What time is it?!?

It's movin' time. I have started a new blog, if for no other reason, then I simply need a change. So the new address is www.mdestes.wordpress.com. I hope that some of you will come over and visit. I'm sorry to those who have been wondering where I've been. Life has been very crazy recently, and posting has been one of the last things on my mind. So, I seriously doubt many people actually read this. I plan on being a much more regular poster on this new blog. I will be attempting to blog at least once a week, if not more.

A Moment of Silence, Please

We live in a society of noise. From the moment we wake until the moment we sleep, we are bombarded with sound. Most of us start our day by hearing the most annoying sound known to mankind, an alarm clock. After that, we flip on the TV, most of the time for no reason at all. As the sound from the television keeps us company, we go about our normal morning activities. We eat, we shower, we brush our teeth, and we prepare ourselves for the day. All the while, the TV is blaring in the background. Information is being disseminated, and we miss most of it.

As soon as we are ready, we get in the car. What do you think happens? Yes, that’s right; the radio comes on, again ramming into our ears more noise. We ride along listening to whatever is on at that particular moment. It could be good; it could be bad. It doesn’t really matter. It comforts us. It keeps us from feeling lonely.

Finally, we arrive at school or work, and our friends greet us. We begin to “chit-chat” about what we did last night, and the homework we failed to get done. We talk about each other’s outfits and hair and make-up and about the sporting event last night. We talk and talk and talk, and as soon as silence falls, something happens. We get uncomfortable. There is an uneasiness that creeps in and leaves us feeling weird. So, how do we respond to this uneasiness? We crack a joke or create a distraction to ease the tension and break the silence. Why? Why are we afraid of the silence?

The writer of Psalm 46 says well, “Be still, and know that I am God.” The constancy of noise in our lives robs us of so much. It interrupts our connection to God. According to the psalmist, stillness is something that is valued by God. Until we are still, we cannot understand God. Sometimes, it is necessary for us to stop. Stop running. Stop doing. Stop being busy. We need to stop and be still. In those moments of stillness, our minds can rest and hear the voice of God. In I Kings 19, God comes to Elijah not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. Only in the still, small whisper does Elijah find God. So it is with us. The constant presence of noise in our lives destroys not only our ability to think deeply about anything but also our drive to think at all. The noise we hear will think for us. They (all those who create the noise) will tell us what to believe; therefore, we won’t ever have to confront what might be. So, why do we fear silence? Because, in the silence, we have to confront, we have think about this one thing: Am I really alone?

For more on the value of silence and thinking, read this.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle

Recently, I have been reading The Lord of the Rings. In fact, I just finished The Fellowship of the Ring. First, let me say that the books put the movies to shame, and I think the movies are great. Of more import to this particular post is something in specific from The Fellowship. The movie fails to even include a conversation that moved me very deeply.

Deep into the journey from Rivendell, the fellowship has just escaped Moria without their fallen guide, Gandalf. After fleeing the Orcs of Moria, the travellers wander into the wood of Lothlorien. In these woods, Elves dwell. Upon arriving at Galadhrim, the capital city of Lothlorien, the fellowship find themselves in a place that would rival the beauty of Eden. Even in winter, the leaves never fall; they only turn gold. The ground is covered with lush, green grass and flowers of all sorts and colors. The weather is always very fair and the air very fresh. The water of the rivers is cold and refreshing, even healing. As Tolkien describes it, one is whisk away into a paradise of beauty and joy.

During their stay, the adventures grow closer to one another and are saddened that they have to leave this place. The melancholy that fills them is captured in an enlightening conversation between Gimli, a dwarf, and Legolas, an elf. Personally, I felt most touched by the thoughts of Gimli. This is merely a part of the conversation between the two.

"I have looked the last upon that which was fairest...Hencefoward I will call nothing fair, unless it be her gift [the Lady of Galadhrim gave Gimli three strands of her hair]...Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Tormet in the dark was the danger I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I know the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin."

"Nay!" said Legolas. "Alas for us all! And for all that walk the world in these after-days. For such is the way of it: to find and lose, as it seems to those whose boat is on the running stream. But I count you blessed, Gimli son of Gloin: for you loss you suffer of your own free will, and you might have chosen otherwise...and the least reward that you shall have is that the memory of Lothlorien shall remain ever clear and unstained in your heart, and shall neither fade nor grow stale."

"Maybe," said Gimli;"and I thank you for your words. True words doubtless; yet all such comfort is cold. Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror...Or so says the heart of Gimli the Dwarf."

