Grace and Peace

2007-08-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Attention all readers, I have started a new blog site: www.jasonwhitley.wordpress.com

Reading List for 2007

2006-12-28T16:17:00.000-08:00

What are some books on your reading list? Most people I know like to read books, and most of those people have their own list of books to read. Looking ahead at the new year - this will be the first full year that I will be able to chart out my reading list and it not include anything "due" for school. My very own list! I almost don't know where to start. But I do have a few books in mind that I would like to read this next year. There is a handful of new books that I have never read, and a few that I have read - but that are good enough to read once a year.

New books

1. The Greatness of the Kingdom, by Alva McClain. A classic on the biblical theme of the Kingdom. Just never got around to reading it yet. My professor of theology in Seminary (Dr. Trevor Craigen) was a student of Alva. He says this is his favorite book.

2. Sketches of Jewish Social Life, by Alfred Edersheim. This is a good background book on Jewish life during Jesus' time. I want to begin studying the life of Christ more in depth - in order to do a Sunday school series.

Re-Read

1. Profitting from the Word, by A. W. Pink. A great book on the importance and benefits of being a student of the scriptures.

2. The Sovereignty of God, by A. W. Pink. A wonderful book on God's sovereignty, possible one of the most extensive on the subject. I always feel puny after reading it.

...And yes, I do like Pink.

3. Counted Righteous in Christ, by John Piper. It explains and defends the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Also a practical explanation of Romans 1-5. A must read.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but these came to mind first. What are some books you are interested in reading?

A Few Thoughts on Prayer...

2006-11-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

I have listed some thoughts from my lesson in Sunday school a few weeks ago. Here are some "Be's" in regards to prayer. These are just a few principles that I try to keep in mind when praying.

Be Consistent.
How often do you pray? Even if you only pray for 5 minutes a day, be sure to pray for 5 minutes each day - and remain consistent in doing that.

Be Persistent.
Don't confuse this with being consistent. What I mean by being persistent, is to take a matter to the Lord and keep on taking it to him. Don't just pray for an issue once, but keep praying about that issue - keep knocking!

Be Passionate.
Do you really believe the Lord is good? Do you believe He is powerful? Do you believe He desires the best for you? If so, thrust yourself into your prayer. Sometimes you may need to grit your teeth, but if you truly want the Lord to hear - be passionate! He desires your passion. He wants to see your heart.

Be Specific.
God wants to know exactly what is on your mind. He is a God of detail. So bring before the Lord each detail of your life. In fact, create a prayer journal. Record that detail you prayed for and the date you prayed about it. Later record God's answer (specifically) to your prayer request. See God's faithfulness as you look back over your prayer journal. You will be suprised how many He did end up answering!

Be Biblical.
What is God's will? How do I know that I am praying God's will? Pray the scripture! If the scripture is God's revealed will, and you pray scripture, then you are praying in God's will. You can't go wrong!

Don't neglect to pray. An old professor of mine once said "Make every thought a prayer thought." Breathe it! It's your life.

The Temptation of Eve, Genesis 3:1-7

2006-09-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

Satan’s begins his conversation with Eve: “has God said…” He poses a question. He poses a doubt. In fact, Satan poses the first conditional statement found in the Old Testament. Has God really said this? There seems to be an error of some kind in what God said, since according to the wise serpent, it doesn’t seem right. The snake has some standard of truth by which he lives by. Satan’s standard of truth is not God’s – but his own. And Satan’s first move in the Garden of Eden was to push Eve to doubt the goodness of God.[1] If anything was true, God had just finished displaying His power in creation and His beauty was reflected in this creation (Genesis 1:1 to 2:25). All of this creation was for His glory and for man’s enjoyment. As man enjoyed the land and cared for the animals he had earlier named (2:19), he was satisfied with God. God was seen as all glorious and His creation of earth was satisfying for man. Moreover, Adam was very satisfied with Eve. The Hebrew puts great emphasis on this satisfaction (compared with the rest of creation). God had made all of this for man and it couldn’t get any better!
At this point how could Eve, or any of us, doubt God’s goodness? Is He doing all of this for man’s total satisfaction? Just like Eve, we all have stumbled into this same temptation. Satan uses old tricks. His temptations are not new; he’s just a master at using the old since he’s practiced them for ten thousand years. Satan attacks God’s goodness by posing doubt in the mind of Eve.

