Let Us Fight for Joy

Hi, friends. Thanks for stopping by. As you can see, I’ve finally thrown in the towel and joined the ever-popular blog scene. Actually, I have wanted to create one for a while, even though I’m not sure that more than a handful of people will ever visit. Over the past three years or so, God has awakened in me a deep hunger to know Him and to plunge headfirst into the vast treasure chest of His Word. This God – the only true God and the Holy One who calls Himself I AM (Exodus 3:14)– is more terrifyingly glorious than we could ever imagine. And shining with utmost brilliance at the center of this immeasurable glory is the cross of Jesus Christ, whereby God ordained the worst evil (crucifying the Son of God) to bring about the greatest good (reconciling rebellious sinners to Himself, to the praise of the glory of His grace – Ephesians 1:6).

I hope you will see at least three particular convictions manifested throughout this blog:

1 : A passion for God’s Name & Renown to be the desire of our souls [this is the 268 declaration, based on Isaiah 26:8, that defines the Passion movement as led by Louie Giglio].
2 : A desire to live out the truth that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” [this amazingly profound statement, coined by Pastor John Piper, goes hand-in-hand with the 268 declaration].
3 : A commitment to embrace a humble orthodoxy [this was the theme of the New Attitude 06 conference].

Now a word about the title of my blog: “Fighting for Joy.” Those of you who are familiar with John Piper will know that the phrase “fight for joy” is commonplace in his preaching and writing. Fighting for joy means fighting to see Christ with our spiritual eyes – it is a fight to forsake the deceitful promises of sin and to cling to the superior, life-giving promises of God. It is a fight to believe that Jesus Christ is more satisfying than anything this fallen world can offer. How I so often fail in this battle against my flesh! Yet for those of us who have been born of God and united to Christ in faith, the cross must be kept in full view. We must continually place the Gospel at the center of our lives, lest we become performance-driven and forget that we have been justified by the blood of Christ, apart from works of the law (Romans 3:20, 23-24).

I see this blog as another facet in my fight for joy in Christ. And joy is never complete unless it overflows into the lives of others. I want my life to be characterized by a labor of love: laboring in God’s strength to make others glad in God. May this blog be a small means to that end. For your joy and mine, and for the glory of Jesus Christ.