A Sad Indictment

I ran across an interesting bit on the blogosphere this morning.

Andrew Sullivan, a blogger/columnist/gay/Catholic/political conservative, comments on some of James Dobson's thoughts on the Federal Marriage Amendment.

He quotes Dobson as saying, "If the battle to protect marriage takes even five more years, liberal judges and activists will have destroyed this 5,000-year-old institution, which was designed by the Creator, Himself." Dobson also said, "Even now, they are close to achieving that coveted objective."

He then comments, "So the Creator of the universe is no match for liberal judges! And 5,000 years can be erased in half a decade. Whoever knew the judiciary had so much power?"

You can read the whole article here.

I agree with Dobson that marriage is a glorious institution established by God after the creation of Adam and Eve.

However, I also agree with Sullivan's comment. What kind of view of God do Dobson's comments represent? If God did sovereignly establish the institution of marriage (and he did), why can't we trust him to protect it?

Before you get the wrong idea, I'm NOT saying that Christians should not oppose gay marriage. I AM saying that that if we start believing that liberal judges can overturn the laws of the Creator of the universe, we believe in a puny God.

No Escape

We cannot get away from God. Jonah learned this the hard way. He tried to run away from God. He got on a boat to the other side of the world, but he could not escape God's knowledge or presence. King David also realized this truth, and he wrote down his meditations of it in Psalm 139. He even acknowledged that our thoughts and heart motives are known to God. God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

On Sunday, I heard Dan Dumas, executive pastor at my church, spoke on this Psalm for the college group. He talked about how he constantly refers to this Psalm and how its truths are the biggest help to his sanctification. If we realize that God sees everything we do, we will act differently.

This Psalm certainly encourages personal holiness. We must always remember that we cannot get away from God. But as I read through this Psalm, I noticed another reaction from David. He calls this knowledge of God's presence "too wonderful" and God's thougts "precious." He echoes the sentiments of another Psalmist who called the nearness of God his good. (Psalm 73)

Apparently, the truth that we cannot escape God's presence or knowledge should not only produce sanctifying fear but also affection and wonder. God knows us, and there is nowhere we can go that he will not be! This should be news of the deepest comfort for us. God has hedged us in before and behind.

The more I think about this Psalm, the more I think that the reactions of sanctifying fear and of wonder and comfort are linked. If we let the knowledge of the presence of God sanctify us, this knowledge will become increasingly sweet to us. And when we know that the nearness of God is our good, we will not want to forsake him for the lesser pleasures of sin. So we must all, like David, ponder on the presence of God and let it become both sweet and sanctifying to us.

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

Nothing But Fun

If you have been following the World Cup--and I realize that this limits my already limited readership--you know that the United States' World Cup run ended last week when the US lost to Ghana, 2-1. Fortunately, I have a summer job that lets me watch all the World Cup I want, so I have been able to follow it closely, and I have naturally been most closely following the US team. I remember feeling like I had been slapped in the face when the Czechs beat us 3-0. I also remember jumping clear out of my seat when Eric Dempsey scored the lone goal of the cup off of an American foot.

Even though the US is out, I am still watching and enjoying the World Cup. I am especially looking forward to the the Brazil-France quarterfinal match on Saturday. The last time a country besides Brazil or France has won a World Cup was 1990. This match will feature some of the world's premiere athletes like Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho; if you haven't heard of them, you probably live in the US. This game could also be the last World Cup match for two legends, Zinedine Zidane of France and Ronaldo of Brazil. Don't get the impression that these two guys are out for one last stroll around the pitch before they limp into the sunset. Both of them scored in their most recent matches.

So what's the deal with sports? In case you haven't noticed, I really enjoy sports. I enjoy playing and watch sports of all shapes and sizes, and I usually do more watching than playing because...let's just say I'm no David Beckham. But is enjoying sports a good thing? Here are a couple principles I have thought about:

Participate- Participating in sports is an all-around good thing. It's healthy. It provides plenty of opportunities to meet people or build relationships with friends. It's flat out fun, so grab some friends and a football or a frizbee and find a park.

