Be Holy...

I read Leviticus today (it was assigned for class), and I have to say that if one thing pops out about that book, it is the holiness of God. Through and through we are reminded that God is holy and requires holiness of His people. Here is what's interesting to me. It seems to me that God requires holiness of His people so that they may fellowship with Him. He reminds them that He is their God, and they are His people. God takes great delight in His people, and wants His people to love and glorify Him. If God had no desire to be in relationship with His people, He would not command holiness from them. He would have nothing to say to them. He would require nothing of them. He would simply leave them to their destructive selves. But that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible loves and pursues. And the kind of relationship that God desires is a perfect relationship, a relationship untainted by any sin or defect. The problem is that we are sinful, and He is holy, and those things cannot mix, for sin would corrupt the Holy. Knowing that we cannot be holy on our own right, God provides means of atonement, that we may be united to Him. In those times, it was through a sacrificial system. Now we have union with God through the perfect atoning work of Jesus. Does it not seem a little incredible that a perfectly holy God would want relationship with prideful, insignificant people that have continuously rebelled against Him, and would even desire this relationship to the point of becoming like them and dying by their hand so that they may become holy like Him? We have a very good and holy God, who has done all the work, that we may be holy, that we may overcome sin and death, that we may know Him.

Please To Enjoy...

If you are unfamiliar with Matt Chandler, he is a pastor down in Highland Village, a suburb of Denton, Texas. I posted a link to his sermons below, and I would strongly encourage you to take some time to listen to the sermon entitled 'A Little Housekeeping' from 9-6-09. He's speaking specifically to his church, but I think the sentiment is relevant for all.

http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/sermons

Accepting Applications...

I am not at all too proud to admit, I want a wife. Feel free to email me applications or references at aaronhalvorsen@hotmail.com. Hey, not every post has to be deep.

Teach Me About God...

This is a subject that I will most surely elaborate on when I have the time and energy, but I feel compelled to at least touch on it now. While I have been in Portland I have been visiting churches in order to find a church home (which I think I have done) and to see what the state of preaching/teaching is in the Portland area. One thing is painfully obvious- we as Christians like to talk about the love of God a whole lot more than we like to talk about God, and we seem to like God because of the things He gives us rather than because of who He truly is. God is indeed loving, but He is also worthy, reigning, glorious, mighty, just, wrathful, sovereign, kind, gracious, merciful, and compassionate, and this is obviously not a complete list. Read Leviticus and then try and tell me that there are enough sermons on the holiness of God. Why is no one preaching on this? Why are we not learning to love God for who He is as He has reavealed to us through the Word? And even if we want to argue that love is God's greatest and most defining attribute, why so little explanation or even mention of the cross? Why so little teaching on the moment at which God's love for us is most clearly and acutely detailed? If you go to a church that teaches the cross, that teaches God as He has revealed Himself, then praise God! If you do not, please beg your pastor to take you to the cross that you may meet God there and learn to love Jesus with everything you've got for everything He is!

Without Ceasing...

I was spending some quiet time with Jesus today (something I don't do regularly enough), and I felt the command to try something that I don't think I have ever conscientiously attempted. God pushed me to spend the whole day in communication with Him, or as Paul states in his first letter to the Thessalonians, to 'pray without ceasing'. And the command is sage. If your whole day is spent in constant communication and fellowship with God, then sin must by default be dramatically reduced (of course sin cannot be completely eliminated this side of heaven). It is sin that separates us from God, and it is God that keeps us from sin. This is highlighted by the fact that Revelation 21 explains that after death, sin, and satan are done away with, it is then that the dwelling of God is with man. To be in perfect fellowship with God is to be perfectly pure, and requires nothing less than aboslute holiness. So was I able to stay in constant communication with God? My goal was in every situation to be consulting Him, seeking His guidance, and feeling His love. Was I able to do this? Nope. Not even close. Even while reading all of Genesis (which was assigned for class), I found myself drifting from His voice for extended periods of time. Here's the good news though; in attempting to constantly be in communion with God, I feel closer to Him than I have in a long time. And this attempt made me painfully aware of how much I neglect my Father in day-to-day life. For these two reasons I call the process a success, and will continue to increase my communication with Jesus. He's God, and probably has a lot of good stuff to say.

Introduction (The Struggle)...

I guess I'll start out by explaining why I jumped into the blogosphere; a mission statement of sorts. Essentially I am writing to allow you, the reader, a look into the life of a man (more specifically a young, single seminarian) struggling with God. When I say 'struggling' I do not mean that my faith is constantly dancing on the edge of flatlining or that at a moment's notice I may walk away from my Creator. Rest assured, God has taken a firm hold of me and I believe He will not soon give me up. Rather, when I say struggling I mean that as I follow God challenges, complications, and roadblocks arise. Most if not all of these are caused by my sinfulness, by everything inside of me that wants to oppose God and set myself up as the ultimate authority in my own life. I am naturally selfish, and it is not easy to submit to an outside authority, no matter how compelling, beautiful, just, and good that authority may be. And I do not think I am speaking in shades of self-deprecation but rather am being very real about the universal state of man. We are all naturally self-serving, self-centered, self-worshiping idolaters. It takes none other than the Holy Spirit to change that, and it is with the Holy Spirit that my sinful self wars. This is the struggle. I understand that you may question why I, and countless other Christians, even enter the struggle at all. Why fight to sit under the subjection of an outside authority? Why not be your own boss? To anyone who scoffs at the idea of submission to the God revealed in the Bible, I would humbly ask; "Who rules your life, and how has that worked out so far?". Or better yet, "How will that work out in the end?". I fight pride and seek humility because, though hard (impossible by my own power), to let anything other than God rule over my life is to sit under the authority of a fallen, broken, and wicked master. This is by no means a comprehensive validation of the Christian life, but it's a start. So I invite you to join me in the struggle. And don't worry, it won't be all Eeyore-esque. What I've found is the struggle with God is life's ultimate source of joy.