The Sword Room

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.” But as it is you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

New Years resolutions usually have to do with two things related to physical health: exercising more and eating less. Nothing wrong with wanting to be in better physical shape and trim some inches off the old waistline. But these promises to ourselves come and go and nothing changes. Why? One reason is because we have ungodly motives, or motives that focus not on the spiritual dimension. Why do you want to lose weight and get in better shape?

So you will feel and look better. Fine: nothing wrong with that. But this year think of it differently. Think of it in terms of what a more trim and healthy you will do for your spiritual life. When you are in better physical condition you sleep soundly and are thus able to start the day off with a good quiet time; you perform better at work, and in the evenings you are more alert to give attention to the Lord and others, instead of collapsing on the couch in a gorged stupor and wasting the evening watching the usual fare of so-called reality shows.

Seriously–think of your resolutions in terms of how they will impact your spiritual condition, and the benefit will be tremendous.

So in addition to losing this gut and getting back into my 36′ waist jeans I too am planning to push myself away from the table and have a seat on the recumbent cycle at the YMCA more regularly. Also to start the sit-ups and crunches again after a two-month layoff. No doubt about it, I want to look and feel better. But my motive is different this year. I want to be as alert and productive as possible in 2010 for the glory of the Lord. Anything can happen: I could die of cancer or be hit by a semi. Lord willing, though, here are my ministry goals for the upcoming year.

1. Promote the Swordroom site more aggressively to increase traffic. We have seen anywhere from 600-1000 hits per month over the past five months with almost no real work at promotion. Mostly word of mouth. That is about to change, and you can do your part by telling as many people as you can about the Swordroom. We hope to average at least twice as many hits per month next year.

2. Expand the Swordroom. More videos will be coming in the spring and summer of 2010. I hope to add a photo page to give you a visual of the Man Cave and the Fight Club gatherings. An expanded suggested reading page is also in the plans. Other possible ideas include guest bloggers, more links to other like-minded sites, and possibly some form of live interaction, such as a weekly chat time.

2. Increase the size of the weekly Fight Club. At this time we have 4-5 in attendance on average now, and I would like to see the Lord bring us two more men to round out the number to 6-7. Then maybe start another group after that. Also we want to see continued growth in the lives of the men participating.

3. Writing. This year we will (Lord willing) self publish a book on fighting the good fight of faith. I have not thought of a catchy title, so if one pops into your mind, please share it as a comment or via the contact link. This book is already in the works and we hope to make it available through this site and at Amazon by June 2010.

4. Local church. After over three decades in full time preaching ministry we are busier than ever in the ministry of this site and the fight club. With the writing and site promotion underway it promises to be a very busy year (20-30 hours weekly on top of my day job). We have found a great little church in our community where the Word is preached and the ministry is no-frills. We have spent so many years on the other end of the podium that it is a real lesson for us in what it’s like to be  regular churchgoers sitting in the congregation week after week. Please pray for God’s grace as we grow in our ability to demonstrate genuine love for other believers in the context of the local church. To any from this little church who might be reading these words, thank you so much for welcoming us into the fellowship. Please be patient with us–we are so far from perfect.

As you make your plans and projections for the new year remember the glory and sovereignty of God. Hit the gym and lose that gut (or butt) for the glory of God. And when you plan be sure you submit your plans to the sovereignty of God, because unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

Thanks be to God for bringing us through one of the darkest hours imaginable of attack from the enemy this past year. We wanted to drop out of the fight many times, but God provided the needed perseverance and has led us in triumph in Christ. Glory to His name. He makes all things beautiful in His time.

Well, it is Christmas morning and I got up early to get in a couple hours in the Word and prayer before all the company arrives for the day. Thought I’d come into the room on the odd chance that one or two of you might stop by today.

From the Sword Room and the Holdaas family here in freezing Whatcom County, Washington, we wish you the warmest of Christmas greetings. Let this be a day of relaxation, fellowship, and appreciation of all the Lord has done in seeing us through another year. Reflect on the countless blessings He has bestowed. If you must travel please drive safely and rest assured you are in my prayers.

A hearfelt thanks to all who have stopped by the room over the past five months to read blog posts, watch videos, and offer comments. (You number in the thousands.) Without you this site would not be possible. We have great hopes for the promotion and expansion of this site in terms of content and exposure, so please keep us in your prayers, and tell others about us.

