Joy in Christendom

Imago Dei

Imago Dei, or the Image of God, is a theological concept that is concerned with anthropology or the study of man and his origins.  We learn about man from God and His Word.  Man is Created by God and is the very image of God, both Male and Female.  The Unity and Diversity of the Trinity is therefore reflected in man.  While there is equality of being, there are different roles and functions within the diversity of genders, kinds and races of men.  This Christo-centric understanding of Man can be explained in three general concerns.   First, the Word says that the origins of man were spontaneous and creative and in His likeness:

Gen 2:7 - then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Gen 5:1 - This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

Man was also created separately and specially:

Gen 1:25-26 -    And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Secondly, Being a creature, Man has responsibility.  As we see here, man's most important act is to worship God and enjoy him forever.

1 Cor 10:31 - "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Man is also to work, create, procreate and build:

Gen 1:28 - "And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

and then again, reaffirmed in the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Finally, we learn how Man is to live with God and other Men.  Man is to live in community with others, worshiping God and serving man.

Titus 3:3-8 - "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people."

Imago Dei has vast implications and is foundational to understanding our existence and causes our Worship to our Great God.  Our inherent worth does not generate from self or others but from God himself.  Ultimately it is life that is wholeheartedly committed to obedience and service to the Creator.  As Creatures, we are to commit all we are, all that we do, and all that we have to serve the LORD God, Creator with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength.

 

 

A Letter to My 13-year-old Son

Thirteen years ago today, the Lord blessed us with a son, and He has been teaching us what that means ever since then.  Brogan has been such a huge help to us - he is always there to help, teach his siblings, and humor us all.  Hopefully, this letter expresses my deep love, devotion, admiration for my son.

"Brogan,

You are entering the next chapter in your life.  During the next 10 years or so, you will own the Faith, you will decide on a life calling, you will begin to think of the businesses you want to own and will begin to have a very good idea as to the qualities of a godly help-meet.  These are tall and exciting demands on the young Christian man.  The good news is that the Scriptures give us a framework for help in these areas.

Pray often: A godly man, is a man of prayer.  Men don't naturally want to pray - they want to do it all themselves.  The Lord has other ideas for us.  As we read, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." Colossians 4:2-4

Before they call I will answer;
        while they are yet speaking I will hear.
(Isaiah 65:24)

Secondly, we are to Read often: Read and benefit from the wisdom of other people.  A man of God is a humble man and seeks the wisdom of others.  There are many good authors available that will provide much comfort and godly knowledge for your use in every area of life.  Above this, read scripture - continually.  Reading the very words of God is to be in the presence of God.  "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16) (Psalm 111:10) (Duet 6:7)

Finally, Work often:  There isn't anything tricky or fancy about this.  It's rather simple:  Just Work Hard. A Man is called to work hard and honestly.  A man is also called to work hard - and it's a good thing.  You will never be happy with mediocrity in this area.  Consider the following,  "and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

"From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him." Proverbs 12:14

But above all of these things, remember that "In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (Eph 1:7)".

You have already exhibited all of these traits and your mom and I are profoundly grateful to you and your God for all that you've become and will be.

Love you,

Dad."

A Model Prayer

I love to be encouraged and shown how to pray.  The really good prayers speak God's thoughts after Him.  They praise God for his Character, state reality plainly, and Worship Him.  With this example, we notice that God-centered prayers request the Lord's expressed, written Will.  God-centered praying does not make man the center or "self" the target of affection, but Good praying is truly a sweet aroma. Notice how the words are respectful and tender, without the "boyfriend" psychology language that is so typical in our modern praying.

Consider the following prayer a good example of God-centered, Christ-exhalting, Spirit-filled poetry:

"Almighty God of Hosts, we gather this morning as the people, who in thy wisdom, have been made lesser brothers to our Lord Christ. As your people, we desire for thy name to be filled with the glory of which it is always overflowing. With that in mind we beseech thee to pursue thyself as the ultimate benevolence. Teach us Father to understand that the highest request we can ask of thee is that that thou would be jealous for thy name.

Help us also though, to see your abnegating selflessness as we find each person of the Trinity pursuing the glory of the other. Vouchsafe to us the ability to see the glorious self-centeredness of Jehovah God – the one who can pursue nothing higher than Himself – and the ability to see the glorious selflessness of Triune Jehovah God who delights in the emptying of Himself for each person of the Trinity.

As we come before you this morning we beg of thee again to, “in wrath, remember mercy.” Our sins testify against us and we acknowledge that were we absent of Christ we would deserve nothing but thy just and necessary wrath. We acknowledge that even our most noble actions are disreputable before thy Holy face and can only be found acceptable before you as they are imputed with the righteousness of our Elder Brother – The Lord Christ.

Yet, Father, you have adopted us for the sake of Christ and in the boldness that comes with being counted a Family member we come unto thee begging for Reformation and awakening. We acknowledge that we do not deserve thy tender mercies that would awaken us to thy opposition that we might be given the beauty of repentance, yet still we do ask for ourselves and all thy Elect that you might be pleased to grant us thy favor to think thy thoughts after thee.

