Why do I write this blog?

Why do I write this blog? I do not believe that writing this blog serves any purpose other than to fulfill my desire to express what has been laid upon my heart. My work involves asking and doing but there is not much opportunity for sharing. I write this blog in order to fulfill my desire to share the gospel. The word gospel simply means good news and there is no news greater than the gospel. 

The apostle Paul wrote: 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

Is there any better news than to know that God has not destined us to wrath, but to obtain salvation from the wrath that we deserve through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him?

It is the desire of my heart that everyone should read the Bible, for through reading the Bible I came to know God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a member of and regularly attend a local church, but it was not through the church that I came to know God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I am a member of and regularly attend a local church because believers fellowship together and share life together as a family. This is the reason that we refer to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

There is nothing about me to follow or immolate. Much of my life has been a real struggle, especially this past year. I have even begun to question my vocation. Should I even continue in nursing or change vocations? Is my unsettledness about nursing related to the difficulties that I am having outside of my work? Why do I feel so unsettled and have periods of anxiety when I believe in the gospel? I have heard it preached, that a Christian should always have joy, but if truth be told, I am not always joyful. Truly, I am often very despondent. Does this make me a bad Christian that I often have despondency? 

I do know and believe that I am loved by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for my sins and rose again. I trust in his promise of eternal life in the new heaven and new earth which is yet to come. While the world and those who are of the world do not mean for my good, I know that God means all things for our good, to those who love him, to those who are the called according to his purpose.

Created for the glory of God

What is your desire? What causes you to get out of bed in the morning and go forth? Is it pleasure that you seek, or riches that you desire, or maybe it is fame? It is my desire for all to know God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I call this blog, The Nurse Theologian, because I am a nurse who thinks and writes about God. I do not write about nursing, though I may mention my profession on occasion, but it is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ whom I write about, and whom I desire for you to know. 

Several years ago, when seeking how I might tell others about God and his Christ, I came across a teaching, The Way of the Master. This teaching, uses the Law to bring the knowledge of sin before presenting Jesus Christ. Using the Law to bring the knowledge of sin is biblical. Most people know that it is wrong to lie, to commit adultery, to murder, but they do not consider the reason these things are wrong. We live in a godless society, resulting from modernistic ideals. Modernism taught our society to only believe that which can be perceived by our senses and can be proven through science. Most do not even know that theology is a science, in fact, it is the greatest of all sciences, for theology is the study of God. 

Can God be proven? There are two revelations given to us that prove God. There is the natural revelation, creation, and there is the special revelation, the Bible. I believe that the Bible is greater than the natural because the Bible uses the Law to bring the knowledge of sin, that he or she who reads the Scriptures might repent and believe in the gospel. The Law does not work on our senses but on our conscience. This word conscience is a combination word in which two words put together gives an entirely different perspective than when used apart. Con means with and Science means knowledge; therefore, Conscience means with knowledge. It is with-knowledge that we sin against God. 

So why is it wrong to lie? It is wrong because we were created in the image of God and we know that God is truth. Why is it wrong to be unfaithful in our relationships? It is wrong because we were created in the image of God and we know that God is faithful. Why is it wrong to hate someone? It is wrong because we were created in the image of God and we know that God is love. We do not need our senses to tell us that these are wrong because we have the knowledge from birth that these are wrong, nonetheless, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But God being, not like us, is rich in mercy, loved us, and gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life.

Spiritual Gifts

In 1 Corinthians 12:28, the apostle Paul gives a list of Spiritual gifts. This is the second time in the same chapter that he gives a list of gifts that come from the same spirit. Each list varies in what he mentions as gifts; therefore, one can conclude that each listing of gifts is incomplete. The apostle has a point in this list regarding the Corinthian church. They were putting a high emphasis on speaking in tongues and ignoring the gifts that edify; therefore, he begins with apostles, prophets  and teachers, and ends the list with various kinds of tongues.

I have often thought about these things. What is my gifting? I am not an apostle and I do not have the gift of speaking in tongues but I do believe that I have the gift of helps first and teaching second. I cannot heal anyone but I can give help to the sick. I am not a prophet or an apostle but I can explain the writings of the prophets and the apostles. I am a Registered Nurse who felt compelled to study theology. 

The Lord God drew me to nursing before I repented and believed in the gospel and after believing he drew me to the study of his word and the church. Can I be satisfied helping the sick and teaching the word of God? I do believe that I can and desire to do so. 

What is the ministry that the Lord has given you? What is the ministry that the Lord has given me? I have called this blog The Nurse Theologian because that is who I am. I am a nurse who studies God. I am not an apostle or a prophet but I can teach. I do not have the gift of miracles, or healings but I can help. I do not believe that I am gifted in administrations or various tongues.  I am simply a man who loves the Lord and loves my neighbor. I am a nurse-theologian but my gifting is not greater than someone who is gifted differently than I, for we are all members of the same body, that is, the body of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

Monster Inc.

Yesterday, a couple of monsters came by the hospital. I think that there is some truth in these funny costumes with regard to the world that we live in. Each year, in the month of October, I drive by some gruesome images displayed in some of our neighbors yards, and others put on costumes that glorify evil and death, but still others were costumes like these that look fun and inviting. We should keep in mind that no matter how gruesome or friendly the monster looks, they are nonetheless monsters. People very in their appearance, thought, actions and words. Some are more wicked than others but all people apart from Christ are monsters no matter where they might fall morally on a scale between Hitler and Mother Teresa. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The goal is not to be like other people, even the best person that you know, but to morally like God in every way. God said of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the exact representation of the nature of God in human flesh. For this reason no one can come to God except through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus willing died for our sins and he was buried and he rose from the dead on the third day. All who repent and believe in the gospel died with Christ Jesus and were buried with him and have been raised with him to walk in newness of life. Repent and believe in the gospel!

