Three Star Night

Yikes, I'm way behind.  My health hasn't been that great lately due to the trifecta of awful nutrition, exercise, and sleep, which explains why I don't have a ton of extra energy to devote to blogging right now.  I'm determined to follow through with the Psalms, though.


Today what I'm doing is creating a new Psalm out of 17-19.  Many times the Psalms become familiar to us through reading and repetition.  For me, I have a number of the Psalms memorized, so it is far too easy to gloss over the Truth.  Instead of reading each Psalm as a chunk, I read these Psalms phrase-by-phrase and reassembled it into a new poem.

Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.


As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.


I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me! 
Then I shall be blameless, 
and innocent of great transgression.
The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; 
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.  
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.

For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
  
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes; 
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed.

Panic.  Sheer panic is the emotion flooding through me when I think about my schedule this week.

"Preserve me O God, for in you I take refuge."  This prayer speaks so powerfully to me right now.  If I took refuge in my success, or the volume of my work output, or even mere competency- I would be left without refuge.  I have nothing, and am nothing.  And that's OK.  Because I am loved.

I have no good apart from God...but I have God.  What a powerful, encouraging truth!  When I run after my idols, I will fail.  I will neither attain them, nor will they satisfy.  My sorrows multiply and the panic sets in.

But when I run after God, I shall not want.  He restores my soul.  I am led and cared for and loved.  He has chosen my cup, and it overflows.  I feast, and am satisfied.  I will not be shaken because I stand on Christ, the solid rock.  My heart is glad because He is the joy of my salvation.

This one's really similar to Psalm 10, huh?  As a bit of a writer, myself, I wonder if David sat down and cranked these all out at once.  Or maybe it was something that weighed heavily on his mind, and he went back to the topic on multiple occasions.  Since I feel like a lot of what I said for Psalm 10 is applicable here, I'll leave you with the link and take a different spin on things.

Are you an atheist?  If you're reading this blog, I'm guessing that you're not.  But have you heard the phrase "functional atheism?"  That is, are there times where you think and act like an atheist, despite your well-rehearsed Sunday school answers?

I've heard it said that when we sin, we become "functional atheists."  It sounds weird at first, but on second thought, it makes a bit of sense.  Why do we sin?  We sin because we forget God.  We forget who He is, what He's done, and who we are before Him.  We act like he doesn't exist.  We may be Christians, but functionally, we're pretending God doesn't exist (or doesn't care).

The fool does two things: say there is no God, and does abominable deeds.  That's not to say that "atheists can't be moral," but atheists sin.  So do we- and when we do, it is as if, in that moment, we're atheists.

We are commanded to press on heavenward, toward the goal in Christ Jesus, to not become weary in doing good, and to be like Christ, who joyfully accomplished the task set before him.  But that's hard.  It's easy to turn aside, pushing away the knowledge of God's goodness and holiness to make room for our own desires.

But God is with the righteous.  If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus the Son cleanses us from all sin.  So don't be an atheist who denies God, a deist who doesn't believe in God's desire for a relationship, or a humanist who believes we're all basically good.  There are none who do good, but there is a God of goodness who produces goodness in us.  Believe in Him, abide in him, and receive strength from the vine.

In biology, there is a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PMR) where a small piece of DNA is amplified to generate thousands, or even millions, of copies.  During this process, the original DNA's characteristics are exponentially magnified, so there is enough DNA to actually test it for a certain trait. 

Sometimes when I feel angry or frustrated or depressed, I will complain to myself.  But in the process of complaining to myself, what is a relatively small incident becomes replicated in my mind million-fold.  Like DNA in PMR, my own sins of pride or self-entitlement become magnified with each reiteration.  I become more and more self-righteous...and I become more and more discouraged.

David had plenty of reasons to be discouraged.  But instead of complaining to himself (or complaining to others), he talks to God.  Instead of being anxious, he brings his requests before God in thanksgiving.  David knows who God is, who he is, and that he has the right and the privilege to humbly ask God for an answer.

And instead of multiplying his misery, he finds peace.

So before you complain to yourself, ask yourself the following questions:
Who is God to you?  Who are you to God?  What is it that you seek?