Deliver thy Church, we beg of thee, from the haze that has settled upon it. Restore again, unto the Lecterns of thy Seminaries as well as the Holy Desks of thy Churches men who have walked with thee through the pages of Holy Writ. Grant us the boon of having men speak thy word to us who have stood in thy presence long enough to absorb the magnificence of thy being and the splendor of thy Holiness. With all that we have we ask that thou would remember thy promise to thy Lord Christ to give Him a people whose number would be as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore. Leave thy Church not in the disrepair in which we currently find ourselves. Thy judgments against us are all together just and yet for thy great name’s sake we implore you to send winds of refreshing. Let them blow through thy Church first.

And then, if we may be so bold to pursue our desires in you, we beg of thee that you would restore the family in our Nation. Do a work, by thy Spirit, where the hearts of the Father’s are turned back to the Children. Give Christian Husbands and Wives wisdom in your truths and then grant them the ability to pass on that wisdom to their children. Deliver from the madness of our current cultural teaching models and raise up again, we ask of thee, a generation of Fathers and Mothers who know, as a result of walking in your ways, what it means to keep their covenant seed.

We are shipwrecked without thy returning favor O Magnificent God. We are so dissolute and undone that we have little idea of how desolate and undone we have become. There is so much to ask and so we simply ask For thy glory’s sake, grant us Reformation." - Rev. Bret McAtee.

20 Books Every Young Person Should Read Before Leaving Home

A good friend of mine posed the following question to me:  "Large piles of books and good intentions are a waste of time.  What are the 10 to 20 books, upon reading and rereading would continue to nourish the reader for a lifetime, assuming the Scriptures make the top of the list?"  Furthermore, being good and Godly parents to our children, what legacy could we give them that would help them honor Christ and take dominion in His name. 

I thought it was a good question.  It is good for a couple of reasons.  First, modern [American] man over-complicates nearly everything because modern man is essentially pagan.  The Christian life is a simple life.  We complicate things immensely when our culture moves away from Biblical underpinnings. This includes education. When we first think "education" we immediately bring to mind institutions, degrees, tests, processes, and memorization (all with a hefty price tag).  However, the Bible says that Fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom - and this puts us at odds with this modern understanding of education.  The moment we begin to answer the question of "why educate" with "to get a job", we move away from the Biblical reason for education.  Second, it gives fathers (the chief principal of the home) fuel, vision and a handy check list on how to raise Godly children.  Although, just reading these books with your children will not automatically create the desired Biblical worldview, it certainly provides the medium for which said worldview can grow.

Without further delay, here is the list of essential reading material for our children:

1. "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan
2. "Holiness of God" by R.C. Sproul
3. "Pushing the Antithesis" by Greg Bahnsen
4. "Tithing and Dominion" by RJ Rushdoony
5. "Westminster Confession of Faith" and "Three Forms of Unity"
6. "Fox's Book of Martyrs" by John Foxe
7. "The Politics of Guilty and Pity" by RJ Rushdoony
8. "Introduction to Logic" by Irving M. Copi
9. "A Christian view of men and things" by Gordon Clark
10. "Essays," The Works of G. K. Chesterton
11. "A Defense of Virginia and the South" by R. L. Dabney
12. "Structures of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn
13. "The Institute"s by John Calvin
14. "Les Miserable" by Victor Hugu
15. "The Scottish Chiefs" by Jane Porter
16. "The Philosophy of Science and Belief in God" by Gordon Clark
17. "Prevailing Worldviews" by Glenn R. Martin
18. "The One and The Many" by RJ Rushdoony
19. "Idols for Destruction" By Schlossberg
20. Various Poetry by Chesterton, Gerald Manley Hopkin, Ethelwyn Wetherald
21. "Amusing ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman
22. "The Outline of Sanity" by G. K. Chesterton
23. "The Law" by Frederic Bastiat
24. "Economics in one Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt
25. "I Pencil" (essay on line)
26. "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell
27. "The Road to Serfdom" by Fredrich Hyek
28. "What Has Government Done to Our Money?" by Murray Rothbard
29. "The Case Against the Fed" by Murray Rothbard
30. "A Humane Economy: The Social Framework of the Free Market" by Wilhelm Ropke
31. "The Creature From Jekyll Island" by Em Griffin
32. "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" by Amity Shlaes
33. "New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America" W. Folsom Jr.
34. "de Magistro" by Augustine
35. "Mathematics: Is God Silent?" by James Nickel

OK, so that's a little more than 20 books.  This list is certainly not exhaustive.   It is my belief that anyone of my children that complete this list will be well-educated.  Praise be to God for these good gifts.

Thanks to my good friends for helping produce this list: Bret McAtee, Mark Chambers, Misty Richards, Robert Fort and L.E. Sam Koon.