her English was very messy and she struggled to tell me her story. She was born in South Korea and moved to Austria (a German speaking country) for thirteen years. She met her husband in Korea and had to spend a long period of time away from him. They finally got married and moved to the U.S. (Louisville, KY). Her husbands name would not transfer over into the English so he was allowed to pick his own name (what would you pick?). He chose the name Johann. "Why?" I asked. She told me he chose Johann after the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It amazed me this guy chose a name that he would be known for the rest of the time he spent here in the United States. He chose the name of a man who he highly admired and was inspired to follow the example of (Johann being a music student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary). Let's just say this guy was dedicated. Now names have a lot of meaning to them, at least in other countries. The Korean woman, Johann's wife, her name was Meeya, which means "beautiful one." She was quite proud. I began to think about my name. John meaning "the mercy/grace of God" and Joseph being "in increase" (which I found interesting my full name means "an increase in the mercy/grace of God.")But, even more than that I thought about the name or identification of "Christian." Faith and I both are professing Christians, but what does this name mean? We see in Acts 11:26, it says, "So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." Being identified as a Christian goes back all the way to the time of the disciples and apostles. "A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic (one God) religion centered on the life and teaching of Jesus as presented in the Old and New Testament. Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God." This is how Wikipedia defines a Christian. I feel as though there is something missing. The reason I feel this way is because, for example, the United States is considered a "Christian" nation, yet statistics show the relationship between calling oneself a Christian and living a lifestyle that reflects this identification are completely separate. How is it that a person can feel comfortable calling themselves a Christian and yet do not live a life that reflects this? Johann wanted so bad to follow the example of being a good musician he chose the name of his icon. We call ourselves Christians because we want to be like Christ. Can everyone who claims to be a Christian really accept everything that comes with it? I am not trying to be judgmental, but I would never want someone to have a false hope of thinking they are a Christian because they are an American or because they are a good person. This is far from what it really means to be a Christian. I am not preaching that you can be perfect and never do anything wrong. For this very reason is why we need Christ and to identify ourselves with him. So, what is a Christian? A true Christian is a person who believes Jesus is his/her Savior from their sins (past, present, and future), places their trust and hope in Him, and lives a life reflecting the change God makes in you through faith in the Gospel. There are so many things to say what a Christian is not and I am sure if I asked you to define a Christian you may have a totally different answer. Some of you may have even been hurt by a "Christian" and I beg you to not let that have an affect on what you think of Christ. So what's in the name Christian? There is a lot. To be a Christian is a glorious thing because you no longer have to live without purpose. One of my favorite verses will sum this up, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). Thanks for taking the time to read this.

This entry will be short, but I promise it will be sweet. The Great Commission is something we are all familiar with, I have preached on the passage before, and we all can probably recite it. If you do not know the Great Commission, here it is:

Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Dr. David Platt, a pastor in Alabama, recently came to my school and preached about where Christ fits into this Great Commission. If you remember last Sunday I had said there are three things we need to do as we read the Bible and meditate on what it is saying:

1. Ask, "What does this tell me about God? His character? His qualities? His attributes? What is God like or described as in this passage?"
2. Ask, "How did Christ fulfill this truth about God in His life?" For example, because God is all knowing, then Jesus had no need to worry about the future.
3. Ask, "How can I, while striving to be more like Christ, fulfill this truth in my life?" For example, because Christ was humble, we should strive to be humble in our lives.

Because Christ has been given all authority, we therefore should take the Gospel, the same Gospel that saved us to the nations. I would like you to listen to his first sermon entitled, "The Presence of Christ in the Great Commission." I promise you, you will not be disappointed. This may have been the first of two of the best sermons I have ever heard.

http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/fall2008/20080902platt.mp3

Well I had a great time with everyone this past Sunday. I hope this week you will reflect on what I said Sunday, in that, our God is our Father and He is in control of all things. Worrying is a sin and, yet, it is something you and I are faced with everyday. My prayer is that you, and I, would respond in those situations with a complete trust in God as Father and Sovereign. A quote I wish I would have been able to share with you comes from a great pastor named Martyn Lloyd-Jones, he said, "If you want to seek anything, if you want to be anxious (worry) about anything, be anxious about your spiritual condition, your nearness to God and your relationship to Him. If you put that first, worry will go; that is the result." Reflect on Matthew 6:25-34 this week. Make it your prayer to leave all things in God's hands. Remind yourself of Jesus' words, "Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Hang tight. There will be more to come.