Gimli's words pierced me. Memory is not what the heart desires...that is only a mirror. There was once a time when we, too, were in Eden. We, also, experienced the light and joy, and the painful parting with it. And like Gimli, we desire the real thing, the reality of Eden. We want to be in a place where light and joy never end. One day, we will again experience light and joy, never to be parted from it again. One day, the memory of Eden will be renewed, the mirror will cease to be a reflection of what is real and finally become reality...Or so says the heart of Michael the man...

Here is my 15 minutes

Well, I've finally made it bigtime...or something like that.

Click the link.

My 15 minutes!!!

Anonymous Poem

What is man?
Is he anything?
Wading into a sea of discontent,
There is but an ocean of emptiness.
Wandering in a wilderness of loneliness,
Ascending the mountain of sorrow.
Where will he go?
There is nothing.
There is no one.
The rain of suffering falls,
Pounding him into submission.
Where can he go?
What can he do
To escape this horrifying deluge
Of doubt and despair?
Is there anyone out there?

Seeking, searching, groping
In the darkness of the long night
For meaning, for reality, for anything.
What can he say?
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,”
Is his weary cry.
Shadows consume and death surrounds
This weary traveler.
He is told,
“Do what is right in your heart,”
But all he finds is evil there.
He wants more, he desires more.
Where shall he turn?
What shall he do?

He gazes across a plain of desolation
And feels his hopelessness rising.
In desperation, he turns his eye upward.
Looking to the heavens,
He makes his complaint.
“Why” is the only word that comes to his lips.
He screams and shouts, full of sound and fury.
As his words die into the night,
He suddenly realizes a light.
A light that seems so small
Almost unreal
Until it fills the heavens.
Slowly then quickly the light descends.

The traveler awaits the light
As it comes ever so close.
Finally, with the light before him,
The man repeats his question, “Why?”
Only then does he notice that the light is a Man.
He looks at the traveler with joy and sorrow.
Simply, almost gently, the One says, “I AM.”
The traveler realizes that night has turned to day.
He can see everything, everyone.
Before him is beauty,
The plain of pleasure spreads out in every direction.
The rain has turned
To soft, warm, cheerful, spring wind.
The mount of joy extends upward.
The wilderness sings to him.
The waters he sees are full of contentment and satisfying.

What is man?
He is loved.
He will journey across the plain of pleasure.
He will enjoy the light of day.
He will ascend the mountain of joy.
He will enter the wilderness with his guide.
He will explore the ocean of meaning
And sail the sea of satisfaction.
The One in the light
Will lead him.
The traveler no longer gropes
As one in darkness,
But he has the Light of Truth and Meaning.
Despair is now joy,
Fear is now hope,
Hate is now love.

What is man?
Ask the Man,
The One in the light.
He knows.
He will tell you,
Exactly what he told me.
“I AM.”

Anger and Christ

There has long been debate as to whether or not it is actually possible to have righteous anger as a fallen, sinful human being. Much of the debate has centered around the person of Jesus. It is apparent in the gospel accounts of his life that Jesus certainly felt the emotion of anger. There are numerous accounts of Christ reacting with rage or frustration against someone or something that was being done. The question is, then, whether Jesus actually sinned in so doing those things. The answer to this question provides some important clues as to how we, as pastors and counselors, should advise people who have issues with anger and resentment.


B.B. Warfield has written an interesting article, “The Holy Resentment of Jesus,” which addresses this very issue. In his honest interpretation, Warfield attempts to approach the Scripture with humility and openness, seeking to find a solution to the problem of holy or righteous anger. He begins his article by explaining the importance of the doctrine of the hypostatic union of Christ. Jesus was most definitely fully man and fully God, but how does this doctrine affect his emotional state? It is clear that Jesus felt emotions. He felt sorrow and anger and resentment. He got frustrated with the disciples. He overturned tables in the temple and wielded a whip to empty his Father’s house. These events in Scripture have been interpreted in several ways, two of which Warfield addresses. The first interpretation attributed apatheia, or absence of feeling, to Christ, hoping to preserve the dignity of the person of Christ. The second interpretation, wishing to clearly state the fullness of Christ’s humanity, featured the pathos, or feeling or passion, of Christ. These interpretations are essential to understanding the issue at hand. If Christ truly had an absence of feeling, then in a justified and sanctified state believers should feel this same apatheia that Christ felt. Conversely, if Christ actually felt emotions in a real way, then it is true that believers could and should also feel similar emotions.