Again, to any and all who stop by the Sword Room today, a very merry Christmas to you and yours!

As we gear up for our Christmas celebration let’s remember what it’s really about: “And you will call His name Jesus, for He will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus came to lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:15) and thus provide a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). Without this purpose behind His incarnation there would be nothing to celebrate in the birth of Jesus. It would be no different from observing the birth of Gandhi, Buddha, or Mother Theresa. A “good” person who lived, died, and stayed dead. A sterling example, perhaps, but powerless to do anything to transform lives.

Jesus came to actually save a people–not just make salvation possible for anyone who would of their own free will chose to trust Him. Were that the case no one would be saved, inasmuch as no unregenerate sinner possesses the ability to turn to Christ in saving faith. Jesus came to actually accomplish what we cannot perform for ourselves–salvation.

Jesus came to actually save us from the penalty of sin. This is called justification. “Therefore, having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). In this sense we are already saved.

Jesus also came to actually save us from the power of sin. This is called sanctification and denotes the ongoing work of the Spirit in conforming us to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). In this sense we are being saved.

Finally, Jesus came to actually save us from the presence of sin. This is called glorification or resurrection. (For this see Rom. 8:30; John 6:37-40). In this sense we will be saved. Salvation in this sense is a future hope, but secure nonetheless (1 Peter 1:5).

Enjoy time with family. Enter into all the great cultural trappings of the season. And when you exchange gifts with loved ones, remember that the greatest gift of all is Jesus Christ and the salvation that comes only through Him.

There is a popular new adjective in vogue in the Christianese language of North America. (Who knows, maybe it has been around twenty years, which tells you a little about how hip I am not.) We are to be incarnational as believers. I have searched the scriptures and so far I have not found this word; but, then again, the word incarnation is not found in the Bible either. However the concept behind this term is found in the Word of God. Incarnation simply means enflesh-ment and is the two-bit theological word used to describe the biblical teaching that God took on a fleshly body and became fully human in Christ. As God in the flesh Jesus lived a truly incarnational life.

But what does it mean for us as Christians to be incarnational? I suppose I could go on the Internet and read some opinions. Naw…how about if I just take a stab at it off the cuff? My first question has to do with whether being incarnational means we become something. Christ became human in the incarnation. We are already human, so we cannot become flesh. Of course as Christians we know we cannot become God either. So, again, what does it mean to be incarnational.

Let’s have some fun and make this a teachable moment at the same time. Mind you, I am not poking fun at the use of the word incarnational. If anything I am poking fun of myself for being so far behind the learning curve of popular  evangelical expression. Here goes. Through the process of Christian growth (sanctification) we become more like Christ (Romans 8:29). As we become more like Christ we are to live out our Christ-likeness in our daily lives, which means reaching out to others with the love and grace of God. As the Father sent Jesus into the world, so Jesus sends us (John 20:21).

In a sense we are Jesus in the world. No, I have not been smoking dope; nor am I saying we are literally Christ. But when Paul was on his knees on the Damascus road Jesus asked him, “Why are you persecuting me?” To which Paul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The response was, “I am Jesus whom you persecute” (Acts 9:4-5). So in a real sense we are the eyes, ears, hands, feet, and mouth of Jesus in this world. We are His body. As such we are his ambassadors. We do not represent Him effectively holed up in our churches ministering exclusively to ourselves. Don’t get me wrong–the purpose of the church gathered is for upreach and inreach. Outreach is not the purpose of the gathered assembly. We must go out into the world to have an impact as salt and light. When we practice our faith in this way we are being incarnational.

As far as I can tell that is what it means to be incarnational. A cool new way of stating a concept that has been around two thousand years. Now–you tell me what YOU think it means to be incarnational.

Just a short check-in to explain why no new blog posts have appeared on this site for several days. December is a hectic month for all of us, and I am no exception to that norm. At work many of us are trying to make up for procrastination by the end of the calendar year. Or we are taking time off to spend with visiting family. Or we are groping our way through the bewildering maze of shoppers to get those last-minute gifts. If your home is like mine the tradition of seasonal overeating is in full swing. In a couple weeks many of us will be transitioning from the Fatkins to the Atkins Diet.

The best thing for me about this season of the year is high school wrestling. During the break there are numerous events. Our youngest son, Jeremy, is 8-1 on the season and is the #1 ranked 2A wrestler in the state at his weight. We are getting ready to drive to Mount Vernon, WA to watch him.

This is the first Christmas since 1977 when I have not had a pulpit to preach a Christmas series from, and it feels a little strange. Still I feel very thankful for all the blessings of the past year. We went through a serious test of faith and battle with the enemy–and thanks be to God for leading us in victory. He has blessed us with this website ministry, which has reached thousands over the past five months.

Ministry goals for the new year are to develop and improve the site, add more video content, and begin to aggressively promote it to increase the exposure. Sometime in the next year we plan, Lord willing, to publish a book or two and make them available through this site and at Amazon. Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless all of you, and we wish you a very merry Christmas.

Every holiday season for the past few years there has been a flap over the replacement of “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays.” Manger scenes in capital rotundas are being replaced with everything from generic holiday displays to open expressions of agnosticism, paganism, and universalism. In this politically correct environment we are told we need to make sure we are sensitive to those who wish to observe the alternative holidays of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa (or nothing). Believers are outraged because they do not want the culture at large to miss the real “reason for the season.” These same folks are bothered by the removal of the expression “In God We Trust” from currency and the phrase “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

At one time the general populace of this nation believed in the God of the Bible and held at least to a Judeo-Christian world view. Christmas was made a national holiday, along with Easter and Thanksgiving, in honor of the God who had blessed this great nation so much.

But things have changed. Even though millions of people in America claim to be Christians with their lips, the moral and theological decline of the church tells the real story behind the secularization of our culture. Fighting vigorously to keep the name of God on the currency, in the Pledge, or in the holidays is a case of misplaced effort. It is a band aid solution which speaks to the real issue–a brand of Christianity that emphasizes the outward packaging without getting at the real heart of things.

Modern Christianity is performance-based, consumer-oriented, market-driven, and narcissistic. Many attend church, not to hear the Word of God, but to network with friends and get a quick emotional fix from the “worship.” Those who reject this approach stay home and enjoy a cubicle relationship with Jesus that is unique to this culture and certainly alien to the New Testament. It is a sick state of affairs, one which cannot be remedied with a few superficial token references to God in the public sector. The problem started in the church–I mean the believers–and that is where the remedial effort must be focused. It is time for judgment to begin in the household of God. Band-aid solutions won’t cut it.

The changes must be deep and radical and must involve repentance, prayer, and a return to the Bible and the God of the Bible. Christian commedians, aspiring stars in the field of so-called Christian pop music, and writers of “Christian” escape fiction need not apply–you are part of the problem. The solution will not come as a result of some quick three-step or even twelve-step program or through consulting your WWJD wrist talisman (or some other trinket or piece of  junk hawked at the local Christian book store). It will take a revival. Starting with me. Starting with you.

Stop looking outward and lamenting the sorry state of the world. Stop worrying about the speck in your brother’s eye and get to work on the beam in your own eye. Let this Christmas be like those special holiday times you knew when your faith in Jesus was brand new. Get back to Jesus Christ and back to His Word. Go ahead and pray for the legislators; but also pray for the Church. Jesus would rather be removed from the coinage, holidays, and Pledge than from the Church or from your heart and life.

In 1 Corinthians 16:13 Paul exhorts his readers to “act like men.” The Greek verb andrizdomai comes from andros (a man) and means exactly what it appears to mean right on the surface of the text.

Amazing! Think of what would happen in today’s culture if you told a group of people to act like men. You would hear shouts of protest. You would hear objections to the effect that you cannot stereotype men. We need to be androgynous, some would cry, which really means that men need to act more like women. We live in an age where men have been subtly feminized and wimp-i-fied. Castrated, if you will.

But Paul does not tell men to get in touch with their inner chick and express their feminine side. If anything he is telling the gals to get in touch with their inner stud. After all, he is talking to an entire church comprised of males and females. Seriously, the fact that Paul would use such an expression shows that he had a preconceived picture of manhood and strongly implies that he also had a definite concept of womanhood. Since he was writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit we can rest assured that his ideas here reflect the mind of the Lord.