Sometimes it seems like there's just no goodness in the world.  That no one is faithful, true, or genuine.  The secular poem Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold expresses the same sentiment:

...For the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

It seems that David felt much the same way on the occasion where he wrote this Psalm.  Elijah, too, felt the same way- even right after calling fire from the sky and shaming the prophets of Baal.  And remember Jesus?  He, the only holy person to ever walk on earth, was crucified by sinful men while his disciples scattered in fear, doubt, and shame.


But what does David do here?  He does not wallow in his fear and doubt.  He prays.  He has an unshakable faith in God's goodness and willingness to answer.  He holds on to the words of God and the truth of God.


So though the world seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, let us proclaim the truth of God and the reality of Scripture:

⁵ “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
   I will now arise,” says the LORD;
   “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
⁶ The words of the LORD are pure words,
   like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
   purified seven times.
 ⁷ You, O LORD, will keep them;
   you will guard us^[b] from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl,
   as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

This will seem like a cop-out, but I'm really stunned by the language of this Psalm so I'll just leave you with the text.  Take a read:

 ¹ In the LORD I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
   “Flee like a bird to your mountain,
² for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
   they have fitted their arrow to the string
   to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
³ if the foundations are destroyed,
   what can the righteous do?”^[a]
 4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
   the LORD's throne is in heaven;
   his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
⁵ The LORD tests the righteous,
   but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
⁶ Let him rain coals on the wicked;
   fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
⁷ For the LORD is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
   the upright shall behold his face.

(Image: Pernell, flickr, CC2.0)

God gets a bad rep in the OT.  You hear a lot of theories along the lines of, "He used to be this big, angry guy, but then Jesus came and he became loving."  But I don't think it's that way at all.

There is an amazing amount of tenderness between David and God in this poem.  An amazing amount of trust.  Why?  David's faith isn't blind, but he looks to past demonstrations of God's character.  He finds strength in the grace and mercy he finds in God, and he finds protection in the justice God doles out against those who turn back from Him.

God's character encompasses all of these.  It always has, and it always will.  That's why David sings praise.

As I write this, I just got word that my classmate died.  He was maybe 26, tops.  I just met him this semester, but I met him in a small class of 5 so the impact is larger than it would otherwise be.  There were other circumstances, too, but I won't get into that here.

Psalm 8 is a hard read right now.  I know I'm not the only one who finds it hard to praise God during times like this.  Maybe it's a personal trauma or tragedy.  Maybe it's a friend, family member, coworker, or colleague.  Maybe it's nothing "big," but it's just ~life.~ 

The great thing is, my feelings don't dictate reality.  Some religions propose that God is something or someone within ourselves, but the God of the Bible has an existence external to us.  I find comfort in that because it means that I don't dictate who God is, and neither do my circumstances.

God is God.

God is worthy to be praised.

God is majestic.

And man-

We are fleeting, but oh, so precious.  Humanity has been crowned with glory and honor.  With reason and a soul.  Yes, man is dust, but we contain the breath of God.  We image the Divine.

Who are we that God is mindful of us?  That he cares for us?  That he became one of us and died for us?  We are nothing.  And yet, we are a little less than everything.

I've honestly grappled with how to blog this Psalm for the past half a week.  This Psalm is so rich, and there are so many angles I can take here.  This Psalm is about finding refuge in God.  But refuge from what?  David needs to escape from his enemies, but he also needs an escape from his own sin.  

Double Take

I think on first gloss, it seems that David is challenging God.  "If I have committed evil, let my foes defeat me."  I've certainly heard it discussed that way.  It makes it seem that David is this cool and awesome and holy guy.  Cue M.C. Hammer's "Can't Touch This."  And in one way, I think that is true.  David had his faults, but he was a generally upstanding guy.  But I don't think that's the whole picture.

Loving God, Hating Sin

It is very evident form the Psalms that David loves God and hates sin.  Very much.  To David, people who sin deserve to be destroyed.  They deserve God's anger, and David takes a hardline stance on this.  David longs for the day when the wicked will cease, and God's kingdom of righteousness will be established.

David hates sin in others, and he hates sin in himself.  He's not a hypocrite.  He's an equal-opportunity kind of guy. 

Repentance, Righteousness, and Refuge 

I think the crux of the Psalm is verse 12a:

 ¹² If a man^[d] does not repent, God^[e] will whet his sword

David doesn't fall back on his inherent righteousness.  He is falling back on his repentance, and God's willingness to accept it.  David can ask for refuge because he has repented and God looks upon his newfound "righteousness."  A far cry from "Can't Touch This," I find this a beautiful picture of faith and dependance on God.