The second interpretation seems to be the truer of the two. The ontological make-up of Jesus appears to be at question here. How similar was the “second Adam” to the first Adam? At a glance, there are obvious differences. However, upon a closer investigation, it is apparent that Christ was very much similar to all other human beings. It is clear that he wearied from his hectic schedule. He also felt physiological needs of hunger and thirst. He most assuredly felt pain on the cross. Therefore, it appears to be an appropriate assumption that since Christ experienced the physiology of humanity, he would also understand the psychology of humanity. If neither of these two assumptions are true, then it would be necessary to adopt some form of docetic thinking about the humanity of Christ. It would also hold that scriptures like Hebrews 4:15[1] and the accounts of the temptation of Christ[2] would be nonsensical and unintelligible. Consequently, in order for anyone to know anything about the real Jesus, it is necessary to rely on the written accounts of his life in the gospels. Since that is the case, the things said about Jesus, that he had real physiological and psychological needs and difficulties, must be assumed, on some level, to be true.


So, it seems obvious that Jesus had real emotions, which is the point of Warfield’s article. The question remains, however, as to whether or not Jesus’ emotions apply to us and how his emotions and reactions in particular situations can be extrapolated out in order to help us minister to others. Warfield makes it clear in his article that the emotions Jesus felt were right and had no sin in them. Jesus was, in fact, a total human being, which, of course, makes him a moral being. Moral beings must react to the circumstances of their existence. Therefore, as Warfield aptly puts it, “It would be impossible, therefore, for a moral being to stand in the presence of perceived wrong indifferent and unmoved.”[3] Christ, as a moral being, filled with pathos, would have to react in given situations appropriately. If not, his humanity could be called into question. However, it is important to point out that Jesus always responded in a perfectly suitable way. He neither underreacted nor overreacted in any specific situation. Therefore, when a situation that calls for an angry reaction, Jesus responded with the appropriate amount of anger (i.e. the cleansing of the temple[4]). Conversely, when a situation required a sorrowful response, Jesus weeps (i.e. the death of Lazarus[5]). Since we are like Christ in that we are moral beings, there are situations in which it is appropriate to be angry or to weep. If it is right that Jesus was offended by certain affronts to his morality, it is according that we would react in the same way.


With that said, it is also important to note again that Jesus holds a certain moral superiority over other human beings. His divinity made it possible for him to retain his sinless perfection. Was it possible for Jesus to sin? The answer to this mystery seems somewhat unclear, but the Bible seems to point to the fact that Jesus was truly able to sin. It was his ability to abstain from sin that makes him the perfect sacrifice. Therefore, when Christ expresses his emotions in the gospel accounts, he is able to do so without sinning. On the contrary, however, it is clear that we are not Jesus. We are to become more like him daily, but we are not him. So, the question is, then, can a believer actually articulate anger without sinning? While Jesus proves that anger and resentment is a normal human emotion, it is difficult to say how anger would affect the typical believer. It would be my counsel that anger is a dangerous emotion. It can easily be abused and lead to sinful behavior. Despite the fact that the emotion itself is not sinful, the results of such an emotion might definitely be. A responsible counselor should attempt to encourage their client into appropriately expressing their anger, which is, of course, somewhat subjective. The most important concepts to draw from Warfield’s article are that Jesus felt anger (which is expressive of the humanity of Christ and leads one to believe that it is possible to have “righteous” anger) and that there is an appropriate response to the anger emotion (which seems with regard to Christ but is infinitely more complex when dealing with fallen human beings).



[1] “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
[2] Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13
[3] B.B. Warfield, “The Holy Resentment of Jesus: ‘For the innumerable dead is my soul disquieted,” The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 11.
[4] Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:13-22
[5] John 11:1-44

A Little More...

I wanted to explain the argument from desire a little more. So, I started thinking about it and remembered this quote from, guess who, C.S. Lewis. He puts things in a way I cannot.

He explains: Most people, if they had really to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. - Mere Christianity, Book III, "Hope"

Later, he writes more: The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.'

So, for example, I look at my little boy, Jackson, and think about the depth of my love for that awesome little person. I must keep in mind that my love for him is but a shadow of things to come. And, that, my friends, is an awesome thought. It makes me want to love all the more. It makes me love life all the more because of what it tells me about the God we serve. It makes me desire Heaven all the more that I might experience the ultimate reality of Love. It hurts (in a good way) to think on it. The Scriptures are clear on this point.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. - I Corinthians 13:12

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - II Corinthians 4:16-18

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. - Hebrews 11:13-16

So, the next time you find yourself desiring something more or better than this world can offer, don't feel guilty. Embrace it. Grab hold of that and don't let go of it because it the part of God in us calling us home to Him. And, when we get there, that home will never disappoint.