Principle from Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

April 20, 2011June 12, 2012 / Nate Edmondson / 1 Comment

I’m currently reading the book Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller. The book has challenged me so much, and I completely recommend it.

The book is about how we make idols, or counterfeit gods, out of anything and everything. Our culture is saturated with idolatry. Whether it’s money, sex, health, children, success, leaving a legacy, having a big ministry platform, respect, etc. etc. etc.

Tim Keller does a great job building a case against idolatry, and in chapter 2 he provides an incredible picture of the disappointment that comes with idolatry by looking at the life of Jacob. Jacob’s entire purpose while he was working for Laban was to marry Rachel. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. He worked for seven years in order to marry Rachel, but thanks to some scheming on behalf of his father-in-law, he accidentally had sex with her ugly older sister, Leah, instead.

Keller stops here in the story and makes an extremely powerful point. When you put all your hope and security on going to bed with Rachel, it’s always Leah in the morning.

Whenever we think we’ll find satisfaction or fulfillment in anything besides God, it ends in disappointment everytime. It’s always Leah instead of Rachel.

Do you have any counterfeit gods in your life? Are you seeking the peace that only God can give from something besides God? It won’t seem as awesome tomorrow morning.

Big faith, or just unpractical?

April 18, 2011June 12, 2012 / Nate Edmondson / 9 Comments

“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 ESV

I was in a church service recently where the message was about praying big prayers. The point was that we should pray specific, seemingly impossible prayers and watch what God might do. Afterward, they challenged us to write out a prayer on the walls of the sanctuary. One of them essentially said this: “God, help me meet Bill Gates so that we can cure AIDS.”

Now, maybe it’s just the cynicism of my nature, but for some reason I just couldn’t help but laugh at that prayer. Is that what the pastor meant when he said to pray big, seemingly impossible prayers? It definitely fits the description. But is that big faith, or just unpractical?

I can pray that God would have president Obama call me today and schedule a press conference where I get to share the gospel on all TV stations throughout the world, but let’s be honest… nobody actually thinks that’s gonna happen.

So where is the line between big faith, and being practical? Should there even a line when it comes to faith?

Long distance love life

April 14, 2011April 8, 2011 / Nate Edmondson / 10 Comments

I’m in college, so naturally, girls come up quite a bit. I’d say girls probably account for 50% of all the conversations in my dorm room (mainly because of a particular friend of mine named Matt).

Regardless of how much we talk about girls, our knowledge is still pretty primitive. That being said, what are your opinions on long distance dating? Is it good, bad? Healthy, unhealthy? Difficult, impossible?

My brother and his fiance (I’m not sure how to add the french little apostrophe thing) have dated for a long time, and the past 3 years or so have been long distance. They pulled it off. But do you think it’s wise?

How would you advise someone considering a long distance relationship? Student Pastors, think through this for your seniors. They will be making decisions in the next couple months about breaking-up or staying together. Not to mention decisions about what to do physically since “this is our last time to see each other <3… we need to make it count.” How do you advise them?

Living in the moment

April 13, 2011April 9, 2011 / Nate Edmondson / 2 Comments

The notions of “seizing the day” and “living in the moment” have become very popular. I’ve actually heard a few sermons about this recently. The speakers say, “Life happens in small moments. This moment will never come again! It’s possible to spend so much time looking at the past or future that you miss what God is doing now!”

I’ve already admitted I struggle with this. But I also struggle a little bit with what pastors may be communicating with messages like this. Essentially what they seem to be saying is, “Now is more important than Then.”

Here’s what I want to ask whenever they’re talking: Is it biblical to live now if you haven’t considered then?

I understand that we have to make the most of every opportunity. I get that life happens in blink-like moments. But communicating these things without explaining their connection to the future can point people in the wrong direction. It’s impossible to live with purpose without considering the future. We have to live now in light of who we want to be then, and what God plans to do then.

Am I off track here, or have you felt this tension? Obviously this isn’t what pastors mean to communicate, but have you felt the implication?

Is there ‘sacred space’?

April 11, 2011June 12, 2012 / Nate Edmondson / 8 Comments

⁵Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5 ESV

I’m in a class about church culture right now, and we talked about this question a couple weeks ago. Is there such thing as ‘sacred space’? Are there places or things on earth that are ‘sacred’? Conflict in Israel tells us there are some religious groups who think so, but what do you think? Is there any literal holiness in the Holy Land?

On a more practical level, is there anything ‘sacred’ about where churches meet? Or think about it this way: Does God care about the environment where we gather? Is God at all interested in gathering space? And now more personally: Do we care about it? Everybody knows we spend time thinking about it.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts as I process this. Are there any passages that address this issue?