Latest musings, while have a wifi connection, on rest and work.

I have recently read Pilgrim's Progress for the first time. As I read, I couldn't help but feel like John Bunyan was such a genius. The story of a man named Christian who meets with all kinds of people, temptations and trials on his journey through the narrow gate, on the straight path to God's Holy City is an allegory that rings true on so many levels.

At face value, the story is so enjoyable! As Christian meets and hears of people such as Legality, Faithful, Talkative and Atheist I found myself rooting for him inside like it was a Steelers vs. Cowboys Superbowl. Add the fact that he woefully left his wife and sons who would take no notice of their sin and the story tugs on the heart strings like crazy!

Also, almost anyone can relate to the symbolism in the story. I think even an unbeliever could gain much from the way Bunyan lays out the representation of the issues in this world. People, towns and paths all have a name that makes clear both what it's like in the story and what it represents.

Then I found myself take in another step deeper. This is where I began to feel like John Bunyan was a super-genius. As your read this allegory and pay attention to the initial symbolism, you begin to recognize that there is a gargantuan (I just found out this is a real word, so cool) amount of theology AND you can start applying it to your life. One would be hard pressed to find a type of person, trial or temptation that the author didn't include in either the first or second part of Pilgrim's Progress.

One of the first ones that stuck out to me was an arbor that the Lord had placed midway up a long steep hill. Christian made the mistake of falling asleep there instead of taking his rest and getting back to work. I immediately realized that God has given me arbors such as this, much like Jesus' places of desolation while He walked this earth. He has given me the mountains where I feel his arms around me so well, the church in which I grew up, and Seattle where Mars Hill and the city fit me so well. My temptation is to emotionally or physically sot in those places and never leave. But I realized that Jesus called me to different work for now and those places are not for living; they're for rejuvenation.

I encourage you to read the book and see how much God can speak to you through it. Honestly I think the reason Pilgrim's Progress is so great is because of the abundance of doctrine and theology in it. When a book contains so much of God's Words applied so well, how could you go wrong.

Secondly, I encourage you to look at your life? Are you sedentary where you should be hard at work? Are you working when you should be allowing the Lord the refresh you? Stop and praise Him for your blessings and then focus on what He wants you to do for Him? In what ways should you be working on furthering His Kingdom?

I hope you can learn from both Christian's and my struggle with complacency and avoid the discontent what both myself and this fictional character experienced.

<3

In Response to Defending and Contending's "I've had it with Mark Driscoll"

I ran across a blog call Defending.Contending. Specifically, I ran across this article dealing with a broadcast featuring Mark Driscoll.

It's short, as long as you don't read all of the comments.

I actually don't have a lot to say about it. After reading many of the comments I began to realize the type of follower the author caters to. This statement says a lot: "All the Driscollite defenders who patrol the internet and swarm blogs such as this to offer excuses for their Golden Calf will have to find another soundboard for their approval of and winking at sin as their comments will no longer be welcome here. I refuse to provide a platform for their calling evil good and good evil."

I don't know if there are those who patrol and swarm, but I didn't want to get swarmed myself for only partially quoting the statement. My point being, the fact that he only allows prohisopinion (save the most vulgar, extreme comments that make all opposers sound crazy) says a lot. If all he allows is positive feedback, how could he ever engage with someone enough to change their mind.

Mostly I just want to address this:

"My wife told me about a sermon Pilgrim Radio was playing on the radio as she was returning home from the grocery store with our young children in the car. She said that the man preaching (she had no clue who he was) was talking about “prostitutes,” “whores,” and “lesbians” and that he kept using these expressions as if trying to be shocking."

And:

"She then told me that this same man began talking about wives in submission to their husbands and how oftentimes men abuse this. Instead of using an innocuous example to make his point, what did Mark “The Cussing Pastor” Driscoll do? Why, he did what apparently comes so natural for him: Driscoll expounded on such abuse by illustrating an example in which men misuse their wives’ submission by making them watch porn!"

I tried to find the broadcast to listen for myself but it's from 2009 and couldn't find it. Either way, these are issues that people are bombarded with in this world. While young ears need to be protected, it seems that if she heard the first three words and tuned in for that much of the submission conversation then she should have had plenty of time to change the channel before her kids heard something she didn't want them to.

Depending on the age however, these are issues the should be and must be addressed from "the pulpit" and the church. When this was said over the airways, the average age of pornography exposure for boys was age 11. Ted Bundy, the serial rapist/murderer grew up in a Christian home and attributes his downward spiral of bad choices to pornography. This started with soft core exposure in the super market. 

All I'm saying is yes, protect your kids ears and minds. But it also needs addressed for many. So don't persecute those who speak truth to a depraved world and to believers who struggle!