Enjoy- Whether you're watching or playing sports, you should never forget to enjoy the activity and say, "Praise God, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Enjoy the way God has made your body able to kick a soccer ball, make a three-pointer, sink a putt, or swing a bat.

The danger of sports is when we take the focus off enjoying God and place it on enjoying ourselves. This is when we become obsessed. This is when we get over-competitive. This is when we make a pick-up basketball game the "Relive My Glory Days" show.

So whether you're watching or playing sports, enjoy them as a gift from an awesome God who shows his majesty in his creation. And if you leave the focus there, sports should be nothing but fun.

Sweet Retreat

As promised, here is a post with pictures about the Corona Evangelical Free Church College Group Retreat at Catalina Island.














Everybody likes lighthouses. I mean, have you ever given someone a lighthouse calendar only to hear them say, "I hate lighthouses." Didn't think so. I think they inspire personal holiness.

Here's a good group pic from the boatride out there. Billy is not in any of the group pictures because he took all of them.
















While we were there two pretty cool ships like this one spent the night in the harbor. As a group we decided to name them. I think we called both of them the "Black Pearl."














Here are the top two reasons I had to go on the retreat: my brother Billy and his fiancee Cory. Aren't they cute?




















As it turned out, there were a lot of other good reasons to go on the retreat, especially the teaching from Mark Spanzel, former dean at The Master's College and now on-staff at CEFC. He talked about endurance from the Hebrews warning passages. He reminded us to preach the gospel to ourselves and showed us how the writer of Hebrews warns us to pay close attention to the gospel or we will drift.

For me, the hardest part of retreats like this is coming back. I enjoyed this retreat. I liked being out on an island without having to think about work or homework for a few days. Sometimes coming back to the normal routine does not seem too appealing. However, all retreats do come to an end, but our return to our routines should not be quite normal. We should return to wherever we are differently because of the things we have learned on the retreat. So when my alarm rings at 5AM in the morning, I know that the first thing I have to do is make sure I am fastened to the dock and not drifting. I need to preach the gospel to myself.

That's a wrap on the retreat. Yesterday I bought Keane's new CD, "Under the Iron Sea." I would be tempted to write a review on it, but Bobby has already said everything I would have said in his review. Read it here.

Step Onto Liquid

I was just looking at the archives and realized that I have been blogging on Step Onto Liquid for over a year. When I started this blog, I had just graduated from high school and was living in Texas. NowI live in Santa Clarita and will be continuing my studies at The Master's College in the fall. I have become an uncle over the past year and by Christmas time I will have a new sister!

Since this blog has been spinning on the blogopshere for over a year now, I think it necessary to review the whole idea behind this blog. I started using the term Step Onto Liquid shortly after attending a Survival Camp with the theme "Walk on Water" and watching a pretty epic surfing video called "Step Into Liquid."

So what do I mean by this title? Step onto liquid basically means "live by faith." The Christian life is a life not lived by sight, but by faith. If we tried to live by sight, we would be in trouble. We would be dominated by feelings, circumstances, and our sinful desires. But Jesus calls us to take him at his word and follow him.

This summer I have been studying the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus preaches a lifestyle that is undeniably different from the ways of the world. We cannot base our lives on what we see in the world. We must listen to Jesus, step onto light, and be salt and light.

This last weekend, I went on a retreat to Catalina Island with the college group from Corona Evanglical Free Chruch. (I'm hoping to post more on the retreat later with lots of pictures. My brother Billy took the picture you see with this post.) Mark Spanzel talked about endurance in the Christian life. If we are to endure, we must live by faith--we must step onto liquid.

Who knows what the next year will bring? But whether it brings storms or sunshine, I'm determined to step onto liquid and follow my Savior wherever he leads.

Out of this World

Here are some blog-thoughts for today:

-Our desires are to be out of this world. This world is all about money. Seriously, everything can be explained by the bottom line. Christians are supposed to be different. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us to lay up our treasure in Heaven. Why? Because it is safe there! All earthly riches are fleeting. "For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven." (Prov. 23:5) Our pocketbooks are a dipstick to our heart.

