Shepherd's Conference.

I will not forget this past week. Why?

I attended the Shepherd's Conference. It was amazing. Awesome. Mind-boggling. Convicting. The highlight of my year. Need I say more? It totally went above my expectations. So much teaching, and so much worship took place at Grace Community Church. God certainly lit me aflame with passion there.

For those who don't know what the Shep Con is, it is a 3 day long conference where well known pastors and church leaders preach to other pastors and church leaders. There are other seminars through out the day tailoring to specific topics such as, "Why are we losing our Youth?" and "Preaching with Passion".

When my youth pastor had told me that some of the pastors who had been there in the past, such as John Piper and Mark Dever, were not going to be there, I had thought that the teaching was not going to be as strong. I was dead wrong. Way wrong.

To give you a slight taste of what I experience, I will write about the first sermon of the conference. John MacArthur opened up the conference with a sermon on Creation. How you could not possibly misread the Genesis account of Creation, in which God created the world in six days and rested the seventh. He based his sermon around 3 words; fidelity, simplicity, and priority.

In fidelity he stated that you can either believe Scripture or reject it, but you cannot alter it. If you don't believe the first 2 chapters of Genesis, then what chapters do you start believing in? If the first two are not true, then there are 66 books that have possible errors.

In simplicity, MacArthur argued that God's hand is evident in Creation. Psalm 104 states His sovereign control and care over all that was made. Colossians 1:16 shows that everything was "created through Him and for Him." Deuteronomy 4:32 asks a question whether something has anything been done "like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it?" In Psalm 148, the Psalmist writes that Creation praises God. If you deny the Creation account...you diminish praise to God. Creation is a massive miracle.

In priority, he proclaimed that God, in His mind, had a purpose for His creation. Within the events of history, God is doing something. He has an objective goal. And when His divine plan is done, the earth will end. Isaiah 46:9-11 states that God's purpose WILL be established. If you tamper with creation, you tamper with the doctrines of salvation. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, "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." As God created physical light out of the darkness, He creates spiritual light in the darkness of our herats. As the creation account progresses it becomes "very good" and more beautiful and this is the same as the believer's sanctification. God also sustains the world that He made.

This is a mere taste of what I experienced. What an event. What worship. I have been convicted of much things. God certainly used the Shep Con to help me recognize what I need to grow in. I've grown in a couple of relationships because of this and I've made a new friendship. Hopefully I can attend next year. After all, this was the first time I've heard a pastor said, "Go step on grass, kill a deer, and drill for oil."

By the way that was John MacArthur.

12 Year Old Speaks Out Against Abortion.

Just saw this video on The Rebelution. It is indeed very encouraging to see that there are youth who are not captivated by juvenile matters but who care for things that are beyond themselves. I pray that we have boldness like this 12 year old girl to speak out against the evils of today.

People need to watch older movies.

Resolutions.

The New Year has finally come. As with every new year, resolutions are made. Resolutions to be more fit, to get a better job, to be more generous, and to spend more time with family. However, new year's resolutions have a reputation of being abandoned. So, what's the point of making a resolution, right?

Well, I myself have made a set of resolutions which I hope to keep for the rest of my life, much like
Jonathan Edwards did. He made these goals throughout his life and sought to keep them as to become more and more of a person after God's own heart.

So the following is a list of resolutions that I've made from past years to the last week.

1. I have resolved to remember, with all of my heart and will, to try to give glory the God in everything that I do.
   
2. I have resolved to fill my time with much profitable things.
   
3. I have resolved to become a healthier person with the body that God has given me.
   
4. I have resolved to not become completely calloused to sin to where I will not be bothered by my sin, or the sin of others.
5. I have resolved to appreciate the world around me and remember that Heaven will be infinitely better.
6. I have resolved to always think. Nuff said.

Hair, Retainers, and The Little Drummer Boy

A lot been on my mind lately. Yet, when I sat down to write about it (such as now), I can't simply regurgitate the thoughts and form sentences.

Bleh.

Today, I attended the "Ladies' Christmas Tea" at my church. It is a local outreach where the females at our church can bring their lady friends for 2 hours of tea and scones and little finger sandwiches. You're probably wondering why I "attended" such an event. Well I went there to help out with whatever was needed. And what was needed was to watch the water boil and pour it into the container in where the servers would get the hot water. I only had to do it once.

I hung out with my friend Zack mostly, but this kid named John showed up a couple times to mock me because he's a big jerk.

Ha. Kidding.

Time passed, and after the tea finished, we (Zack, my other friend Noah, and I) were put to hard labor which consisted of moving presents with nothing in them, red flowers, cords, and mic stands. We were also commanded to move a piano. But another friend of mine (I have lots of friends, if you haven't noticed) Amy was playing the piano. We got bonus points if we could move the piano to its original place while Amy was playing it.

We did. :D

Oh, by the way. The Little Drummer Boy has been stuck in my head all the day.

I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

Thanksgiving and Idolatry

Yes, you read that right. It is possible to be idolatrous in your thanksgiving. John Piper writes a thought provoking article on a statement by a well known man known as Jonathon Edwards. The statement is as follows:

"True gratitude or thankfulness to God for his kindness to us, arises from a foundation laid before, of love to God for what he is in himself; whereas a natural gratitude has no such antecedent foundation. The gracious stirrings of grateful affection to God, for kindness received, always are from a stock of love already in the heart, established in the first place on other grounds, viz. God's own excellency."

John Piper simplifies this statement by saying that a gratitude that is pleasing to God is not one of being grateful His gifts (though that is a part of being grateful) but rather it is an enjoyment of the Gift Giver. If we simply enjoyed the gift and even gave thanks to the Giver, but we had no love toward Him, the Giver becomes Santa Claus, only existing to give, give, and give.

Piper goes on to use James 4:3-4 as another comparison between our wrong view of giving thanks. In James 4:3-4, the writer rebukes the one who uses prayer to only receive things from God. He compares him to an adulteress, receiving money from her husband and going off and enjoying pleasure elsewhere. It is the same with us. If we don't enjoy God, and only use prayer to receive things for our own selfish desires, we are no better than the adulterer.

This thanksgiving day, I hope you enjoy gathering with family. I hope you enjoy the great foods on your tables. But most of all, I hope you enjoy the God who gives all these things to you, so that you may be thankful for Him.
Happy thanksgiving.

Finding a name.

Who knew that naming a blog would be so difficult? I can never name something. It's some innate disorder that plagues me. My first name for this blog was called "Toe's Home." But, I realize that didn't fit the tone of the new posts that I wanted to put forth. So I went with the name "Finding Meaning to Madness." Though, I like the tone of this new name, it is way too long to be a name. I asked the opinion of a couple of friends and i was given the following names: "Me", "The Asian", "Craziness", "Gross JB" (hahaha. I chuckled at this.), "Brian in a Nutshell", "Zero", and "The Story of the To." Those are all likable. But, I still search for a new name. So now. Now temporary I am "Nameless." Tis a cool title, but I need to find a better and much more permanent one soon. I can't imagine being Nameless forever.