Do I believe that my sin deserves damnation?  Do I really believe that repentance leads to righteousness?  Do I really believe that refuge is given to the righteousness?  How much do I "bank" on God's character and His promises?

And, like David, do I respond with awe and praise?

 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
 and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

Though TSN first started as a webcomic, the content has slowly shifted away from that blogging format.  However, I get a large number of comments about and requests for more comics.  So...enjoy!



(Solstice Cetl, flickr, CC2.0)

Read through Psalms!
There is a knee-jerk reaction in Christian culture to direct people toward the Psalms.  Depressed?  Read Psalms!  Angry?  Read Psalms!  Sad?  Read Psalms!  Take two and call me in the morning.

Sure, God's word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.  Sure, all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in all righteousness.  And, sure, the Word of God does not come back void, but will accomplish the work that He sent it out to do.

But Stories Take Time
These are things I understand.  But the Psalms can be really confusing, sometimes.  The tone of the poem can change within a verse or two.  Three verses down the line, the Psalmist may be talking about something different, entirely.  A casual gloss through the Psalms (which is why I don't recommend reading any more than one Psalm a day or combining it with a larger chunk of Bible reading, like many reading plans do) will miss the richness of the story.

Because Psalms are poems.  Poems tell stories.  Good stories point to God.  If you miss the story, you miss God, and you miss the point.

Breaking it down
This Psalm teaches us about God, grace, deliverance, suffering, and faith.  It took me over an hour of re-reading the one Psalm to piece together the story, so instead of sharing response reflections, today I'm going to share more of a summary of things that stuck out to me.

• David doesn't say that God shouldn't be angry.  Instead, he asks for deliverance from that anger.

• David asks for grace.  He doesn't deserve it, but he needs it.  He recognizes his need and his brokenness.  The first step is admitting the problem.

• David does not argue that God is in the wrong, that he doesn't deserve God's anger, or promise to do better in the future.  David is not accusing or bargaining.  He is begging.

• Instead, David appeals to God's character.  He hangs on to what he knows is true: that God is love and is loving, and that God is worthy of worship.

•  David's suffering is not only "vertical" between him and God.  Just as he has sinned against God, others are sinning against him.

 This is a combined reflection on Psalm 5 as well as one of my poems for "finish year."

The pious wake up at dawn,
Stretch their legs over the side of the bed,
Reach for the KJV on top of the dresser,
And open the well-worn-but-well-kept book
To where a satin ribbon marks their place.

If common (mis)perceptions are upheld,
I am not pious, healthy, wealthy, or wise.
I wake up after the third snooze,
And the first utterance out of my mouth
Is neither praise nor prayer,
But a groan.

And yet God hears.
In the morning he hears my
Tired, groggy,
(half-complaining if I'm honest)
Groan.
He hears, Remembering,
That the Spirit Himself
Interceeds With Groans
And together our groaning
Is offered up before God.
A sacrifice.

I wait.
I watch.
There is no fire from heaven to shame the prophets of Baal.
There is no lightning from the mountain.
Torches do not pass to and fro between the halves.
But I do not watch with bated
Breath or Trepidation
Knowing that the sacrifice was accepted long ago
After 3 days and an empty tomb.

It is the dawn for which I wait.
It will come.
The answer to the promise already given
But not yet fulfilled.
The evil prosper, but not forever.
Likewise, God's children groan
Along with creation
In the pangs of childbirth.
Watching,
Bowing down toward the holy temple
In fear of a Holy God.

He blesses the righteous
Though there are none,
No, not one,
But he has declared righteous
Those who take refuge in Him
And those
Who seek first His righteousness.

They shall not bear their guilt
or fall by their own counsels.
They shall not be cast out by their trangressions,
For the Lamb has taken their transgressions from them,
Farther than
The East
Is from the West.

So let them sing with joy.
Let them praise him in song
Raising up
A joyful noise.
(And, yes,
for some of us, the singing is
"noise," indeed.)

Let them exalt the One
Who blesses the unrighteous
With righteousness.

Let them love the One who
Taught them love
While they were yet unloveable,
By first being Love, Himself.

Distress
You know what's really distressing?  Life.  I mean, really.  Maybe your life isn't all that distressing, and praise God!  But my life hasn't been rainbows and unicorns.  Most people's aren't.  On top of that, I chose a profession that is by nature adversarial, and am entering a subsection of that profession that is adversarial over really distressing things, like abuse and rape.