-Check out this quote from Paul David Tripp:
"We need to words of God (Scripture) to make sense out of life. We need to listen for the one reliable voice of the Creator. His Word alone can cut through the confusion of the world's philosophy and our own foolishness to make us truly wise. Real knowledge begins with knowing him. Wisdom is the fruit of worship, and received on bended knee. It is the product of a life lived in submission to the One who is wisdom, Christ." (Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, pg. 50)

-Did anybody catch the World Cup this morning? Spain has definitely shown up to play for keeps; the world better watch out. And what about that "buzzer-beater" goal by Tunisia to tie up the match in stoppage time? Who says soccer isn't exciting?

-Congratulations to my brother Billy and his fiancee Cory! They just got engaged last Saturday. This weekend, I will be joining them and the rest of the Corona Evangelical Free Church College Group on a retreat to Catalina Island, so this will probably be my last post until after that.

Until next time, root for the USA against Italy on Saturday and remember to keep your desires out of this world!

World Cup Fever

Imagine if the only sport Americans cared about was football. Imagine every kid dreaming of growing up and being an all-star in the NFL. Imagine if basketball and baseball were irrelevant compared to football's glory. The Super Bowl would be even bigger than it is now, and who knows, maybe people would care about more than just the commercials and watch the game. Now in this same scenario imagine that once every four years, America sent a team of its best players--all of its superstars--to compete against the 31 best of the other countries of the world. That would be kind of a big deal.

Now let me take you to the real world and introduce you to a more popular kind of football--you might know it as soccer. Beyond the borders of the United States, this sport dominates. In other countries, the best soccer players are the superstars of society. And every four years 32 teams from 32 countries meet and compete for the biggest prize in all of sports--the World Cup.

Meet hysteria. Last Friday was a national holiday in Costa Rica because the national soccer team was playing in the opening World Cup game. Four years ago, England practically shut down when their team made it to the semifinals. The papers declared, "Nothing else matters."

But for goodness' sake, let's come back to America, where nobody cares. Most people are probably unaware America's playing in the World Cup, and those that are probably just skim over the headlines in the morning paper.

Now I'm not saying that I think soccer is the greatest thing in the world. It's not my favorite sport. However, "sports" fans that are missing the World Cup don't know what they're missing. If you think March Madness is intense, tune into the World Cup, you will see fans that make the Cameron Crazies look lame.

So if you don't believe me, check it out for yourself. Especially watch the United States play Italy in a must-win game and see if you can stay passive. Enjoy.

Take a Breath...And a Nap

Yesterday I closed up the fitness center at noon and drove home. Yes, instead of driving to Simi Valley, like I have every day for the last couple weeks, I went home. When I got home, I hung out with my mom for a bit and then took a fat nap, or--as my cousin would call it--a coma. It was wonderful.

Tuesday was the day of the California primary elections (if "California Primary" rings a bell, you have probably seen the first season of 24). Therefore, it was the culmination of a political campaign I have been working on for a couple weeks. My candidate won, and it was great to enjoy the success of the efforts of the campaign. Victory is sweet indeed.

One factor in the election was low voter turnout. How sad! I find the low turnout to be particularly disturbing and failure to vote well nigh inexcusable. Some people say they are too busy, while others say they don't vote because they are dissatisfied with current politics. What a reason to vote! If you are dissatisfied with those in office, go to the polls and voice your opinion where it counts. If you don't vote, you pretty much forfeit your right to complain about those in office.

Now that the election is over, I'm having more time to hang out with friends and family and to sleep. I'm also becoming able to enjoy my job at the TMC fitness center more. Yesterday I was reading some of the studio diaries at the website of the band Travis, who are currently recording a new cd. Dougie (the bass player) chronicles the band's progress while commenting on a variety of topics, including his new black video iPod. "Crikey it’s a seductive object," he says. "In moments like these I’m not sure if technology is our saviour or our potential downfall." (Read Derek Brown's published thoughts on "The Multi-Tasking Generation" here.)