But such distinctions are unpalatable in today’s more enlightened age of pagan political correctness. When John Gray simply stated the obvious in his bestseller, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, he was viciously attacked by the feminists as a bigoted reductionist. Such an attempt to distinguish men from women was considered an affront to women.

But according to Scripture men and women, although both image bearers and positionally equal in a spiritual sense, are different constitutionally and functionally. Any attempt to deny this in the interest of political correctness or so-called androgyny flies in the face of common sense. Say what you will: men cannot change who they are; nor can women. Try and reverse the roles and you end up with effeminate men and butch dykes.

So what does it mean to “act like a man?” Well, in the context Paul also tells his readers to “be alert.” Every Christian should be alert, but men as heads of households and leaders in the churches need to be the gatekeepers of godliness. When they snooze we all lose. Eve might have eaten the fruit first, but the buck stopped with Adam–he was the head of the relationship. His lack of alertness was as bad as or worse than Eve’s transgression.

Paul also tells his readers to “stand firm in the faith.” Stand your ground spiritually–don’t back down to the world, flesh and devil. Fight! Listen, at the grocery store who is it who reads the receipt carefully on the way to the car? Who is it that marches back in when they realize they were not given the discount on the bag of frozen peas? That might be fine when shopping, but when it comes to the spiritual welfare of the family and home, men need to act like men and stand firm. “Be strong” is added to reinforce the idea of stability. Women can talk all they want about being equal with men, but at the end of the day most of them will tell you they want a man who is strong–one they feel safe with. One who will put himself between them and danger–even at the cost of his own life. Not some pencil-necked, sick excuse for a wet noodle.

Finally, Paul tells the readers to do all in love. Real men exhibit a strength that is tempered with love. When our oldest daughter got married a few years ago, I was asked to participate in the ceremony with another pastor. In my introductory comments I “wimped out” and got choked up and teary eyed. I was embarrassed, but Connie told me later, “That was good for you.” Men need to be strong, but they also need to be sensitive and loving too. They do not need to take lessons from women on how to do this. Being a loving man does not mean giving up hunting, fishing, shooting guns, eating red meat, cutting down trees, peeing outside, or watching football and UFC. All these traits can exist together.

Men–ACT LIKE MEN!!!

Well, enough for now. For more on this subject from a biblical perspective see my Kick Butt! video series.

Today I got hit right between the eyes with the words of Psalm 127:1-2:

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

My first thought was that working hard is not always working wise or smart. One can work very hard for the wrong thing. People have devoted their lives to causes which ultimately proved to be vain and worthless. Jesus Himself talked about building on rock instead of sand and laboring for that which does not perish. Lots of energy has been expended throughout history on many causes and projects that did not stand the test of eternity.

But if the Lord is building the house why does the psalm talk about a human builder? Should we just sit back and relax while the Lord does all the work apart from us? After all we do not want to work hard if our labor will ultimately prove to be fruitless.

I once knew a carpenter who worked for a large contracting company. He was  faithful in showing up daily and performing quality work. But his boss was often late with paying him, and one day the job was shut down abruptly: the company had filed for bankruptcy. So there was my friend with no job and a house half built. He had worked hard but he was working for the wrong contractor. In the construction field it is common lingo to say that thus and such a company is building this or that house, and also to ascribe the action of building to the carpenters, concrete workers, roofers, etc.

The point is this: working hard to build a good life is all in vain if the Lord is not your general contractor. God is involved in the business of building lives and a kingdom. All labor must be done under the umbrella of His lordship or the end result will be fleeting and worthless. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Work hard but work wise. And remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7).

Then there is the watchman metaphor in Psalm 127. Think about the watchmen of Jericho in the days leading up to its destruction. They rose early every morning and went to bed late. They worried, but it was all in vain because the Lord was not guarding that city; to the contrary He had marked it out for destruction. I am sure there was an epidemic of insomnia in Jericho on the final night before the walls fell; but in the Israelite camp they slept like babies. Alertness and watchfulness are important disciplines, but not if you are rising early to watch the stock market to the neglect of your soul. Many are sorrowful over the economy to the point of despair and suicide–and for what? Trust in the Lord and you will sleep like a rock.