It's not pretty.  Sin is ugly.  There is trauma and brokenness and shame.  We're surrounded by it.  We are sinners and sufferers, all.  And the affects of sin- our sin against God, our sin against others, our sin against ourselves, others' sin against us...humanity sits in its own filth, and there's no stopping it. Not on our own.

Grace
And yet, God pities the weak.  He comforts the weary.  He relieves the distressed.  He is gracious and he hears our prayers.  Often, we won't be able to see help coming.  We're too blind, too frustrated, too distressed.  We will ask "How long?"  "Why?"  "What is going on?"  It is easy to focus on the brokenness because there is so much of it, but those who seek the One who will "show us some good" will find Him.  He promises us that much.

Response
God will draw near to you.  In fact, He is already near you.  He calls out to his children, as he is already running to them with open arms.  I heard a fantastic sermon at Mars Hill by Justin Holcomb on this topic.  The Gospel is about saving.  It's about redemption.  It's about God calling us to Himself, but knowing that we can't move, so he comes to us.  It's about God coming as a man to live the life we could not live and die the death we should have died.  God gives us His righteousness and reprieve.

So though we are angry at the brokenness and we grieve, we can do so without sinning.  We can have hope in knowing that God has set aside his children for Himself.  He has bought them with his blood and is never, ever giving them up.  He will protect His own, and He will rescue those who put their trust in Him.  He will be the one to show us good and put joy in our hearts.


We will be safe, and we will find rest.

The Story of David
From the "New Jo Version" (NJV) 

Imagine coming from a giant family where no one really cared for you all that much.  Then God said you would be king, which is cool and all, but you never asked for it, and then the current king started chasing you around everywhere trying to kill you.  After a ton of heartbreak and annoyance and perseverance, you finally become king, just as God said.

Everything is going well, just as it should be.  Then you made this awful mistake where you coerced a married woman into sleeping with you and then killed her husband because she got pregnant.  The kid dies, and you do the only decent thing a king can do in that time period- you marry the woman and stick her together with all your other wives.  You feel awful and repent.  But even though you think you've sufficiently learned from your mistakes (you're a man after God's own heart, after all, despite your faults) it turns out that you've set into place an even worse set events that ends up in your son raping your daughter and another son getting mad, chasing you around, and trying to kill you.  (You're a classic case of High "Spirituality" Does Not Translate Into Good Family Man.)

Remember how God said you'd be king?  That peace is broken.  You screwed it up.  And now someone's chasing you around trying to kill you.  Again.  Bummer.  You've made some Really Awful Mistakes and now you're facing the consequences.

And yet- God sustains you.  He protects you from your enemies.  You probably deserve what's coming...but it never comes.  Because God has more in store for you.  He has placed you on the throne, and He's going to keep you there.  He has a plan for you that's bigger than you.  God's kindness does not make you proud, it makes you humble.  You aren't saved because you're cool and awesome- salvation belongs to God and God alone.  You praise Him for it.  And though enemies swarm you, you are not afraid.  You lay down and sleep.  You call out to God, and He sustains you.

So look to God for salvation, trust him, and sleep.

Planning
As the poem goes, "The best made plans of mice and men oft go awry."  As I plan at the beginning of the year, I have been filled with a lot of anxiety.  There is simply too much to do, too little time to do it, and a lot of evil in the world.  My anxiety, however, reveals my sin.  It reveals how small my little-g "god" is.

Plotters against God
There are wicked people "out there" who plot against God and His people.  This passage reminds us that while they plot, they plot in vain.  We do not fight against flesh and blood, but against powers, principalities, and forces of this dark world.  But even then- God doesn't seem to be terribly concerned.  He laughs- not because it's funny or lighthearted business, but because he's in control.  We do not need to be anxious about these people, but in everything, in prayer and supplication, we can present our requests to the One who is Victorious.


Plotting against God
Perhaps, too, my anxiety stems from my own plotting against God.  Are there areas of my life where I have been resisting His will?  Have I given Him complete surrender?  Do I hold on and try to take control - before quickly realizing I can't?  Have I turned away from the Son, away from Zion, and set about my own business?  This Psalm isn't merely about the wicked people "out there," but it's a warning to me, too.  It's a reminder that God's in control, and why should I fight Him?  1) He's going to win anyway and 2) I'm much better staying within His plan.  Instead, I should not be anxious about anything, but in everything, in prayer and supplication, present my requests to God.