I also get to watch my fair share of Sportscenter here in the fitness center. Yesterday I heard that the Astros are paying Roger Clemens $12 million for what will be 18 starts (if all goes well.) That's about $667,000 per start. Today a quality start is considered to be at least six innings, so that's over $100,000 an inning. It's a hard knock life...

That's all for now. For the rest of the day, I'm looking forward to enjoying the Sermon on the Mount, a nap, dinner with friends, and a Bible Study about prayer and God's sovereignty. It's a hard knock life...

All We Need

So while I was eating my Frosted Mini-Wheats at 5:30 this morning, I calculated that I worked over 70 hours this last week, and that was with a holiday. Tomorrow is June 6, and that means election day! (By the way, remember to vote.) June 6 also brings the good news that I will be less busy soon.

Yesterday during work I got to stop in at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley for a few minutes before I started walking and knocking. My roommate, Jordan Thiesen, attended that church all year, and each Sunday he returned excited about what he had learned through Francis Chan's preaching.

Francis Chan was talking about Colossians, and he talked about two different things that sparked my interest.

First, he talked about how Jesus is all we need. He said the Paul wrote to the Colossians to tell them about all that we have in Christ. He said that when we have Christ, we won't feel like we need anything else. We won't say, "If I just had Jesus and a nice house or a nice job or money or a girlfriend, then I would be happy." Chan, using his music stand/pulpit as a prop, said that implying that we need something besides Jesus is like saying, "If I had all of Bill Gates's money and this music stand, then I would be rich." Christ is all we need. We find eternal life in him; what more can we want?

Second, he talked about being heavenly minded and how that related to giving. He said that he hears a common excuse for not giving. People say, "Well, I just like nice things." This is ludricrous on many levels. First, that statement presupposes that other people don't like nice things. It implies that you like nice things while the rest of us like stinky stuff. Also, that statement shows a mindset that is not focused on heaven. We should not be finding our comfort in earthly things, but in our living hope for a pure and undefiled inheritance, reserved in heaven for us.

That's pretty cool.

The Beatitutdes

While I have been managing the fitness center here at TMC, I have been able to start looking at the Sermon on the Mount--the greatest sermon of all time. This sermon, of course, starts wth what are called the Beatitudes. I actually still don't know what that words means, but since it's not in the text I have not worried about it too much.

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones says that the Sermon on the Mount, especially the Beatitudes shows how Christians should be radically different from the unsaved. As I have studied these virtues, I have seen how Jesus' teaching is opposed to the philosophies of the world. I have also been blown away by the awesome promises Jesus offers.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Someone who is poor in spirit has an accurate view of God and himself. He sees God as holy and righteous and himself as filthly and a sinner. The poor in spirit man is exemplified in Luke 18:13, where the tax collector beat his breast and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus offers the wonderful news of the kingdom of heaven to those that are poor in spirit. Like many of these promises, this one has both present and future aspects. John MacArthur points out that "the truth of salvation is clearly presupposed in this opening verse of the Sermon on the Mount." I was also amazed to see how the gospel is present in so many of these statements.

"Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted."
We live in a sinful world. We are sinful people surrounded by other sinful people. This should cause us to mourn. We should mourn over sin. We should mourn over our own sin; we should mourn over the sin around us. And this is not just pointless sorrow. 2 Cor 7:10 tells us that true, godly sorrow should lead to repentance. This kind of mourning will inevitably change us. If we are truly mourning over the sins we commit, we will be less likely to commit them. If sin makes us sorrowful, then we will be less likely to laugh at a crude joke or be enticed by sinful advertisements. Jesus says that those that mourn in this way will be comforted! How sweet this comfort is! Now we know that we are forgiven through Jesus, and we rest assured that someday God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. (Rev. 21:4)

