William Petruzzo

The message delivered at Church tonight served as a much needed reminder for me. A reminder I should have been able to, and should have been, giving myself.

Back when I was leading a small group, there were a number of things that were constantly repeated. One of them was the idea of stepping out in faith. Kids in the group would say things like, “I just don’t feel like doing such and such” or maybe “I don’t feel passionate”, or “I’m having trouble stopping such and such sin”. My response was almost universally the same—What are you doing?

What I meant by that was, what are the actions being taken—in faith—to a cultivate a ground for God to bring change. Sometimes the action is as simple as developing a discipline to read first thing in the morning. Wake up every morning, whether your hungry, distracted or late, and in faith, make scripture the very first thing you do. Then, see what the Lord does with that faith, then take another step in faith. In my own life, and in the lives of many of the kids in the small group, I saw it work. Over and over.

Tonight’s message was preached from Hebrews 11. The author spends the entire chapter basically recounting all the great super-heroes of faith and how they all had to step out onto it.

I was pretty immediately taken back. You see, life has been less than steady these past few months. Uncertainty about church and relationships have set me in a kind of locked-down-bunker-spirituality. It seems that after spending several months in the bunker, I’ve forgotten that’s where I am.

When the preacher tonight brought up Hebrews 11, it hit me. What I preached to my own small group week in and week out, I’ve failed to do myself. Just sitting in the bunker waiting for something to happen, to change, or for some new motivation or perseverance to come about, isn’t getting anywhere. Not that God isn’t sovereign and couldn’t do those things if he chose to. But, for whatever reason, he isn’t choosing to and the correct course would be exercise faith and step out.

I’m reminded of a powerful verse in scripture that’s gone unquoted in my mind for some time. 2 Corinthians 12:9:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…”

The bunker is safe, and in it I can feel strong. But, that is not where God wishes to display his power. So, steps in faith to exercise weakness are necessary. God’s grace is more than sufficient and in times like these, it shines brightly.

Reading this morning I came across this, 1 John 3:12-13:

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

John cites the reason that Cain killed Abel was because Abel’s deeds were “righteous” while his own were wicked. I find this to be an idea abusive to the way most in our culture currently think about and “do” church.

Elsewhere in the same book, and throughout the rest of the New Testament, we find that those who are in Christ will definitely be growing in righteousness (1 John 1:5-10, Romans 8:13). So, by that rational we should have very little reason to believe that unbelievers coming among us will not exhibit some form of hostility or at the very least discomfort.

Yet, in spite of that, we find churches pouring outrageous resources into creating a comfortable environment for unbelievers. It seems that the reality would be, if unbelievers are able to come among us and find and truly find comfort in our presence, we may have to reevaluate our own lifestyles.

I’m reminded of a message delivered by Francis Chan a number of years back where he referenced Luke 6:26: “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you”. While it doesn’t fit the verse’s context perfectly, the point is clear:

The Cross of Christ, and our subsequent righteousness therein, is an offense to the unbeliever seeking is own vein righteousness and we should expect that they would respond as one who’s been offended.

What kind of ramifications does this have for the Church, it seems that it should drive it more deeply into conformity with the Word of God. Rather than consulting our intellect to determine how we should relate to this work, we ought to consult God in his Word.

Many of us say we do. Few really follow through. Just a thought.

Much like the Israelites crying for God to give them a king, the American people have spoken, and God has given them Obama. And, there seems little doubt in my mind that in the same way that the Israelites getting their king was a judgment from God, Obama is our judgement. Undoubtedly many unborn lives will be ended because of him. But, this is what the American people begged for, and this is what God has given them. So, I suppose I had a few thought that I wanted to share.

Wow…

This really is profound history—and we’re living to see it. The first black man in the history of our nation to be elected the President of the United States. That is awesome. I’m sure this will mean incredible things for the advancement of a group of people who, at large, have carried an victim-mentality (in many cases, justifiably so). With this historic event, there’s very real tangible hope that these people will be able to move foreword and prosper in very new and fresh ways.

That really is awesome; That is the silver lining of grace from God.

Personal Reform…

Over the past eight years, I quietly grumbled about Democrats complaining and condemning George bush—instead of simply disagreeing with him. Well, the tables have officially turned. It will be a big challenge for me (and most) to follow the biblical command and respect the new president, even in light of our many differences of opinion. However, over many issues, that’s exactly what we all need to do. There are some issues, though that our conscience will not allow us to accept—and if it does, we ought to pray that would be changed.

Abortion…

Many will certainly die because of Obama. Abortion is not a social issue for us to simply disagree about, it is a matter of life and death. It is a discussion of murder (about 4,000 murders every day). We have chosen a president who propones this practice. It is not the time to concede these issues, or move on from them. Perhaps the way we fight them must change, or how much we pray about them, but giving up is absolutely not an option.