Possibly the root problem in all of our sins, is that deep within our own hearts we doubt the goodness of God. Reflect on this in your own life. How would your life be different today if you fully embraced God’s goodness? How would your life look? It’s amazing that so many doubts, frustrations, anxieties, and discouragements in life come out of us because we do not completely accept God’s goodness. We doubt this fundamental attribute of God, and we doubt His extension of that goodness into our own life. We may accept that He is all-present (omnipresent) or that He is all knowing (omniscience). But if we admitted it, God’s goodness may be hard to swallow for most of us. Satan immediately attacked God’s character. He went for the sting – to wipe out all of the creation process that God had just finished for man’s enjoyment. If man doubts God’s goodness after all that He had just beautifully accomplished for man, then Satan’s goal is reached.

The enemy focused on the one restriction, and completely glazed over everything that was permissible. Don’t be fooled, the enemy wants you to neglect the good gifts of God. He wants you to focus on the few things that are prohibited, with the lie that maybe what is prohibited is actually good for you. Remember this truth: God is perfectly good and He only gives what is best for you. This is true no matter how uncomfortable or uncertain it may seem. God never withholds what is best. Paul says in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Christ is the very best gift the Father has and will ever give to His children. If He has already given us the best gift, should you worry about the lesser gifts?
[1] Luzter, Erwin. Winning the Inner War, 19.

Elmo's World

2006-09-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than playing ball with my daughter. Or better yet, you can't beat laying on the floor, covered in pillows, watching Elmo's world. I never thought I would enjoy watching a red puppet run around on the T.V. screen laughing. But if she likes it, I like it. We have been enjoying our time together. Hannah's growing fast - already in the top % in height for her age. She is not only tall, but very smart. Smart like her mom. She remembers everything. I don't know if that's always a good thing. I have to admit, having a forgetful mind has been a good thing at times! But at 17 months, she already knows (and can name) the following: airplane, kitty cat, apple juice, flowers, grass, bugs, button, pillow, balloon, and always loves to point out the moon. The funniest trait she's picked up lately is blowing her nose. She has seen me blow my nose numerous times (my gift of allergies) and now enjoys blowing her nose just like daddy. She likes to walk around the house with a kleenex in her hand, proudly displaying her learned adult skills. The Apostle Peter comes to mind - not in relation to the Kleenex, but to that of imitation. Peter talks about being imitators of God and longing for the pure milk of the word. Those two principles lead me to believe that Peter was a father. From the scriptures we know that Peter was married. So Peter having children is a good possibility. But if Peter was also known as "Daddy", he probably watched his little kids imitate him. No wonder he would use imagery like that. Our little girl imitates much of what we do. What's really scary is that she already has a library and loves to read books - even more than playing with her toys. Sometimes I feel as if my degree was for the purpose of fatherhood. This little cutie will obviously demand a good education from me! But, the more we play, the more I believe that I have a lot to learn from her.

Book Q & A

2006-09-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

My wife wanted me to answer the following questions. If you feel up to it - please do the same.

One book that changed your life:
Transforming Grace, by Jerry Bridges. Bridges writes on our tendency to live in a "works-performance" relationship with God. But the Bible doesn't expect us to perform for God. God expects us to live by faith in His grace. We can't make our standing before Him any better, Christ has already done that perfectly. What motivates us and gives us the ability to live a godly life, is living in light of His grace, not attempting good works out of fear of disapproval. Our approval from God is found in Christ. He sees us through His Son.

One book that you've read more than once:
Disciplines of the Christian Life, by Donald Whitney. This covers the fundamentals of our spiritual life: prayer, reading the Bible, fasting, journaling, meditation, etc. A great book to always go back to for the essentials in life.

One book you’d want on a desert island:
Just the Bible. I would probably spend time memorizing my favorite chapters and books (depending upon how long I was on this island!)

