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| I have a officially moved to Minneapolis and am currently looking for a job. If anyone has any contacts/leads up here, let me know. Here's my new contact info for anyone interested... Jonathan Moe
6840 Excelsior Blvd, Apt 126
St. Louis Park, MN 55426
e-mail: moe.jonathan@gmail.com And since I'm looking for an engineering job, I figure this little story is probably appropriate: One day, an engineer died and went to heaven. But, St. Peter said "I can't let you in because your name is not on the list." So the engineer went down to Hell and was let in. Well, he stayed there for a couple of days and then decided that, it was too hot and everything was inaccessible. So he built flushing toilets, air conditioning, running water and a lot of other things.
One day God calls down and says to Satan, "So Satan, how's it down there in hell? " and Satan says: "Well, it's great, I've got an engineer down here and he has build air conditioning, running water, flushing toilets, and I don't know what else, he's gonna build next!"
Then God asks, "You've got an engineer down there? That's a big mistake, send him up here right now!"
Satan replies, "No way this is the best thing that's ever happened to hell." and God says, "send him up or I'll sue!!"
Satan says smirking, "Now just where are you gonna get a lawyer?" | | |
| Okay, so this morning I was reading the Puritan Papers, Vol. 3 and ran across a great essay by R.A. Finlayson entitled “John Calvin’s Doctrine of God.” This essay is fantastic, and I would like to delve deeper into it at some point in the future, but for right now, I just want to look at a single sentence.
However, before we do that, I want to say two brief, rather unrelated things. First, The Puritan Papers series is pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you have not read them, please, please, please go get a copy and read them. They are a collection of essays given by a bunch of guys like J.I. Packer and DMLJ at a series of conferences that began in the 1950’s. Some of the essays can be a bit esoteric, but you can just skip those if you want to. I have learned more from these three books than probably any other 10 books combined. Great stuff.
Second, notice that this essay’s author has two initials and then a last name. I’ve decided that you pretty much have to follow this pattern if you want to be a great Christian writer/thinker/pastor. Here are a few examples, just in case you don’t believe me: C.S. Lewis, B.B. Warfield, J.C. Ryle, J.I. Packer, G.K. Chesterton, D.A. Carson, A.W. Pink, A.W. Tozer, R.A. Torrey, and the list goes on. I think I might have to change my name to J.A. Moe, but that’s just too short. O well...
All right, so that sentence that I was talking about. First, some context. Finlayson is talking about the Calvin’s conception of God’s will/purpose in light of His sovereignty and as an expression of His character. “What God is determines what God does and how He does it.” Now this sentence, is really more of a spark. To my mind, it’s very much like a spark plug in an engine. The piston has compressed the fuel-air mixture and all that’s required for this compressed mixture to explode with enough force to propel your 2 ton truck down the road at 100 miles an hour is a tiny spark. This is one of those sparks...
“While we are wont to speak of decrees in the plural, because with our finite understanding we grasp God’s plan only partially and in fragments, it is in reality only one decree constituting one plan.”
Okay. So, stick with me for a minute. I’m going to try to express this nebulous quasi-epiphany as best I can. I’m still trying to digest it myself.
What this sentence is saying is that we as human beings look at our lives or perhaps even (if we are thinking big) the history of the world and see it as a great number of individual events that are consecutively strung together. This is the fabric of our existence. And when we look at God, we see Him sovereignly ordaining each of these events (at least we should if we are reading our Bibles).
I know this is how I always conceived of my existence. I got up this morning and ate Honey Nut Cheerios – event number one ordained by God. I read my Bible and learned something amazing about God – even number two ordained by God. I got in my car, drove to work, and got hit by a semi on the highway – event number three ordained by God. And so on and so forth. A series of events, sometimes seemingly related, but usually not, which comprise my life. This conception seems to me to portray God as reacting to individual events; it seems to say my life consists of a series of largely unrelated and therefore insignificant events. I am not part of a universal plan. I am simply
But when you look at life and at history in this new way, it all comes together. The individual threads of events are woven together into a divine and eternal tapestry. God did not sovereignly decree a great number of separate, individual events. Rather, just as He said, “Let there be Light” and there was light, He said, “Let there be _______” and there it was.
I put a blank in there because I just don’t have a word big enough to contain the thought behind the word I want to use. I think someone needs to invent a new word. Maybe something like ‘eternal-infinite-everything’ or something. This is the thought behind the word I want to use, so fill in the blank with this:
All the universe, and the location of every atom at every point in time for all eternity; your life, my life, and the lives of all who have gone before us and all who will go after us; every triumph and every tragedy, every perfection and every pain; everything that every person has ever thought, said, or done. It’s all wrapped up in this single divine decree of God that resulted in a single perfect plan which we see being worked out around us and in us and through us every second of every day.
One God. One decree. One plan. One existence. No flaws. No mistakes. No accidents. That’s just how big God is. I wish I could say it better. Someday I hope God will explain it to me when I have a new brain that has the capacity to handle it.
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| So this morning I was working on memorizing some Scripture (not very successfully, I’m afraid) and something hit me. I’ve been working on memorizing II Cor. 4:4-7 off and on for several years, so I’ve read it a lot, but this morning I noticed something new. I think one reason I noticed this particular item is that I just finished a book by J.P. Moreland entitled “Love Your God with All Your Mind.” The book is obviously about the role of the mind and reason in the life of your soul and talks about a great many things including the way modern charismatics seem to spurn the intellect, the importance of apologetics, and some practical ways to effect change in local churches. Anyway, a great read.
So here’s II Cor. 4:4-7...
“the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For God who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.”
Here’s what I noticed. Look at the very first sentence. What exactly is the god of this world [Satan] blinding? The MIND of unbelievers. And why is he doing this? So that they will not see the light of the gospel or the glory of Christ. What does this obviously imply? That the way we see the gospel and the glory of Christ is primarily via our minds. Satan’s strategy is to cloud our minds, not our eyes or our hearts or our souls, but our minds, so that we will not be saved.
But it doesn’t stop there. God does not stand idly by and allow Satan to do this. No, the One who created light out of darkness at the dawn of creation shine in our hearts to do what? To give the light of the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Here we see it again. Satan has blinded our minds so that there is no longer any light by which to see the truth. So God comes and creates light out of darkness within our minds and it all fits. We see the truth and it sets us free.
The role of the mind and of reason in our salvation is absolutely essential. The affects of this realization are many and far-reaching. First, it should affect the way in which we strive to grow in God. We who have been saved ought to do everything we can to pursue wisdom and knowledge. We ought to devote time to read and study and meditate. We should constantly be striving to stretch and challenge our minds. Don’t settle for dabbling in the intellectual shallows with castles of sand; Go deep!
Second, it should affect the way in which we strive to witness to unbelievers. We ought not to appeal to their felt needs or spout religious propaganda over and over. Rather, we should strive to engage their minds and show them the truth of God’s Word, and the reality of who Christ is. This will involve apologetics. This will involve arguing and debating—a task detestable to many. I myself do not like to argue with unbelievers for fear of pushing them away, but in reality, if we do not address their concerns, doubts and fears, then we will not even have the chance to push them away because they will have already walked away.
Lastly, it should affect the way in which we view God. God is love. This is true and right and good. But God is not just a great big ball of warm and fuzzy feelings. He is an infinite being, rational in the extreme, Creator of this ordered universe we see all around us, and he longs to engage our minds. Do see this side of God? It’s there whether you see it or not. It’s there whether you want it to be or not. So apply your mind to understanding the mind of God, and I think you’ll discover that God is more glorious than you had ever imagined.
Allow me to end with a quote by C.S. Lewis to encourage you to read some more difficult, theological books that will engage your mind:
“For my own part, I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that their heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”
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| The UnknownIt’s been quite a while since I’ve updated and so much has happened, I’m not really sure where to begin. I finally finished my undergraduate research that I’ve been working on for the last year, I’ve finished 4 and a half years of school and finally have a degree in engineering, I’ve said goodbye to many dear friends, I’ve celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family, witnessed the union of Rem and Valerie, began my quest for employment, et cetera, et cetera.
I seem to find myself in a rather unfamiliar and confusing place...the metaphorical middle of nowhere, yet the crossroads to everywhere. The decisions I make now are unusually significant and I feel their weight on my shoulders. I’ve squirmed and shimmied under their weight, trying to get them settled enough to actually start moving again and I think I finally found the help I needed. I found this help someplace that I ought to be accustomed to finding it by now—in a book. The book is entitled “How Long, O Lord?” and is by D.A. Carson. I highly recommend both book and author.
Here are two rather random but beautiful quotes”
“God is less interested in answering in answering our questions than in other things: securing our allegiance, establishing our faith, nurturing a desire for holiness.”
“To walk into the unknown with a God of unqualified power and unfailing goodness is safer than any known way.”
These are truths that I’ve always believed somewhere in the back of my mind, but now that push has come to shove, I’m finally beginning to comprehend their silent power. I need not worry about tomorrow and whatever it may bring; I need not worry about the unknown vistas that lie before me because I am not walking into the unknown alone. And unknown is exactly what it is. I have absolutely no plans. None. I have no hopes, no expectations, and certainly no prospects; I have nothing but hazy pictures and half-conscious dreams. But that’s okay. I’m walking into this unknown with a God of unqualified power and unfailing goodness who longs to secure, establish and nurture me.
How cool is that?
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| I recently flew to Boston and figure that xanga is the perfect place to record my trip so that I don't forget it. I don't have a digital camera (yet), so I am 'forced' to record everything via words...
If there is one thing that I learned from this trip it's this: airplanes are epiphanic vehicles. (I think I made up the word 'epiphanic', but its root-word is epiphany, and somebody ought to add it to MS Word's dictionary because I think it's a good word.)
There is something very surreal about looking DOWN at clouds. It is unnatural in the extreme. I suppose the reason for this is simply that we spend most of our lives looking UP at them. It's amazing how a change in perspective can cause you to rethink and re-see the things that you used to take for granted.
Flying out of a sunset must be an awful lot like sailing into one. It happens so fast. The colors are blindingly brilliant, but hazy--like there isn't enough sky to hold them. I loved it.
At times it seems as if I'm looking at an ocean of air, at other times deserts of soft sand, and at still other times millions of towering mountains. But the strangest feeling of all is to think that there is an entire world hidden beneath that ocean of air. There are people in cars and on bikes looking up and seeing nothing but clouds at the same time that I look down and see nothing but clouds. The difference is that I know they are down there, and they don't know that I'm up here. Maybe this is indicative of something deeper. Maybe there is a veil that exists in our minds that keeps us from seeing the world as it really is. I want to tear that veil. The problem is that I can't figure out where it is. I know it's there, I just can't seem to touch it. I suppose though, that if Christ could tear the veil in the Holy of Holies, he can tear the veil in the unholy of unholies...
While I was on the plane I read about half of the book 'Blue Like Jazz' by Don Miller and it was fantastic. I'd been avoiding that book simply because it was popular. Dumb. Very dumb. It's popular for a reason, and the reason is very simple--it's a very good book. I wish I could recount all the things I learned, but it would probably be best if you just read the book yourself.
I've always thought that God had to either make sense or not make sense. For the first time I wonder if it has to be one or the other. In the words of Forest Gump, "I think maybe it's both."
I realize that all I really want in this world, all I really want to do with my life on this earth is see people come to know and love Jesus. Everything else is shadows and dust.
One of the people I went to Boston to see is my dear friend Michael Ingram. I got the chance to hear him conduct the Gordon Symphony Orchestra while his roommate Nathan accompanied on the piano. I think it was one of the most moving pieces of music I've ever heard. But I didn't cry until I saw Dr. Ingram and Nathan's dad hug and cry after the performance. I also enjoyed sleeping on his floor, meeting his other roommates, and, of course, Holly. Hanging out with Dr. and Mrs. Ingram and Linda was also a blast.
I thoroughly enjoyed the brisk, cloudy, busy Boston weather. It felt alive. It felt right. I think I could live there and love it. Or anywhere that was cold and cloudy and sprinkly. There is really no other weather so sure to rid me of depression.
The other person I got to see was my good buddy Anurag who is now attending MIT. I got to tour MIT's campus and boy is it ugly. Brilliant, but ugly. I know I couldn't live there. The labs were pretty cool, though--I suppose that's the nerd in me talking. I got to go to one of the hospitals where Anurag is doing research and it kind of made me wish I'd been a doctor: Damn my queezy stomach.
One of the highlights of my trip was the conversation Anurag and I had about God in Quincy market in downtown. It lasted for an hour and I got the chance to give him 'Blue Like Jazz.' I love Anurag because he's so real, so authentic. I want to be more like him. I don't want to live a fake life full of fake conversations.
The other outrageously cool thing I got to do was ride the subway. The commuter rail from Wenham to North Station was pretty great too. I really wish Columbia had a subway. It was so much fun! I could have gotten on and ridden it all day long. That's one of those little things that I don't think would ever get old.
So there's my trip to Boston in a nutshell. You should go someday if you ever get the chance.
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