Albert Mohler has written an insightful and important exhortation. I would suggest you read it.

Pray…

I must, we must:

… Pray for the lives of the unborn, in a culture that does not value them.
… Pray for the mothers who are taught not to love them.
… Pray for a culture and people who don’t believe in them.
… Pray for a president, indifferent to them.

… Pray for our own hearts, for honest compassion for them.

Remember…

We should remember, that we live under the only true sovereign. He gives and he takes away. He exalts and he humbles. All powers in heaven and on earth are chosen by him. If he has allowed to office a man who may “hurt” us, then perhaps we “ought to be hurt”.

Today is the day. I went and got my voting done first thing this morning. I walked to the polling place so that I could listen to my audio book version of Charles Spurgeon’s All of Grace. It was pretty sweet.

Of course, that’s not the point.

The point is, you need to go out and vote today. I’ll do a quick recap of yesterday’s post.

1. Obama is a good guy, with some good ideas. But,

2. Obama is also the most radical abortion proponent ever to run for the presidency. For anyone, but especially Christians, this ought to disqualify him as a viable option for the presidency; no matter how many other good ideas he might have.

3. Go vote.

I’m not a political guy, and I generally stay out of this realm. But today, I was struck with a feeling of guilt for not giving my attention in prayer and action to the issues at hand. Now, it’s too late. So, I will keep this brief in hopes that you, whoever you are, will read it and consider it.

1. It’s amazing that there is a black man in the running for president. It’s incredible to know that only 30 years ago there was still legislation for segregation, and look where we are today. Praise the Lord that racial equality has grown to this level.

2. Obama is the most radical proponent of abortion ever to run for the presidency. His views should cause anyone to shutter; especially Christians. This issue, regardless of 100 other good ideas, should disqualify him as a candidate in anyone’s mind (especially Christians).

Video…

Here is a short excerpt from one of Obama’s speeches:

There is a longer version of this video here.

Fuller perspectives…

Justin Taylor, blogger responsible for Between Two Worlds, has a good bit to say and his thoughts are more than worth reading. They should be thought about. Prayed about. Considered and taken into the booth tomorrow and used to keep Obama from being elected into the presidency.

Here are a few things worth reading:

Obama & the Freedom of Choice Act -  Senator Barbara Boxer, co-sponsor of the [the Freedom of Choice Act], has said: "The Freedom of Choice Act supercedes any law, regulation or local ordinance that impinges on a woman’s right to choose. That means a poor woman cannot be denied the use of Medicaid if she chooses to have an abortion." In other words, state governments and the federal government would be mandated to fund abortion with taxpayer money. This is what Obama has promised to sign “first thing” after his election.

Piper, Politics & Abortion – A discussion, clarification and conviction in response to one of John Piper’s recent videos and blogs.

John Piper on One Issue Politics – No one issue should qualify a candidate for office, but one issue should absolutely disqualify them. This should be read. “the endorsement of the right to kill unborn children disqualifies a person from any position of public office. It’s simply the same as saying that the endorsement of racism, fraud, or bribery would disqualify him—except that child-killing is more serious than those.”

In Conclusion…

I regret not speaking more on these issues. In many ways, Obama is a fantastic candidate. Unfortunately for millions of unborn children, there’s one issue that makes him fatal. Please, when you go to vote, consider the ears who will never hear the great gospel of Jesus Christ, because of Barack Obama’s convictions on abortion. No social reform  or political “change” is worth that.

Halloween is a strange holiday. I think we all kind of know this. I’m sure there’s a completely legitimate explanation for how the traditions came about, but they sure don’t make much sense today. And lets be honest, traditions in and of themselves are kind of weird things. Especially when they entail dressing absurdly and giving away free candy (who does that, really?).

Well, we were talking about it tonight at the Halloween party I decided to attend. It’s kind of like, children start very young. Their parents take them out. They have no idea why their dressing up and have really no idea why they’re getting candy for free. In fact, for all they know, dressing up at any time and knocking on random doors would result in free candy. Good thing most parents keep a fairly tight leash on their kids.

Eventually, kids get older and look foreword to the one night a year when they can walk from door to door dressed up like something scary and they get free candy for it. Of course, that doesn’t last long. Sooner or later, kids hit the age where they learn to work the system. Cover the maximum number of doors in the minimum amount of time with the least amount of effort put into the costume. This is about the age where you stop hearing “trick or treat” when they knock on the door.

