As of June 10, 2012, I am a happily married man to Anna Marie Calcote!  I praise God for this PRICELESS gift and pray that He would give me the grace to sacrificially love her in a way that reflects Jesus' love for His bride.  Thanks to all those who served us on and in preparation for our wedding day....it was PERFECT!  We are enjoying now our second month of marriage and our new life together.

Today actually marks the one year anniversary of the day we met....June 16, 2011.  Special thanks to Jesse Purcell for inviting us both to the cabin and for introducing us....and for reminding me that I hadn't updated my blog for like 6 months or so:)  Excited to grow in grace with the woman I love and who the Lord created to be my helper.....He knows I need her so much!
Grace and peace........J

SURPRISE!!

I’M ENGAGED!!!! On New Year’s Eve I asked Anna Marie Vold to marry me, and SHE SAID YES!! The short version of the story is that we went home to visit her family in Iowa over the New Year’s weekend. I took her up to a famous observation tower called Pilot Knob, where I gave her a wrapped photo book illustrating our story. On each page I wrote a poem describing some of our favorite memories. After I read the last page (which was a picture of Pilot Knob), I got down on a knee and proposed. Oh....and SHE SAID YES J!!!

Anna is an amazing, beautiful woman of God with a heart to serve and whose life challenges and inspires me to be the man of God I desire to be. Right now we are aiming for a wedding in early June and hope to live in Minneapolis afterwards. Please pray for us that God would remain our greatest JOY and that He would enable us to love each other as He has loved us. (1 John 4:11-­‐‑12)

Sure Promises Founded on Perfect Character

(Hebrews 6:13) - For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself."

In Hebrews 6:10-12 the author exhorted the Hebrews toward earnest love, faith and patience resulting in the reward of inheriting the promises. How can one be so sure that God will be faithful to His promise (word)? To answer this question the author takes us back to God's dealings with Abraham. When God made His promises to Abraham, He swore by the greatest thing or one possible: Himself! He did not merely swear by heaven above or earth below or on anyone's dead grave because He is greater than all these things. He did not swear on any king or priest or person because He is greater than every man or group of men. He swore by Himself because "he had no one greater by whom to swear."

He founded His promises on His own perfect, faithful character! Since He has done this, for God to go back on His word would be for Him to lie about His character. This will never happen because it cannot happen. "It is impossible for God to lie" (Heb 6:18). This is not just to say that He won't lie, but that He cannot lie; it would be to do what He is incapable of and hates. This then should provide us unwavering assurance that God's word and promise are trustworthy and sure. Truly, all who believe in Him will not be disappointed!!! (Rom 9:33, Rom 10:11, Isaiah 49:23)

Preparing for the Exam

Hebrews 4:13 - "And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

In the previous verses we were challenged to "strive to enter the rest [of God]," knowing that we will soon stand before the Judge and hear the diagnosis of His word regarding our hearts. Upon hearing this, what will most want to do? Hide! John 3:20 explains that "everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest (for fear that) his works should be exposed." The one who does evil lives in constant fear (or submits himself to fear). When we are afraid, we hide! But the problem on the day of judgment is that there is no where to hide. Verse 13 emphasizes that "no creature is hidden from his sight..." Note here that God is the One all are unable to hide from. Note also that none are exempt from this exposure (See also Ps 33:13-15, Job 34:21).

If we can't hide, then we are exposed. But how exposed are we? Completely exposed! (v.13 - "all are naked and exposed") Not only do we have no place to hide, we also have nothing we can hide. Everything, including "the thoughts and intentions of the heart" are revealed. We cannot refuse to respond either, when God asks us about these heart issues (v.13 - "we must give account.") Though God knows and sees all things, He will ask us to explain our hearts. He will ask us what efforts we made to seek help for (a solution to) the problems we had. If then we know such a day is surely coming, what steps are we taking right now to deal with things we would be ashamed of on the day of judgment?

