Another school year begins

Tomorrow begins my second year in graduate school! I’m slightly nervous and mostly excited. Starting my final semester of Hebrew is daunting, particularly since I didn’t work on it at all during the summer. Oh, well. Perhaps the Lord (and the professor) will be gracious to me and I will be able to catch up quickly.

I’ll be taking the following courses:
New Testament Theology: Dr. Douglas Moo
Intermediate Hebrew: Dr. Michael Graves
That’s all until mid-October; then I’ll tack on two more courses:
Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament: Dr. Lynn Cohick
Greek Exegesis of Colossians: Dr. Ben Gladd

I’m most excited about New Testament Theology and Colossians. Jewish Backgrounds should be fun and interesting. I’m dreading Hebrew. However, if, by God’s grace, I can do well in Hebrew now, I’ll be better prepared for the coming semesters in which I will be working more intensely with the Hebrew text. So, I intend to work as hard as I can. Perhaps I will experience what Paul talked about in Colossians 1:29–”For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” Indeed, anything good that any of us does is reflective of Jesus the Messiah (see v. 28) powerfully working in and through us. And learning Hebrew is only a means…a means to the same thing Paul was talking about in this passage, namely proclaiming Jesus the Messiah clearly and boldly (again, see Col. 1:28).

So, Hiho, Hiho, it’s off to toil joyfully, I go!

excitement…

I am more excited right now than I have been in a long time, perhaps since my wedding day.

I have never experienced such dreams, such hope for the future.

I am realizing that there are two things for which and in which God gives me passion: 1) preaching the Scriptures (which is equal, in my understanding, to preaching Christ) and 2) writing about the Gospel (which is equal, in my understanding, to writing about Christ).

Thanks be to God for giving such passions to men!

Christ is all!

Yes, this is my arm. And, yes, this is a very real, very permanent tattoo.

Colossians 3:9-11 says, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Paul is here highlighting the behavior that ought to characterize followers of Jesus and the behavior that ought not to characterize followers of Jesus. The point of Colossians 3 seems to be that people ought to be able to tell the difference between believers and non-believers. The life of the Christian is to be distinct from the life of the non-Christian. Followers of Christ are not just adherents to a particular religions; rather, followers of Christ are completely new creations who are progressively being molded into the image of Jesus Christ himself. At the close of this verse, Paul reminds his readers that former racial/ethnic distinctions, social distinctions, cultural distinctions all mean absolutely nothing in God’s economy. Christ is all that matters. My arm now bears this statement, permanently etched into my skin as a testimony (more to myself than to anyone else, though it has already served as a springboard for sharing with others) that Jesus Christ is the only thing that matters. The words are in the Greek of Paul’s original writing to the Colossians, though I have altered the word order slightly. Literally, it could be rendered, “Christ is all things,” in order to emphasize that the second word, “panta,” is plural. It is a reminder to me that the only thing that matters is Christ. Paul was eager to remind many of his readers, not just in the letter to the Colossian church, of the centrality of Christ. First Corinthians 15:3, for example, refers to Paul’s perception of the very heart of the gospel when he says, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” The person and work of Christ on our behalf is the heart of the gospel that cannot be omitted, sidelined, or brushed over. For Paul, (and I think all believers ought to imitate Paul here), to live was Christ (Phil. 1:21). Christ is truly all that matters; we must live in such a way that the world knows that Christ is all to us. He is our treasure, he is the one we cannot stop speaking about, he is the one that dominates our thoughts and our conduct. Indeed, in Colossians 3, Paul commands believers to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2-3). We must “take every thought captive to obey Christ,” and this means that we must work hard to train our minds to bring Christ and his word to bear on everything that comes in our lives (2 Cor. 10:5). This text in 2 Corinthians deals particularly with protecting our minds from being deceived by false teachings, but I think it has a broader application and relates to the thought expressed in Colossians 3. Our minds, naturally, have a tendency to wander and are drawn to vain things, useless things, even harmful things. We must, by the power of the Holy Spirit living in each of us as believers, train our minds to focus on Christ. Even as our minds do wander to think of all kinds of things, we must be quick to bring Christ to bear on whatever comes to our minds. As we are able to do that with our minds, our life becomes more oriented toward Christ and what would be pleasing to him. No more vanity; no more wasting our lives thinking of things that don’t matter at all. Instead, let our minds be intent on worshiping our great High Priest who sits at the right hand of God as our Advocate, ever and always interceding for us as we continue to struggle with sin in this life (see 1 John 2:1-2).