At this age though, it’s pretty much all over. Not because it stops being fun, no. It’s right about this age where kids have a profound realization: candy doesn’t cost very much. As soon as they figure this one out, it’s done. Why walk from door to door dressed like a fool for something you could buy a year supply of after mowing one lawn?

So, what’s left? Go to Halloween parties. Drink too much. Go to bed and look foreword to having your own kids and getting to start the cycle all over again.

I suppose traditions are important, right?

I spent the past few months taking it easy on the literature intake. I’ve been focusing more on my photography business and getting that in line, and so extra-biblical reading has fallen by the wayside. But, in many ways I’m caught up to a healthier place in business with a good amount of momentum, so it’s time to pick up reading some more.

Here’s what’s on the table, hopefully.

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

I’ve been a pretty big fan of Tim Keller ever since I listened to a short sermon series he delivered on preaching. The Reason for God, is not like “what is God’s purpose,” but rather, “what is the reasoning in favor of God”. I hear from many people I respect that Keller’s book is outstanding and I’m looking foreword to taking it in.

The Pleasures of God by John Piper

One of my good friends holds this book up as one of the greatest he’s ever read. He’s been extolling it for months and now I have the chance to read for myself. While I’m not a huge fan of Piper’s style, his message is so important, I’m glad to bear with it.

The Holiness of God by RC Sproul

Another book recommended to me by a friend—in fact, gifted to me by him. One of Sproul’s other books, Chosen by God, is one of my favorites to date. I have fairly high expectations of this one also.

The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards

Where would I be without some classic literature in my routine? This is a book I started a few months back with Challies.com, but decided not to continue because the chapters were too long for me to keep up with. But, Edwards is a preacher I have a great respect for and Affections is a currently poignant work. So, I’ve decided to return to it again for a second try.

I haven’t decided yet if I’ll be reading all of these at once, or maybe just two at a time or one at a time. Regardless, I’m looking foreword to reading more often again and sharing my thoughts and discoveries with all of you!

Wish me luck!

I’ve been up too late.
I’ve been sleeping too long.
I’ve been eating too much.
And all of it’s been wrong.

But regardless, I’m;

Waiting, missing.
Finding, losing.
Hoping, failing.
Forgetting, succeeding.

Word from the wise,
Solomon had it right.

I remember when I was younger, like middle school, and it seemed I heard a lot about the debate over whether or not children are deeply influenced by the music they listen to. Like, do kids who listen to gangster rap end up killing people. Or, do songs about suicide lead kids to commit suicide.

Well, being a kid in the demographic under discussion I obviously considered their ideas absurd. I didn’t listen to Eminem and consider raping my girlfriend. In fact, the thought wouldn’t even cross my mind. Like a brain washed person rejecting the idea that they’re brain washed, I wouldn’t even think of taking the influence of music seriously.

Well, yesterday I was driving to church and happened to not have my iPod with me. So, I attempted to tune the car’s radio to something worth hearing. There isn’t much, by the way. I settled on a local rock station which eventually played the early 00’s hit “Last Resort”, by Papa Roach.

Frankly, the song was stupid when it first came out and it certainly hasn’t aged well. But I can remember so many of my class mates thinking it was the coolest song. Here’s a little excerpt:

Cut my life into pieces
I’ve reached my last resort
Suffocation
No breathing
Don’t give a f**k if I cut my arm bleeding
Do you even care if I die bleeding
Would it be wrong
Would it be right
If I took my life tonight
Chances are that I might
Mutilation outta sight
And I’m contemplating suicide

I know, it’s a beacon of beautiful modern poetry, and while I’d love to discuss it further, it would diverge from our more pressing discussion at hand.

Hearing the song again, it gave me a more sober look into the adolescent time in my life and it made a lot more sense. No youngster was going to hear Papa Roach’s hit and think to themselves, “Papa Roach is committing suicide, I think I will too.” It just doesn’t really happen like that. At least not much.

However, what is far more likely is emotional conditioning, creating a predisposition for certain behavior. Not based on isolated lyrics in any one song, but in the whole of music, or even music genres. The music is simply depressing. Before long, people will feel depressed. The suggestions therein don’t follow far behind.

For this reason, I begin to think it’s awfully important that we consider carefully how we allow our emotions to be manipulated.

But, on the flip side, it also creates an interesting window to peer through. How might music be used to manipulate our emotions in a positive way toward the Lord? Where is the line? When is our spiritual integrity compromised?

One thing is for sure: music is an incredibly powerful thing and shouldn’t be ignored in any spectrum.

Like A fox with its
leg stuck under a branch.
He’ll chew it off to survive.

So, is a man
Trapped in a rockslide.
He’ll cut off his arm to live.

And is a man
backed into a corner by life.
He’s willing to die to get out alive.