The Grace of a Brother's Protective Eye

(Heb 3:13) - "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

In the previous verse, we were challenged to take intentional action, lest the stealthy, relentless assassin of unbelief catch us off guard and slowly lead us away from the Living God. So what is the intentional action that we are to take in prevention against unbelief? The daily exhortation of the word of God from other brothers. God has ordained the daily exhortation from brothers with the word as a means and prevention against the daily assault of unbelief. Satan and our flesh are speaking to us every day, so we must love to receive exhortation from brothers every day.

The clear promise from God here is that by doing so sin will not be able to deceive us into hardening our hearts. This is the case because we have others watching our backs and telling us if they see anything dangerous or needing attention. In this way, godly relationships are exactly the opposite of worldly relationships. In worldly ones (where competition dominates) people are against one another and therefore don't want to be judged or criticized by another.

However, in godly relationships (where the Spirit of love and cooperation dominate) people are for one another's good and therefore invite the protective eye of a fellow brother, knowing his brother many times sees his sin better than he himself does. At the same time, watching the back of another brother is a means to forgetting about ourselves and thereby softening our hearts against the hardening (self-focused) effects of sin.

How to be most "real"

Hebrews 3:1 - "Therefore, holy brothers you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession." Jesus is "the apostle" who was sent from (appointed by) God to live and die for us to become our "high priest." He is the beginning and the end. So how is Jesus "the apostle and high priest of our confession?" "Our confession" is first an agreed upon statement by a group of people. In this way it can be said to be "our" confession. Belief in Jesus and considering Jesus is then a community effort. So what are we doing to help others (who share the same confession) to "consider Jesus"?

Jesus is the apostle of our confession in that we, the church, believe that Jesus was sent (appointed) by God from heaven to earth in order to eternally save us. Jesus is the apostle from God! This is the truth, regardless of whether we believe it or not. Yet Jesus is the apostle of our confession in that we believe or confess (agree with the truth of reality) that Jesus was sent from God. By grace, we align our minds and hearts with the truth of who Jesus really is. This is what it means to make a confession. When we confess sin, we agree with reality (tell the truth about what's going on in our hearts). When we confess Jesus as the apostle of God, we agree with reality (tell the truth about who Jesus actually is). We do the same thing when we confess that Jesus is the high priest of God; he is the high priest of our confession. He really is the high priest of God, our confession is a corporate affirmation of this truth (or a corporate aligning of our hearts with reality).

The way to be more "real" or "authentic" is then to grow in your confession of the truth of God in the Bible, in addition to growing in your confession of who you are (or are not). Beware of defining the word "real" or "authentic" in a self-centered way. Those most real are those most God-centered, because a true knowledge of self comes from seeing ourself in light of God.

Contrast of Character and Grace

Hebrews 2:16 - "For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham."

In the previous verses, the death of Jesus was shown to destroy Satan and his enslaving power to the fear of death and to deliver God's chosen people from this slavery to sin, fear and death. The author then grounds these two purposes on the simple truth that God provides "help" to sinful man in a way that He doesn't to sinful angels (demons).

When Satan and his host fell from angelic status in heaven, God provided them no second chance or offer of forgiveness. Yet now, by sheer grace alone God provides sinful man (who is equally deserving of death and hell) the offer of forgiveness ("help") and eternal salvation from wrath. Why again does God offer it to us and not to demons? Grace! What is the only difference between any one of us and Satan himself? Grace!

According to Ephesians 3, the redemption of the church by Jesus is designed to provide an eternal testimony to the angels and demons ("rulers and authorities in the heavenly places") of the unfathomable wisdom of God. God's wisdom is shown through His revelation of humble self-sacrificial love. This will remain the eternal contrast between Jesus and Satan. Satan thought he could get acceptance and a position of authority by exalting himself (Isaiah 14:13-14). Jesus gets this acceptance and position by humbling himself and allowing God to exalt Him (Philippians 2:5-11). And by grace He unites Himself to His people by dying for them so that they can eternally share this acceptance and position of authority with Jesus. The goal of creation then was and is to reveal the One who is truly worthy of exaltation.

How great is the contrast between Jesus and Satan and between the "help" God denies to Satan but graciously provides to the bride of Jesus!