So, I have a tattoo to remind me of what is important. Some may thing this foolish or childish or some other negative -ish word. However, I am quite pleased with it as a permanent reminder of the gospel which has permanently changed my life and continues to change my life. Even more irrevocable than the marks of this tattoo on my body are the irrevocable affects that Jesus Christ has on my life every day. To him be all glory!

About the username…

Explanation of my username, and thus the first part of the url for this blog, is in order.

It is two Greek words found in the New Testament in different places and in different contexts. I have put these two words together for to reflect a New Testament idea that was usually expressed in different ways. Moros is an adjective usually translated “foolish.” Kerux is a noun translated different ways, identifying one who heralds or announces a message (a.k.a. a preacher). Hence, I am the foolish preacher. This is not so much meant to say anything about my or any other preacher’s abilities, wisdom, or lack thereof. Rather, the phrase is indicative of the message itself that I am created to herald. Check out 1 Corinthians 1:21 and 23, which focuses on both the method of delivery and the evaluation of the gospel by hearers: “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach [lit. the folly of preaching] to save those who believe….We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly [or foolishness] to Gentiles.” I cannot only teach the Scriptures; God enlivens me with his word and I must lift up my voice and proclaim his news to the world, believers and unbelievers alike!

what on earth??

I have written very little over the past year. This makes me sad. I love to write but my former experiences blogging have left me feeling sour. I find that I was not writing as much for myself and for the Lord as I was writing for those who might read my words. Having a slightly different perspective, and being in a different place in life, I find that I need to write for many reasons. Whoever may find this blog and read my words may find my posts to be repetitive. My hope is that I would be saturated with the words of God and that any who read what I write would receive grace upon grace: not because my words are gracious or eloquent, but rather because my words reflect the word of God.

Today I find myself sitting alone at home feeling quite drowsy, having taken some strong allergy medication. (In fact, it may be a result of the medication that caused me to actually begin this blog!) I have spent the past couple of days helping my wife rearrange the house. Usually, this keeps me in the doldrums since I am typically averse to change. However, I think I really like what my beloved wife has conjured up for our humble abode this time. My “office space” has now completely moved into the living room. Before, my desk and files were in the bedroom, while my library sits in the living room. But, with some clever maneuvering, the desk now sits in the living room. I think this is brilliant! It makes me quite happy!

As I sit and contemplate the work I put in to make this living room transformation take place, I turn to thinking of my internal living space and wonder at what little effort I put in to set things right. Moving bookshelves and desks, I sweat profusely and my muscles feel tired afterward. How much sweat and energy do I expend in fighting my own sin? Not enough…

I have said before that I am here to make Christ look good. In truth, Christ looks good in and of himself; I cannot do anything that would make him look good or cause him to be beautiful. Christ is beautiful. I am here to help people see the beauty of Christ. As the risen Jesus sent Paul, likewise he sends me (and all believers in various ways) “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26:18).” I have been given the task of opening the eyes of the blind, a miracle which only God can perform. Therefore, I know that whatever success I have in opening people’s eyes so that they are able to see the beauty of Jesus Christ, it is not I, but the grace of God that is with me (see 1 Cor. 15:10). Someone once said (probably John Piper, to whom I listen with great joy) that the Judaism of the Old Testament was a “come and see” kind of religion, in that the people were called to come and worship God at the temple, which was magnificent in its splendor. Christianity, on the other hand, is a “show and tell” kind of religion whose preachers announce with all their might the coming of the great King Jesus. Fundamentally, however, what preachers are called to be doing is to show people the beauty and splendor of Jesus Christ and telling or explaining why he is beautiful. We must take the Scriptures that we have been graciously given, open them to people who really are uninterested in what we have to say, and show them why Jesus is the most beautiful person in the universe, why he is the most valuable person in the universe, and why the things that he has done are the most wonderful things in the universe. We must show them; we must tell them. Until God himself breaks into their hearts and gives life to their dead, sin-enslaved hearts, they will remain uninterested, viewing Jesus and his work as either foolishness or a stumbling block (see 1 Cor. 1:23). But, at the moment that God does break into their hearts, he will open their eyes and they will see Jesus as the most beautiful reality in the universe and they will trust him for their life (see 2 Cor. 4:6)! This is the message, the only message we have been commissioned to preach, and we shall preach it to everybody, and as many as have been appointed for eternal life will be saved through our preaching (see Acts 13:48).