Perhaps Our suffering In It Keeps Us From Clinging To It!

I saw a picture on the back of a woman’s phone while at church. I was so mesmerized by it, I drew out what I saw on the back of a ministry card that I keep in my wallet. 

I am mesmerized by it because the three stick figures represent my life: I ran away from God’s perfect plan, repented and believed in the Lord Jesus. The imagery is so simple and yet it is so profound. I am not an artist but I can quickly doddle this symbolic message of life on the back of a card. 

In addition to the three stick figures, there are three circles: The first circle represents God’s perfect plan for life. The second circle represents the broken world that we now live in and the wavy arrows represent out attempts to escape this broken world. The third circle represents the gospel of God: the eternal Son of God descended and entered this broken world becoming one of us; He died a death that He did not deserve; He rose from the dead, ascending to the righthand of God; all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The first man ran away from God. The second man comes to God broken with a contrite heart. The third man believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, goes forth rejoicing because he has assurance of being in the paradise of God with the Son of God.

This simple picture on the back of a woman’s phone preaches to me more than anything that I have heard in recent memory. I am redeemed from death and eternal punishment but I am presently in a broken world. Nothing is easy here and life on this side of glory is very difficult, during the past year:

• My mother in-law (my wife’s mother) died.
• I was sick causing us to be estranged from family during Christmas.
• Our daughter came out of the closet as a gay person and entered into a civil union with another girl.
• Our son lives estranged from us, God and the church.
• Our nephew just a few years older than our son unexpectedly died.
• My mother has been having dizzy spells and I do not know what to do for her.
• A former nursing colleague whom I considered to be a friend and brother was convicted of murder.

I could go on and on listing more like these but I will stop with these seven. I do not understand rejecting God because of the bad things that happen to us in this broken world. The Bible promises trials, tribulations and persecutions to go on until the coming age of the Kingdom of God. In John 12:25 Jesus said something to his disciples that I think is very profound, especially in this modern, or should I say post-modern world but I never hear mentioned. 

He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 

Why does God allow his people to suffer? Perhaps our suffering in it keeps us from clinging to it!

Dear Neighbor,

This morning I began to read the Acts of the Apostles. John following Luke is most confusing because Luke and Acts have the same author and were meant to go together. The New Testament is setup with the four gospels at the front, followed by the book of Acts, then the apostles letters to the churches and concludes with the Revelation of Jesus Christ; therefore, most people read the Scriptures in that order. But to read Acts after reading Luke is the way that it was originally written. Am I saying that the order in the Bible is wrong? No, that is not what I am saying at all. The Bible is a library and just like any good librarian would do, the books are put together into categories. 

I also find it interesting that people read their belief’s into the text. The first Christian sermon, preached by the apostle Peter at Pentecost is a good example: In Acts 2:37-39, the men that Peter had just preached the gospel too were convicted and asked the apostles: Brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.

A baptist will read this text and say, See, baptism follows faith. Someone from the Church of Christ will read it and say, See, you receive the Holy Spirit when you are baptized.  A Presbyterian will read this text and say, See, it is both believers and their children who should be baptized. I think in every instance the focus is in the wrong place. The focus is repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. The focus should not be on baptism or receiving the Spirit but repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. I believe that if ones focus is on what the author is saying, rather than trying to find a proof text for ones belief, then the text can be properly understood. 

So, repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins! This is a promise for everyone!

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake

Dear Neighbor,

In our Sunday morning bible study we discussed baptism. Our leader Shane had previously taught on the etymology of the word baptism, showing that the word means to immerse. He taught on the typology of baptism being a picture of death and resurrection. And he taught about the chronology of baptism in the scriptures and in history. He taught about other Christian beliefs about infant baptism; catholic, Lutheran and Reformed. Lastly, he went through several text of scripture refuting those views.

It was after this, during corporate worship service, while singing hymns and praises to our Lord that I saw the picture that I included. I saw the picture on the back of a woman’s phone in the pew in front of us. I recognized it as being the three-circles method of sharing the gospel, but it was different, instead of using words, the artist used symbols to tell a story.

The first circle represents the good world that God created; everyone loved God and one another. Then there is a man going his own way, running away from the world that God created. The next circle represents the world that we now live in which is broken. There are squiggly lines and arrows coming out of the world and these represent human efforts of escape but they are like cords that snap one back into the brokenness of this world. The next is a man praying and this symbolizes repentance. Instead of trying to escape the brokenness on his own, he comes to God with a sorrowful and contrite heart. The next circle is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Word descended and became flesh, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again; all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to King Jesus. The next is a redeemed man who believes the gospel and is headed back to the paradise of God.

What intrigued me about this picture is that it represents how I came; I was running from God, I attempted to escape the brokenness on my own, I came to God repentant, he preached to me the gospel, I believed and rejoiced. It intrigued me because I realized that baptism not only represents Jesus’ death and burial, but it also represents how a redeemed person comes to faith; dies to self and is alive in Christ.

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake