Proverbs 28:13-14: How to Cover Your Sin

What follows is a rough copy of a sermon I preached on August 5, 2007 at the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center in Castaic. I've been part of a team that provides Sunday morning chapel services to the men incarcerated at this state facility. To be honest it has been hands-down, the single greatest joy in my seminary life. To minister to the dregs of society makes me feel as Jesus must have felt when he so befriended sinners that he earned the title 'Friend of Sinners'. What follows is a copy of the contents of the message preached and a representation of what I take to the pulpit to preach from. I do not read my sermons, though I try to type them out in advance. The act of thinking completely through a sermon allows me the freedom and flexibility to preach extemporaneously when I am in the pulpit. If I loose my place I can simply reference this document and find my way around again. Please feel free to leave any comments you may have that would benefit me as a preacher.
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INTRODUCTION

Google Home Page Highlighted News Item

Mr. Softee scooped up in drug rap

Ice-cream truck driver busted for peddling pot & cocaine

BY ADAM EDELMAN and MICHAEL WHITE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Saturday, August 4th 2007, 4:00 AM
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Cops from the 103rd Precinct in Queens go over Mister Softee truck whose driver was charged with selling drugs from the vehicle. Police also seized a .380-caliber pistol.

A Mister Softee driver who dished up pot and cocaine along with the ice cream was busted in his truck outside a Queens school yesterday, police said.

For certain customers, Jermaine Jordan, 26, of St. Albans, would double-cup his cold concoctions - tucking the drugs neatly between the two containers and giving new meaning to the term coke float, authorities said.

"People would approach and place their order," a police source said. "The bottom of their cup would contain their purchase, either cocaine or marijuana."

Jordan was arrested as he made his usual stop in front of Intermediate School 8 in South Jamaica - just as kids were being dismissed from summer camp, police said.

Parents outside IS 8 said they were disgusted by the alleged drug-dealing - especially since the suspect is a man they had come to know from his three years of driving the ice-cream truck.

"We trusted this guy. We send kids out there every day. I feel betrayed," said Donald Williams, 53, who regularly gave money to his granddaughter for ice cream.

"I been here for 40 years and ain't never would've thought Mister Softee was dealing drugs. Not Mister Softee."

Armed with a search warrant, four squad cars descended on the ice-cream truck about 5p.m., and cops grabbed Jordan, who has served time on a weapons charge, police said.

The officers recovered unspecified quantities of cocaine and marijuana as well as a loaded .380 semiautomatic pistol from the truck, said NYPD Capt. Jimmy Coan.

The gun "was in plain sight, 2 feet from the window," Coan said. "Someplace he could reach for it easily, but if you're a kid looking up, buying ice cream, you couldn't see it."

Narcotics cops had been investigating Jordan for six weeks after getting a tip, Coan said. Jordan allegedly sold drugs throughout his Jamaica route.

"We don't believe that he was selling to schoolchildren," Coan said. "Basically, he would serve people he either knew or felt comfortable serving. There was no specific code word, per se. He had to size you up, and if he felt comfortable, he would serve you."

Jordan is facing a slew of drug and gun charges.

"It's crazy, man. It's a crazy world," said a cousin of Jordan's, who declined to give his name. "It's not like him. I don't know what went on."

Jordan just shrugged as cops escorted him from the 103rd Precinct for the trip to Central Booking last night.
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Proverbs 28:13-14

“He who conceals his transgression will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”

“How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”

These verses show the peril of concealing your sin and the consequence of failing to fear God, therefore let us respond to these words from God with repentance, fear and joy.

Keywords: conceal, transgression, prosper, confess, forsake, compassion, blessed, fear, harden, calamity.

Introduction: Mr. Softee Article
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What this story demonstrates on a small scale is the principle that we will be confronted with in the word of God today, those who commit sin are certain to be found out and when they are found out there will be no compassion but calamity. This may happen in this lifetime, like what happened to the Mr. Softee driver, but what the bible has in view the inescapable, unalterable, certain day of judgment in which each one in this room will stand before the judge who is the law enforcer, who is the writer of the law- God himself, to him alone will you give an account.

The ever truthful and authoritative word of Gods speaks thus to us today

“He who conceals his transgression will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”

Everyone in this present in this room today is included in this verse, we are all in view in this verse. The verse identifies two types of men, one is a man who recognizing his sin, confesses and forsakes it. He does not harden his heart to the call of God to repent and the result is that he has become the recipient of Gods compassion and blessing. The other man has sought to conceal his sin and in so doing has hardened his heart to the voice of the Lord and as such not only has he guaranteed that the wicked plans that he is scheming will not prosper he has also guaranteed for himself the bitter fruit of calamity. And great is the calamity of the man who has hardened his heart against the Lord.

Hardness of heart is manifested in two primary ways. That is to say the person who is heart of heart either directly rebels against God’s will by ignoring, minimizing or otherwise disparaging God’s word. He is actively repudiating every counsel of God without regard to the consequence. Pharaoh, King of Egypt comes to mind. He once ruled a vast empire that was growing so rapidly that it had to rely upon the slave labor of the Hebrews to meet the demand. Moses as you know was sent to liberate the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery but before leading the people in an outright rebellion he first was to appeal to Pharaoh- man to man. Every time Moses spoke to Pharaoh to warn him and every time Moses delivered Pharaoh from the plagues that God was sending against him we read, “But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not list…(Ex. 8:15). Pharaoh took every counsel from God and rebelled against them producing a hardness of heart.

Now you may be seeing yourself in the example of Pharaoh. Most people don’t walk around disrespecting God this way. No most people are guilty of the other manifestation of the hardness of heart. Rather than directly rejecting the word of God more people or guilty of reading it with scissors in one hand and the bible in the other. Unlike Pharaoh they are willing to accept Gods word……as long as they agree with it. As long as they are comfortable with it, As long as they understand it. Then if things don’t make sense you just ignore this verse or that verse. The heart has manifested it is hard when it does not submit entirely to the word of God. Your heart is hardened if you have not made the habit of your life to submit to the entire counsel of God’s word. The Bible is not like Home Town Buffet where you get to choose this entere and that side dish. No the word of God does not come ala carte but as a complete in indivisible whole. The failure to accept the word of God in it’s entirety is devastatingly foolish.

Saul, the first King of Israel appointed by God to rule the nation. He was anointed to be king by one of the most powerful Old Testament prophets, Samuel. Things seemed to be going along alright until Saul did not keep the entire word of God. In 1 Samuel 15:2 the Lord tells Samuel to instruct king Saul to attack the Amalekites and to utterly destroy them, to not even spare their king. The Amalekites had stood in the way of the Hebrew during Exodus and now God was going to extend his just arm against them. Saul raises an army, sets a siege against the Amalekites and then attacks. Scripture tells us in verse 8 of chapter 15 that “[Saul] utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. It seems as though he carried out the command of God. But look at the first part of the verse what does it say, “And he captured Agag the kind of the Amalekites alive…” verse 9 tells us that he kept the best of the livestock alive with the intention that they were to be offered up in sacrifice to God in thanksgiving for the victory over the enemy, according to verse 15. Saul may have had honest intentions when he disobeyed the command of the Lord but nevertheless he demonstrated a hardness of heart that led him to disregard God’s command. Do you know what the consequence was for Saul? God rejected the presumptious offering of the illicit livestock, and he rejected Saul as king over Israel. After Samuel had delivered this devastating news to Saul he turned to walk away, Saul in desperation grabbed at the prophets robe tearing it. Samuel looked down at his torn garment and with holy zeal looked Saul in the eye and said, “the Lord has torn the Kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you (1 Sam. 15:28). That neighbor we would later read is the boy shepherd David.

In the New Testament we read of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5. They sold a piece of land with the intention of bringing the proceeds of the sale to the elders of the church. Problem was he had conferenced with his wife and they decided to keep a portion of the money for themselves, and yet let on like the money they were giving was the complete sum they had earned. They were going to lie to the elders of the church. But Peter, perceiving the truth said in Acts 5:3 “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…?” and a bit later, “When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last.”

Have you heard the result in all three of these biblical examples? The result is that those who plan to transgress the will of God will not ultimately prosper. Let me draw your attention to Ananias for moment. He tried to cover up his deception but within God’s creation no sin is ever hidden, no sin is ever concealed. In Proverbs 28:13 the idea behind the reason that you will not prosper is because God will set himself against you. For a time the wicked seem to prosper but their foot is set to slip at any moment.

The problem we face is that we are all sinners. By nature you try to cover over your sin though because you want people to think well of you. Just imagine if all the wicked imaginations in your mind were played out on a big screen TV for all to see. Some of here would be instantly locked up in a mental institution others would be branded sexual predators. We try to conceal our sin because it the fullness of our sin was known to others then how could we get on in life. But more importantly the sinful man tries in vain to hide his sin from God. Let me give you a true principle

“If you try to cover your sin God will uncover it. If you uncover your sin God will cover it.”

You may get away in this life but when you stand before God he will remove the scanty rags that you have been using to conceal your sin and lay all before you as in the bright day light. In that day the game will end and you will be found out.

Listen men you are here at Warmsprings because you have committed some act, have fallen into some habit that makes you guilty of being a transgressor. If you have not cried out to God for life changing repentance then you are attempting to cover your sin in some way or another. Listen, good behavior will not cover your sin, doing good deeds will not cover your sin, thinking good thoughts will not cover your sin. If you have not confessed and forsaken your sin, then I have one promise for you- a hard heart and a life of calamity that will not end with death for death will usher you into the presence of God who will then begin to unleash upon the unrepentant sinner a calamity that I dread to even think of here this morning.

The call is plain as day, stop playing the game and believing the lie- you cannot provide an adequate covering of your sin to hide it from God. In this effort you will surely not proseper- you will fail in this life or the next.

But the gracious word of God continues with words that are given to sooth the aching conscience, to provide relief to those bowed down with the realization that they are transgressors. These words are a lifting up for the down cast a light in midst of the storm a safe harbor in the turmoil. For you who are lost these next words are a sign pointing to the exit from this dark labarynth. For you who have yet to confess and repent these next words are words of life and hope to you of promise and a future. Listen for the word of God says next, “But he who confesses and forsakes them WILL FIND COMPASSION!”

The Apostle Paul before he was converted to Christ was a mighty zealous persecutor of the Church. He stood by as Christians were slaughtered and held the coats of those who picked up stones to kill Stephen. He was one wicked dude and bamb he’s walking along one day and Christ interecepts him and the rest is history. Paul becomes one of the greatest lions of the faith a great and powerful defended of the church he once persecuted. And you know where the on time Christ hater is right this moment? He is in heaven in the presence of Jesus Christ enjoying all the blessing and compassion to be found in God. Paul repented of his sins and by giving up his sins received so much more blessing. This same opportunity is being presented today!

You’ll notice that confess and forsake are joined together. This is to show us that one cannot properly exist without the other. If you confess with your lips but do not leave the sin you are confessing whatever it is you are doing is not repentance according to the bible. Also if you forsake your sin but do not confess it then you are no better off. Repentance is made up together of these two things confession and forsaking. Let me be clear about this, to put off a sinful habit without confessing the sinfulness of the act is nothing more than moral reformation. To simply reform your behavior or your morals will land you in the same place at the end of the day, nowhere with God. God is not interested in moral reformation he is interested in total moral restoration. He doesn’t want men and women running around keeping a list of do and do not do’s. He wants people who are freed from the law but compelled by love for Christ to do what the bible commands. You can’t get this by simply trying to be a better man. You can only get this from God as a gift of grace from him when you repent. This men is salvation- that you are saved from yourself and transformed inwardly into a child of God. You want to taste power that will set you free from alcohol and drugs- confess and forsake your sin. Repent and God will take you as his own this day and give you all you need for a life of discipline and godliness.

Remember my little statement a moment ago

“If you try to cover your sin God will uncover it. If you uncover your sin God will cover it.”

And remember that this verse ends with the promise of compassion? Here is how that works. If you uncover your sin through repentance God will cover it with the righteousness of Christ. What this means is that you will still have sin in your life that you have to fight, you will still have temptations that burn so strong in you they leave a taste in your mouth but you will be given the strength to overcome and as God looks at you in the holy endeavor he sees a child of his who is righteous in his sight because you have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ. If you want your sins covered this is the only coat that can do it.

The compassion of God is experienced by repentant sinners in this way. Whereas you ought to have received the full measure of God’s wrath you now receive the opposite. You do not experience the anger of God, the wrath of God you experience his compassion. But how? Because in Matthew 27:47 we read these utterly astounding words as God the Son cries out to God the Father, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? At the moment these words were uttered Jesus was staggering under the weight of the penalty for sins. He paid the price so that you today could receive the compassion of God. The Father delights in being compassionate to repentant sinners.

The application for today’s message is found in verse 14. Those who have seen their sin as God has seen it and have seen the awful wrath Jesus took for us, fear the Father’s disapproving frown. This is a good fear for it keeps one from sinning and results in blessing. But for you who have heard the word of the Lord today the option to simply disregard it is not available. To fail to respond to God in repentance is to actively harden your heart against him. Everyone of us in this room today must either accept that he is a sinner and repent or must be responsible for hardening his own heart, making it that much more difficult the next time the Gospel is preached for you to accept it.

The Christian life offers hope and a future. It offers peace with God and a quiet conscience. It offers a new man and the power to fight sin. What is it that is keeping you from him today. What sin is so enticing that you will not yield to him. Will you hold on to your candy bar and refuse a steak dinner? No way, then let go of this life and give yourself to the Savior. It is still called today and He can be found but night will soon be here when men will grope about but not be able to find him.

Concluding Prayer

Why we grieve, why we have hope

I've been online for a couple of hours working on the blog, conversing with friends and watching stupid videos with the wife. After she went to bed I tuned in to the LAPD valley division radio traffic to have a listen. From 10:30pm till now (12:27) I have listen to the LAPD respond to a possible kidnapping call and now a shots fired with one victim down at Woodman Ave at Sherman way. I drive past this intersection twice a day, once as I head to work and again as I head home. As I type I am listening to LAPD officers locate and tend to the victim until the RA can get on scene, which won't happen for a moment because the scene isn't secure, the shooter is loose. I can only imagine the terror that the victim and witnesses must have felt. In fact right now I can hear LAPD Air 10 overhead and see the searchlight scan area around Van Nuys Blvd. They've just confirmed it was a drive by shooting and fortunately the intended target was not seriously hurt. Our city is gripped by gang violence because young men desire what they cannot have and are willing to kill to get it. It is the most raw example of sin in action I can vision. Depressingly this call will be resolved in a few minutes. The brave officers of the LAPD will handle this call with the cool professionalism I have heard time and time again. But the radio will not be silent for long, a domestic incident call, a code-3 ringer, or traffic collision will surely follow. This goes on 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is a veritable live stream of human depravity.

This causes us who are Christians to grieve, and we must grieve because our God is grieved by these things. As long as the police radio speaks it testifies against man to God that we are a wicked human lot. We grieve because men created in the image of God kill one another. We Christians my grieve by the carnage that sin is wrecking all around us. A Christian who cannot search his heart and find grief inexpressible needs to take their relationship with the world into consideration and ask, 'have I not become to comfortable in this world?'

But as Christians we also hold a hope that is nearly inexpressible. All the wickedness in this world is being accounted for. For those who confess their sins and trust in Jesus as savior this wickedness is accounted for on the cross. For the unbeliever this wickedness will be accounted for on the day of Judgment. -Judgment- that's the point, nothing will escape judgment and recompense. In the end God wins, justice is established and evil is sentence to exile in hell. So tonight as I watch the Helo circle and hear the sirens of the cop cars, I also am hearing on the radio that the suspect "drove away in a white van" and that's all the boys have to work on= translated 'bad guy probably gets away tonight.' But God is watching and keeping account. The suspect may flee for now and get away but his running will end one day when he runs smack into God. Praise God for the preservation of the victim and the work of the police and may God find it pleasing to smash the suspect with the life changing grace that he has so amply demonstrated that he needs.

P.S. they are now showing this as a live pursuit on tv. On the radio: He just entered the 181 the wrong way colliding with a car but he was able to exit to W Chatsworth. Officer needs help call just went out as the suspect rammed a cop car. Patrol cars are being told to stand off until air support can spot the vehicle. At this point the incident commander has asked all units to follow at a safe distance for the purpose of keeping any eye on the suspect until air support can arrive. The suspect just ran a solid red light at Roscoe. The commander is on the radio now, cool as a cucumber. Male black shirt, blue jeens white shoes, he's ditched the car and is now running on foot...it's only a matter of time now. The code 4 just went out, they got him. The police unit that was rammed has requested an RA. But a moment later everything is called code 4. Everybody goes home tonight.

Why we grieve, why we have hope

I've been online for a couple of hours working on the blog, conversing with friends and watching stupid videos with the wife. After she went to bed I tuned in to the LAPD valley division radio traffic to have a listen. From 10:30pm till now (12:27) I have listen to the LAPD respond to a possible kidnapping call and now a shots fired with one victim down at Woodman Ave at Sherman way. I drive past this intersection twice a day, once as I head to work and again as I head home. As I type I am listening to LAPD officers locate and tend to the victim until the RA can get on scene, which won't happen for a moment because the scene isn't secure, the shooter is loose. I can only imagine the terror that the victim and witnesses must have felt. In fact right now I can hear LAPD Air 10 overhead and see the searchlight scan area around Van Nuys Blvd. They've just confirmed it was a drive by shooting and fortunately the intended target was not seriously hurt. Our city is gripped by gang violence because young men desire what they cannot have and are willing to kill to get it. It is the most raw example of sin in action I can vision. Depressingly this call will be resolved in a few minutes. The brave officers of the LAPD will handle this call with the cool professionalism I have heard time and time again. But the radio will not be silent for long, a domestic incident call, a code-3 ringer, or traffic collision will surely follow. This goes on 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is a veritable live stream of human depravity.

This causes us who are Christians to grieve, and we must grieve because our God is grieved by these things. As long as the police radio speaks it testifies against man to God that we are a wicked human lot. We grieve because men created in the image of God kill one another. We Christians my grieve by the carnage that sin is wrecking all around us. A Christian who cannot search his heart and find grief inexpressible needs to take their relationship with the world into consideration and ask, 'have I not become to comfortable in this world?'

But as Christians we also hold a hope that is nearly inexpressible. All the wickedness in this world is being accounted for. For those who confess their sins and trust in Jesus as savior this wickedness is accounted for on the cross. For the unbeliever this wickedness will be accounted for on the day of Judgment. -Judgment- that's the point, nothing will escape judgment and recompense. In the end God wins, justice is established and evil is sentence to exile in hell. So tonight as I watch the Helo circle and hear the sirens of the cop cars, I also am hearing on the radio that the suspect "drove away in a white van" and that's all the boys have to work on= translated 'bad guy probably gets away tonight.' But God is watching and keeping account. The suspect may flee for now and get away but his running will end one day when he runs smack into God. Praise God for the preservation of the victim and the work of the police and may God find it pleasing to smash the suspect with the life changing grace that he has so amply demonstrated that he needs.

P.S. they are now showing this as a live pursuit on tv. On the radio: He just entered the 181 the wrong way colliding with a car but he was able to exit to W Chatsworth. Officer needs help call just went out as the suspect rammed a cop car. Patrol cars are being told to stand off until air support can spot the vehicle. At this point the incident commander has asked all units to follow at a safe distance for the purpose of keeping any eye on the suspect until air support can arrive. The suspect just ran a solid red light at Roscoe. The commander is on the radio now, cool as a cucumber. Male black shirt, blue jeens white shoes, he's ditched the car and is now running on foot...it's only a matter of time now. The code 4 just went out, they got him. The police unit that was rammed has requested an RA. But a moment later everything is called code 4. Everybody goes home tonight.

Monday Morning Music: Theologically Correct (nearly) Music from Pagan Artists

Don't worry I can duck quick and run fast so any of you cultural fundamentalists out there, bring it on! I believe in the Holy Spirit and his ministry of illumination. That is if a person is to really understand what the bible is saying and what it really means, you have to have the Holy Spirit give you understanding. It's a tracendent, spiritually originated book containing the revealed will and counsel of God, frankly I'm glad we have the Holy Spirit as a helper, guiding our understanding.

But I also listing to music, lots of music and am frequently astounded at the theological statements made in the lyrics that correlate to Scripture. It's odd to think but it is possible to put together an album of biblically theologically correct music made by raving mad, god hating, rock artists.

In this regular series of posts I will posts lyrics to a song I've picked, give a little bit ob background about the band the piece and then parse the lyrics, showing along the way that some of the most notorious bands decried by some as the very representation of Satan on earth- have at times correct theology. What's more, sometimes they articulate this theology better and more concisely that I can as a seminary student!

DISCLAIMER PORTION: I do not believe you should build your theology listening to rock music, God's word is the only place to begin and end in this endeavor. I don't encourage the listening of other songs be the artists I mention because additional songs MAY NOT BE THEOLOGICALLY CORRECT! I do advocate listing to modern, popular music as a means of listening to the wisdom and logic of this world. You've got to learn where to throw your punches as a preacher and I have found secular music an invaluable guide on directing me where to punch and to fight hard against the dulling, dumbing, blinding foolishness of this world. I will not only review rock music, which oft decried as 'Satan's Music' but will also branch into Jazz and often in to Classical Music, which I often perceive gets a pass as "God's Music". I will show you better than to draw this hypocritical dichotomy! Please comment with moderation my only hope here is to provide an entertaining and insightful way to view the world around you. We live here as Christians which means for the glory of God we must understand what is happening here so we can be the most effective and influential witnesses of of Savior that can possibly be.

L.A. Reinterpreted

A Hatred Turned to... Something Approximating Affection

I grew up in Northern California. This may seem insignificant to you but a 6,000 foot mountain range geographically separates Nor. Cal. from So. Cal. This wall is known as the transverse range and slices east to west providing not only the aformention physical barrier but also a psychological and sociological demarcation as well. It was a God ordained wall, we in the North believed, intended to keep the nuts and degradation of the south at bay. I grew up in a culture that looked down upon Southern Californians will all the disdain my upbringing could muster. This has since changed as I have adapted to living in this spaghetti bowl dish of freeways and concrete marinara. But every now and again I run across something that plucks the most primeval nurturing strings in my heart. The concluding quote is reminiscent of the feeling most Northern Californians have of where I now call home.

In Edward Weston: His Life, author Ben Maddow quotes him saying:

My disgust for that impossible village of Los Angeles grows daily. Give me Mexico, revolution, smallpox, poverty, anything but the plague spot of America – Los Angeles. All sensitive, self-respecting persons should leave there…

Edward Weston was an artist who lived in Los Angeles for 17 years, after which time he left and devoted considerable amounts of time destroying any record of his residence in LA.

You learn to love living in a place that elicits such vitriolic repulsion from some but is also nearly worshipped by every sun deprived, sand lacking, ocean missing, dry heat desiring East Coaster and Mid-Westerner in the US.

Monday Morning Music: Theologically Correct (almost) Music from Pagan Musicians

"My Own Prison" by Creed.
Click here for Lyrics

If you search the web you'll find numerous sites with potential interpretations of these lyrics. Explainations and interpretations of this song range from calling this song the product of a extreme night of drug use, a claim supported by the line "Should have been dead on a Sunday Morning, banging my head..." to those who interpret this song a a recognition of human responsibility before a just and soverign God. Admittably I tend toward this interpretation not simply because of a few particular words in the song but because of the the whole direction of this piece.

Apart from absolutely stirring music and evocative drum and bass playing the words to this song evoke the chilling imagery of a sinner standing before the judgment seat of God. The lyrics open with:"A court is in session, a verdict is in, No appeal on the docket today, Just my own sin" This is a place depicted in this song as a place of fear and trembling, demons crowd near our narrator expecting another soul to be handed over to them amidst the screams of the judged. Our narrator is "shackled" by his sentence and before the judge he expects no return, that is no release from the penalty he is bearing and the reality of this is expressed in the words "Here there is no penance, My skin begins to burn..."

This chilling imagery is punctuated by the chorus which takes into the mind and heart of narrator who stands in the midst of this scene. The narrator standing before God expecting to receive judgment for the sentence that shackles him exposes what is going in inside of him at that moment by the refrain, "So I held my head up high
Hiding hate that burns inside, Which only fuels their selfish pride"
. This to me is amazing insight because I believe it is an accurate depiction of what the judgment day will look like. We have it in our minds that sinners, unrepentant in this life will somehow suddenly, when faced with the withering glory of God, will fall on their knees and worship him. How is this possible? If they hate God in this life when they have not seen him, how much more will the despise him when they stand face to face with him? The sinner in that day will 'Hold his head up high'- this is pride, but tempered by the awesome fierceness of God will temper this rebellion, i.e. 'Hiding hate that burns inside'- that is hate for God. The antecedent to 'their' is the demons cluttering around in the first verse, they are fueled by the sight of rebellious pride in one they are about to receive.

We are again returned to the scene of the courtroom and the proud defendant but this time a vivid scene involving the cross of Christ is interjected. We know it is Christ who is the center of this verse because the imagery of a lion is used for the on who only "holds the keys". What are these keys? According to the song they are the means by which our defendant can be "freed from my burden" and "grant me life eternally" Namely the imagery of Christ is one who has born the Cross, is now resurrected in power and who holds the power to free men from their sins and to grant them life eternally.

At this point the initial chorus is replaced by one that expresses the recognition that our defendant, who before the cross imagery was holding his head up high but is now recognizing that he, not Christ, "Should have been dead, On a Sunday morning". But as is true to Scripture, the sinner who stands before God on judgment day has "No Time for Mourning...". God has warned that he will not always strive with man and the clock on his longsuffering will have hit midnight at judgment day. For the man in that situation the end of this chorus stands as a stark reminder that he "Ain't got no time..." This understanding only serves to further harden the heart of the defendant who after what seems to be a moment of possible repentance resumes his arrogant stance and returns to his burning hate.

There is nothing left now but to seek God's decision, the defendant cries out to God, "Seeking only his decision". Gabriel the angel is pictured here as a sort of ballif confirming the testimony of the defendant and the sentence of God. The truth of the situation is made explicitly clear at this point, God is not to blame because man, as represented by our defendant has 'created his own prison...' What response could we expect from the condemnd sinner? It only inflates his pride and hatred, a point driven home by the repeating of the chorus twice in a row.

The song concludes with the repeating of the recognition that the defendant ought to have been dead upon the Cross which Christ bore. It this end it is a terribly sad and tragic song, one that though written by pagan artists still serves to illustrate is a lesser degree some of the theological teaching that the bible proclaims in a much greater degree.

First, the God if the universe is a God whose very character demands of him that he be a judge. Sin must be punished, the criminal must be found guilty, righteousness and holiness must be preserved in all purity. We will all be judged accordingly. The difference is those who have Christ have the greatest defense attorney possible because he will tell God the judge that the penalty represented by the sins of each believer has been paid, on the Cross. This is what it means to be saved, saved from the wrath of God. The unbeliever does not have a defense attorney on that day.

Secondly, the reason for all of this is because mankind wilfully rebelled against God, each of us has build his own prison of sin and pride. We are self condemned and shackled to a sentence from which the only return we can expect is to handed over to the demons and Satan in judgment forever.

Third, man is inherently sinful and prideful- even standing before God sinners will not repent. They have but one option and that is to rebel as mightily as possible before being consigned to torment.

Lastly, it is a firm teaching of the bible that all who have rejected Christ in this life and have disavowed all knowledge of him here, will see him as he is in glory on that day of judgment. The cross will loom large because it will be the insurmountable piece of evidence that condemns the sinner. No man will enter hell without thourougly understanding that Christ came, suffered and died to prevent the torment about to be endured for eternity. I believe every sinner as he is handed into the realm of the damned will know as sure as day that he belonged on the cross and not Jesus.

In conclusion let it be stated clearly that God is a judge, a day of judgment is coming, the eternal prison stands ready to recieve the damned and all of this threat is cancelled but by one thing, namely Jesus. If you embrace him as a loving Savior and righteous King you will be burdened no more by your sentence of sin. Hate will be replaced with love and pride with humility. The judge will become a father to you and the defense attorney, closer than a brother. The greatest tradgety is representing in this song and it is the one who fails to repent and embrace Jesus. The day of judgment will be to late, there will not be anytime left to correct the mistake. While it is yet day then, let us work out our salvation, for night will come when no man can work" And what work is left at night will remain as such forever, either good works of repentance leading to eternal reward or evil works of pride leading to distruction.

Creeds song "My Own Prison" shows us that even pagan minds can apprehend the didactic truth of Scripture but fail to grasp it's meaning. This should not be surprising, the demons cast into swine has a perfect knowledge of eschatology so why should men who have access to the word not derive from it's contents the concepts contained in this song? The thing you must make sure of for yourself is that you not stop at simply knowing the Word of God, but that you truly understand it in life changing ways.

L.A. Reinterpreted

I once handled a phone call from a customer who expressed to me the utter amazement that our store was open. He called during the summer of 2006 when a half dozen major wildfires were burning up So. Cal. "I can't believer your open right now" he said, "with all the fires and earthquakes and gang shootings..." he went on to list a few other things. I laughed inside because this is the impression I'm think a lot of people have of living in Southern California. On a recent trip to New Zealand I was confronted by kind but inquisitive hosts by the fact that only 24 people last year in New Zealand died as a result of gun violence. An hour spent studying with the police scanner providing background noise of the LAPD Valley division reported 4 shooting incidents, one a possible fatality, in just ONE hour! "How do you live with such violence?" my Kiwi friends asked me, "Do you own a gun?" I replied with a jovial "Yes I do, and so does my wife and now that my 18 month old is walking we're thinking it might be time for him to get one as well!"


The perceived my joke and I went on to explain that LA is well honestly a lot of things. There are some pretty mean streets here where even cops tread lightly. But there are also far more places to visit and live that provide an almost unparalleled standard of living. I a new, occasional series of posts I want to reinterpret the LA persona for my readers. Granted I am a white guy with a young children which means I probably won't be pounding the pavement at midnight in some quarters but neither do most folks either. But I hope to show that LA is a vibrant place, even one where you could raise kids without them getting too screwed up along the way.
This is going to be tough though because I know that gunfire and violence are part of living in LA but at least we've grown so accustomed to it that if the officials know there's going to be trouble, they at least have the decency to put a road sign warning that it might mess up our commutes home!

It's finally happened, the American brain has been killed!

What follows is the hard forensic evidence that scientist would use to verify my claim.

Posh spotted at Valley eatery

Daily News

Victoria "Posh" Beckham wasted little time in exploring the distant reaches of her new home city.
Over the hill and far away from her Beverly Hills mansion, Posh dined Tuesday in Woodland Hills at the T.G.I. Friday's in Warner Center. Spotted by an off-duty Daily News reporter out for a beer, Posh sipped something from a straw and ate something from a plate. Further details were unavailable thanks to a couple of large bodyguards in front of her table.
Posh had her three boys in tow - the two eldest sporting soccer attire in a nod to soccer star papa David Beckham. Posh opted for an off-shoulder gray T-shirt - revealing her Hindi neck tattoo - tight jeans, and a pair of very high heels. She did not seem to notice the two paparazzi in the parking lot. The Beckhams hopped into a convertible black Bentley and left the eatery followed by a pair of Lexus SUVs that carried their entourage.

Link and credit for the photograph, click here

Link and credit for the article, click here

Commentary, not much needed.

This graced the back of the front page of our local news paper today. Such insightful observation has earned the Daily News lauds for its crack journalistic team. Granted we needed a break from the tradgety in Brazil, the bombings in Iraq and the endless violence between gangs on our own streets. The Daily News really ought to be credited for providing a community service by diverting our attention from more urgent matters by reporting on such insightful observations such as "Posh sipped something from a straw and ate something from a plate." Good job Daily News, I can't wait to see what tomorrow mornings edition will bring!