The Victorious Son
My current anxiety shows how small I see Christ.  I do not see Him as reigning and victorious.  I do not see Him as loving and compassionate.  Not really.  There is a cognitive-belief-action disconnect.  But sometimes (a lot of the time), our feelings are wrong.  It is during those times, that we need to stop listening to our feelings and start listening to the Word.  Christ is the one who sets things straight, conquers evil, and blesses those who come to Him.  I need to stop fighting and start worshiping.

Mobility
I was 23 when I got my first car.  To me, the concepts of freedom and mobility are intertwined.  People who are engaged in struggle often describe the frustration of being "stuck."  They feel there is no way out.  Nothing they do can change anything.  They want escape.  I know that feeling well.

Getting away
So often, I've wanted to "get away."  I wanted to leave it all.  I searched for solutions and answers.  The easiest answers meant abandoning what I believed to get what I desired.  They often do.  This creates war within our souls.  We know what is right, we know what is wrong, and our struggle compounds the feeling of stuck-ness.  We know we shouldn't walk in the way of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.  But, dang, it seems so easy, so practical at times.  Our souls writhe.  James asks, "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?"


Trees aren't mobile.  But they flourish.
Unless you live in Middle Earth and have Ents in your backyard, you know that trees don't go anywhere.  Sure, the weak ones will keel over and die, but the healthy ones stay there for centuries.  In one sense, they are very much "stuck."  They aren't going anywhere.  But in another sense, they are very much "rooted."


There is something better than mobility.  Health.  Because when the solution to the oncoming storm isn't to pick up and leave.  There will always be storms.  The solution is to become strong.  And strength comes from the Lord.  When we meditate on the Word of the Lord, we become strong, sturdy, and healthy.  We may not yield fruit on-demand, but we will yield fruit in season.  When the storms come and the environment changes, we will not wither.  We will not be chaff in the wind.  We will not be tossed to and fro by the waves.  We will not be left to our own devices.


Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.

When we look at John 1 through the lens of 1 Corinthians 15, we see John
being intentional about his choice of words. John calling Jesus the “Word”
was a strategic spear thrown at his audience. The Greek word is logos, and
the Greeks used it commonly when speaking about their gods. The Greeks
believed their gods were detached from the pain of the world. Unlike those
gods, the logos of the Bible felt fully the pain of the world. In attaching Himself
to humanity, Jesus suffered the punishment of the cross so that we would not
eternally suffer the punishment of our sin.

- The Village Church Advent Guide

Full text below (via Mr. Ministry Man):

On this blog, I've griped a number of times about how I tried to find a church: I dedicated my time and energy to one church after another, but the church was not able to uphold its side of the deal

As an update, I would like to share the good news that I have finally found a fantastic church!  The "finding" was really a matter of opportunity: 1) Mars Hill Seattle planted a campus in Orange County and 2) God provided a car with which I would be able to drive there.  I have been following Mars Hill for around eight years.  Yes, I am aware of the various criticisms of the church and of Mark Driscoll, but I have confidence in this church and its leadership.  However, I do not follow a man, but Christ.  And while I am in the process of pledging myself to this church, my identity and loyalty is not bound directly to this local church, but to the Church as a whole.

Going through the membership covenant is like reading a giant sermon.  I wanted to share some of the verses from the "Statement of Faith" section in hopes that it confirms and deepens your understanding of the Gospel.  The second reason why I'm sharing is in the hope that someone on THE INTERNET finds that this is a useful list and is able to bookmark it for later.  For a more comprehensive doctrinal statement, Mars Hill's may be found here.

Either way, I felt that these verses were particularly Advent-appropriate.  Take some time and meditate on the basics!

Related topics I want to cover in the future: church-shopping, church membership, mega/ multi-campus churches, celebrity pastors

For your convenience: A list of "one another" verses


The Gospel:

John 3:16-18

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Rom. 3:23-26

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Jesus:
 
Matt. 26:64 (and Mark 14:62)

Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man is seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

 Luke 22:70

So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.”                                                    

John 4:25–26

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”                         

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Sin, Repentance, Redemption:

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Baptism:

Colossians 2:12

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1 Peter 3:21

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

(rocknroll_guitar of flickr)

Dear squeamish people: aren't you glad I didn't show the actual needle?