One book you wish had been written:
"The Grey Areas of Theology" Yes, we must admit - not everything is black and white in the scriptures, and not everything is understandable with our puny minds. I just wish someone (a scholar perferrable...which excludes myself) would come out and present some of the doctrines and theological issues that don't necessarily have a conclusive answer. Jesus is fully God and fully man at the same time. How does that work? Like Dr. Behle said in Theology II, if you understand how God's sovereignty and human responsibility relate - leave your answer to yourself. I don't want to know.

One book you wish had never been written:
The Koran...obviously. Kill those who disagree with your religious beliefs? Not on the top of my list. And yes, that stuff really is in there. The New Testament says to love your enemy. And let me tell you, that doctrine is much harder to follow.

One book you’re currently reading:
E.M. Bounds on prayer. This is the collection of Bounds' writings on prayer. The necessity of prayer, the power of prayer, and the weapon of prayer are just a few chapters in this collection. A must read.

One book you've been meaning to read:
Don't Waste Your Life, by John Piper. I'm probably going to have our guys accountability group read through this book in the fall. Piper's purpose is to motivate you to live the rest of your life for the glory of God - in some very practical ways. So I am anxious to read it!

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

2006-09-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

The lawnmower is clogged. It only blows smoke out of it's side. Our small and unseen attic fan makes long unexpected high-pitched squeeking sounds...usually at 3:00 A.M, which would account for the reason that I am wandering outside at such a God-forbidden hour in my pajamas with a giant flashlight pointed at the top of our house.

After finishing school and working a regular, routine, full-time job, I have been welcomed into "life." My dad always told me how I would be using math and science when I got older. I didn't believe him, especially when studying theology. Now I understand. The second law of thermodynamics says that all things wear down. Everything slowly comes apart, falls apart, or (in our case) makes funny annoying sounds late late in the night. Things fall apart. And now, as a proud owner of a house, I must keep them working! Come hammer, come screwdriver, come allen wrench, come WD-40! Put aside the 400 page books on Greek exegetical summaries of 1 Peter, dispensationalism, and theological discussions on sublapsarianism. Its time with the tools. Time with grease. Time with science.

Thanks Dad.

An Electric Pink Balloon

2006-07-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

I am having a great time typing at the computer with my sweet 15-month old daughter. She has been the greatest blessing that God has given my wife and I. And it is nice to be enjoying a cool Air conditioned house! We had power out for a day and a half. Long story, so I will make it short. My wife has the long version on www.whitleyfam.blogspot.com

I guess a local neighbor decided to decorate our central community street with pink balloons for a baby shower, scattered all along the side fence. Unfortunately one of these little pink balloons decided to let go and experience the freedom that it had been dreaming about all day. After letting go of the chain link fence, it rose carlessly above the fence into the giant surrounding powerlines. I happen to be in our backyard getting our grill ready to cook up some hotdogs when all of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing sound. After about fifteen seconds of buzzing...BANG!! I guess the balloon died at that point. And not only did the little balloon who could, but also the power to our entire community, which consists of 450 homes. Complete freedom for one, is not always best for everyone else!

Sounds biblical...I think.

Never a dull moment.

God's Ear

2006-05-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Prayerlessness has run rampant in the church today. In our fast-paced quick-fix culture, most Christians don't have time to quiet themselves in God's presence. We run here and there to keep up with our fast growing society while grabbing for our spiritual fix. We look for the newest Christian magazine or book that will give us that "key to spiritual success" when our Bible's lay collecting dust and our prayer lives dwindle to almost nothing. Do we really believe the promises of God? Do we really believe that God is powerful and listens to the cry of His children? Do we really believe that God is anxious to hear and answer our little requests? I think if we did believe that, our prayer lives would reflect it. The Bible says "you have not because you ask not" and we don't receive because "we ask with wrong motives." But it may be true today that asking with wrong motives rarely happens since, well, we don't have time to pray.

Not only has prayer disappeared among Christians, but the power to live the Christian life is rarely utilized. Paul says in the sixth chapter of Ephesians: "with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." God has fixed prayer as part of His armor. Careful! Don't carelessly read over the long section of prayer at the end of God's armor. It is key to spiritual victory. The soldier will be wounded and lost in the battle without contact with his commander. This may well be the reason why so many believers today are struggling with temptation. Financial gain, sexual pleasure, admiration among peers, and desire for acceptance in the world are nothing compared to the eternal quality and joy-filled pleasure of being in God's presence and seeing Him work through prayer.

Finally I have graduated from Seminary. I was able to walk across the stage and shake MacArthur's hand with relief. Many have asked me what was the greatest lesson I learned. One of the main lessons I tell people is that I learned to get my priorities in order! Specifically that spending time with the Lord was top on the list. To enjoy God's everlasting word and to get in a quiet place to talk to my Savior - is and should be essential to every believer's life. Only if we would only take a small amount of time each day to be with our Lord would we truly begin to "succeed." God offers His guidance (James 1) and power (James 5) if we would only get on our faces. We have everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1), the righteousness of Christ (Romans 8), all of our works prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2), every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1), and God's Spirit dwelling within us (John 14-16). None of these incredible benefits are lacking for any Christian. What lacks is our prayer life. God's power in our lives come through prayer that is sensitive to Gods word and dependent upon Him. There is no excuse for a constantly discouraged and powerless Christian. God has provided a wonderful privilege and responsibility for each of us to engage in which will allow God to work powerfully in our lives. Mountains of trials and sins will become mole-hills as we utilize the knees God gave us! Remember that prayer itself is not the source of power, but a caring God. Prayer is the avenue. He urges us to come and knock on His door. And unless we obey Him by doing this, we should not expect to grow in the knowledge of Christ. Only as we begin to ask for His help and guidance will we be "successful Christians." Remember: You have not, because you ask not.

Scripture Memorization

2006-03-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

Scripture Memorization is critical to Your Spiritual Growth

Finally a chance to "blog." If anything the Lord has been pressing on my heart lately, is that of scripture memorization. I still remember sitting in a discipleship group (now almost 3 years ago), excited and determined to grow in the Lord that year. I thought to myself, whatever it takes I am willing to grow closer to God this year. I had joined a small group in order to be discipled by a respected friend, Rob Rhea. After committing only one Sunday a month - he informed us that we would be memorizing the whole book of Ephesians. If there was any chance to take back any commitments, it would have been then - especially in light of working 40 hours and still taking units at Seminary! But I stayed in the group and found out that memorizing scripture was a key to spiritual growth.

Jesus served as our example as he battled temptation in Matthew 4 - through the power of the word. He knew exactly which scripture to cling to as different temptations were thrown His way. And who is to say that Christ was only tempted three times? I'm sure by then Satan had thrown everything at Him. He was tempted in all areas as the Hebrew writer says. So His temptation would have been greater than anything we could imagine.

Scripture memorization is critical to our spiritual life. The Word is the Spirit's tool, or rather weapon. Ephesians 6 calls it His "sword." Unfortunately, I see so many Christians that barely know any scripture, and if they do know some - they rarely can quote it verbatim. If it is God's word, shouldn't we know exactly what He said? After all, He is the supreme, sovereign ruler of the universe. His words shouldn't be taken lightly. 1 Samuel 2:30 says "Those who honor me I will honor." I do believe that if Christians did begin to read their Bibles more, and memorize scripture - that God would honor that spiritually in their lives.

I know for myself that I was convicted of my lack of respect for God's word - as I began to memorize scripture. In the end though, I began to enjoy memorizing. I would wake up in the middle of the night with texts flowing through my mind. What could me more refreshing than that? Especially when life has its fill of trials!

As of right now, our guys biblestudy is going through a book titled Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, by Donald Whitney. That's Whitney, not Whitley. I wish. He comments that "When scripture is stored in the mind, it is available for the Holy Spirit to take and bring to your attention when you need it most." You see, the Holy Spirit doesn't speak to us today. The revelation of God is completed in the bible. But the Spirit does use the Bible to speak to us and to guide us in His way. So the more we know of God's word, and the fresher it is on our mind, the better off we are spiritually, as God's Holy Spirit can impress on us specific directions according to His will.

I think scripture memorization is one of the best uses of your time!

My First Blog

2006-02-26T16:58:00.000-08:00

My lovely wife Veronica helped me to start my first blog.

I will post thoughts about theology and life issues.

Enjoy