Let the Lord be your general contractor and your watchman. Then when you labor and when you guard your household it will be in the power of His Spirit and not the flesh. Your labor will not be in vain because you will be investing in eternity.

This morning in my Psalm reading I was blessed by 36:9: “For with You is the fountain of life; In your light we see light.” Life is possible for us only because the living, self-contained, Triune God of Scripture exists. Our life is on loan from Him. Doesn’t matter whether you are an amoeba, a rat, a monkey, or a human–”In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

The light of consciousness and knowledge comes from God as well. All true knowledge is God’s. Whenever we genuinely know anything we are merely thinking God’s thoughts after Him: In His light we see light. “In whom (Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

No form of life, consciousness, knowledge, or truth exists independently of God. The energy with which the atheist shakes his fist at God would not be possible apart from God. Knowledge would be impossible without God, and abstract concepts like good, evil, love, and justice all make sense only in the context of God.

Recently a documentary called Collision was produced, which features footage from the debate between Christian theist Douglas Wilson and atheist Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens brought up the hackneyed arguments about the existence of evil and Wilson asked Hitchens why he cared about evil. Without the God of the Bible the concept of evil is meaningless. In this material universe of atoms and chemicals “sh– happens.” Can’t blame God–it just is what it is.

As humans we cannot escape what we are. We are here only because God wanted us here. We live only because He lives. We know anything only because He has graciously allowed us to possess a particle of His infinite knowledge. We perceive good and evil only because He alone defines the meaning and parameters of those concepts and allows us to understand them.

For this reason it makes sense for the Christian to see the providential hand of God at work in everything. Not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from Him. Christ is the pinnacle of God’s revelation–all other religious systems which seek truth apart from Jesus Christ are spiritually bankrupt.

Enjoy this day of life and light God has graciously given you, and seek to be a blessing to at least one other soul on your journey.

This morning I was reading in Psalm 25, and the words of verse 14 caught my attention: “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” I am reminded of how Jesus purposely spoke in ambiguities to the hardened Jewish leaders and later explained the meaning of His words to the disciples in private. They were privy to information not available to everyone.

There are many facets of God’s nature and workings which we can and will never know. In fact we would know nothing of God at all had He not sovereignly chosen to reveal Himself to us. God is not known as a result of our superior intelligence as humans, but because we bear the image of God. As divine image bearers we have the capacity to know God. Were this not the case we would be as ignorant of God as a brute beast.

Put a man with 20/20 vision in a room devoid of light and his perfect vision is useless: without light he is blind. A man can be off the IQ chart and know nothing of God except that which He sovereignly chooses to impart. It has NOTHING to do with innate intelligence. There are highly intelligent believers and pagans; and, conversely, there are some very dumb Christians and unbelievers.

Every human has at least a spark of the knowledge of God because all bear the image of God and are confronted with general revelation in the spheres of creation and conscience (Rom. 1-2). But the ravages of sin have produced a condition known as Total Depravity (Total Inability), and man in the unregenerate state will respond to general revelation in the following prescribed manner: (1) Suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (2) Exchange the truth of God for a lie, and (3) worship and serve the creature/creation instead of the Creator. It is as if the unbeliever sees a flicker of light in the distance but then chooses to turn and head farther into darkness, away from the light.

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

To those who fear the Lord He reveals His secrets and shows them His covenant. Surely the psalmist is here referring to the gracious act of God in imparting to His child a special relationship within His covenant family. David was a very imperfect human, and we are well aware of his sins. But with respect to the Word of God and the fear of the Lord he knew which side of the fence he stood on. He had cast his lot with the fear of the Lord, while his rival Saul played the fool until his death and never really knew an intimate covenant relationship with God.

What was the difference between David and Saul? Was David smarter or more righteous? Read the narrative: God chose David and rejected Saul, just as He had loved Jacob and hated Esau. The only reason David feared the Lord and Saul did not was because God sovereignly implanted in David a regenerate heart. It was divine sovereignty all the way, baby! If you don’t like it then don’t argue with me; take it up with the Lord.

I pray that no matter what else we do in this life we can say with Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Fear the Lord you His children. And may he reveal His secrets to you and draw you close to Himself in His infinite eternal love.