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Psalm 37:11 helps us to understand the meek by contrasting them with the wicked. Meekness is strength under control--supreme self-control. The meek person does not seek his own or use people simply for his own gain. The world says that this is a dog-eat-dog world where only the strong survive. However, Jesus says that the meek will inherit the earth. We must trust the Lord and live with meekness, trusting that he is in control.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."
Hunger and thirst are intense desires. Think about it. You cannot live without food or water. If you try to, you will soon experience the extreme feelings of hunger and thirst. Do we long for righteousness like this? Do we desire righteousness in our own lives like we do for a drink of water after a long hike on a summer's day? Do we desire righteousness in our world? If we do, there is good news! We shall be filled! God promises to make believers righteous. We can look forward to a lifetime of growing in righteousness and then to an eternity of perfection!

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."
This attribute and promise are very closely related. Those that have been forgiven will forgive. Those that have received mercy will show it. We should be forgiving people as Christians. We should not bear grudges. We should delight in showing mercy to the helpless, the poor, the orphans, and the widows because the Lord helped us when we were helpless.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
This idea of a pure heart is mentioned in the Psalms. Psalm 24 says, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully." A pure heart is connected with clean hands, truth, and sole devotion to the Lord. This statement is also clearly pointed at the heart in contrast to the external emphasis of Jesus' day. And the pure in heart will ascend into the the hill of the Lord; we will see him in the glory of heaven.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
Understanding the promise here is crucial to understanding peacemaking. What does it mean to be called sons of God here? Is this in the adoptive/joint heirs sense? I don't think that is the point here. Verses 44-45 of chapter 5 clarifies. Jesus says to love your enemies so you will be called sons of God, for he makes the sun to rise and the rain to fall on both the evil and the good. Being called sons of God here means that we are acting like God in the way that a son emulates his father! God is the ultimate peacemaker. When we were his enemies, he loved us. He took initiative and made peace with us through Jesus. (Rom 5:1) We need to follow his example.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
This verse provides an outline for the two that follow and also discuss persecution. First we look at the facts of persecution and then on our focus through persecution. Christians will be persecuted, and this persecution will only get worse. (2 Tim 3:12) Also, this persecution will be unjust. It will be false and evil. However, we must make sure that we are being persecuted for the right reasons. Peter says, "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters." There is a big difference between suffering for being passionate about the Lord and suffering for being a jerk. We need to make sure we are being persecuted for his sake. Our focus through persecution must be on the promise Jesus makes in this passage. We must focus on our future in heaven. If we are going to be willing to let this mortal life go and suffer persecution, we must step onto liquid, live by faith, and hope for heaven.

That's all for now on the Sermon on the Mount. I'm sure I'll be talking more about it in later posts. My parents get back in from South Africa this afternoon, and I guess you could say I'm psyched out of my mind about it. So until next time, praise God for the weather.

Speelin B

So I was planning on blogging about the Beatitudes today. But as I started the second part of my shift at the fitness center, I turned on ESPN to find the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Wow. It is most definitely the most nerdy thing ever shown on ESPN, maybe that's why I'm so intrigued. I used to be a spelling bee champ back in the day, but I would get out on words like "agrarian" or "mestizo." These kids eat agrarian for breakfast. You will probably never hear the words they are spelling in normal conversation.

These kids are hard core. Many of them have been coming to this competition for years. The commentators compared one kid to an Olympic athlete who had skipped the opening ceremony because he had refrained from attending the barbecue (I don't even know if I spelled that right) so he could focus on his words. My pre-spelling bee routine was reading Calvin & Hobbes.

One of my favorite parts of the show broadcast is the camera shots of the parents watching their kids. They make soccer moms look straight up apathetic. The color commentary on the spelling bee is also pretty enlightening, ex. "As soon as she knew the two latin roots they might as well have handed it to her."

Don't miss out. The Spelling Bee is on most of the afternoon on ESPN, and the final rounds are on ABC in primetime. (Not even the NBA conference finals make network television on a weeknight.)

Enjoy, but I'll warn you. You might find yourself reading the dictionary...for fun! And watch out for saponin: A glycoside compound in plants, which, when shaken with water, has a foaming or "soapy" action.