Change Of Blog Address:

Thank you for visiting www.eyeingheaven.blogspot.com!

If you are attempting to reach the blog of Drew & Amber Hutcheson, this is their old web address. You can now find their blog and family updates at:

www.thedrewreview.wordpress.com

Thank you and have a wonderful day.

First Baptist Jax, Where Christ is First: From the Watchdog Blogger to Ezekiel’s Watchman

In a time when the chaos of culture promotes everything our flesh feeds off of, there remains some sanctuaries where the call to feed the soul and live out Christ remains a concrete priority. One of these places so happens to be my home church – The First Baptist Church of Downtown Jacksonville, Florida (FBCJax).

FBCJax, as most other churches, has undoubtedly gone through the perpetual ministry tension of figuring out how to remain faithful to the gospel while the world around them is constantly changing.



Nevertheless, FBCJax, by God’s grace has had an upstanding history when it comes to church leadership, as well as church members who have volunteered over the years. As a result of this, FBCJax has been able to remain the Christ-centered, gospel proclaiming beacon in Jacksonville – and the SBC – it has always been.

In recent times, however, FBCJax has received a few scrappy punches here and there via the blogging world. Perhaps it goes without saying that for a blogger or bloggers to model such incredible discipline in writing divisive posts, it may just say more about themselves than the subjects they are writing about. There are some things a certain blogger writes which I agree with, while other things he writes I obviously do not. Regardless, we have a command to uphold unity in the faith and being a causation of exclusion more so than a cause for embrace is not a hallmark of Christianity.

Ephesians 4:1-3 is an alarming call to resist division and strive for unity. The placing of the conjunctions by Paul in these three verses makes it very clear in the original text that Ephesians 4:1-3 has an imperatival force to it. Hence, this is not written to be a choice, rather a command to be obeyed. In fact, in verse 3, the beginning word – σπουδάζοντες – is typically translated as “eager to maintain the unity.” A better translation is “making every effort to maintain the unity.” What has this to do with blogging in a divisive way? In an age when the internet is the primary means by which explicative material is broadcasted to our living rooms, the last thing we need broadcasted are Christians making candid divisive remarks, only for the lost world to see we are no more gossip-laden than they are.

Furthermore, in defense of the members of FBCJax, Pastor Brunson, and the staff - First Baptist may be Baptist by denomination, but the staff who work there, the senior pastor, and the teachings are undoubtedly Christ first. One of God’s great mediums by which he has saved and healed countless lives and still is, has been through the ministry of FBCJax. It has become even more of a gospel lighthouse in recent years with Brunson becoming the captain of this gospel ship and the global vision God has given him to set sail.



When it comes to the history books of God’s faithfulness at FBCJax, there is a long hallway of memories of people and families who have come through FBCJax at one time or another, and others who are still there who have faithfully lived out Christ. From Lindsay to Vines, Barton and Carr, Elkins and King, and so forth on the staff. What about Jimmy Scroggins and countless others who went off from FBCJax to seminary and are now in full-time ministry? What about the congregation? Families such as the Hamricks, Tebows, Carrs, Beltons, McNeils, and several others who testify of the congregation’s devotion to Christ. These are only but a few of seemingly countless other families who are from FBCJax who could be named – the list is too long to make. Needless to say, when it comes to wanting to have the rippling effect of the gospel cause a tidal wave of devotion in the local church, FBCJax has always had its current stirred and Lord willing, the gospel tsunami of revival is on its way more than ever before.



Regarding watchmen and Ezekiel’s message: In a nutshell, Ezekiel is about a man God chose to become his watchman amongst his people, proclaiming God’s promises, and warning the people regarding their evil ways. It was the norm in ancient times for a nation to choose a watchman to sound the trumpet when they saw danger coming their way. In like manner, God chose Ezekiel to proclaim the trumpet of God’s promises to the people, warning them that lest they repent, they would be judged. In other words, Ezekiel is a type of evangelist.

FBCJax has been graciously given watchmen over the years who have remained faithful to the gospel, to the people in the congregation, and most of all, to the Lord. As a result of this, the old church in downtown Jacksonville with the lighthouse has been, is, and will remain a church family where the presence of the Lord can be found.

COMPASSION'S REACTION

Jesus allowed his heart to be the handle which the needs of others turned to open the door of healing.




Mark 1:41
καὶ σπλαγχνισθεὶς ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἥψατο καὶ λέγει• θέλω, καθαρίσθητι.
"And being filled with compassion, he (Jesus) wholly extended his arm touching him and said, 'I am willing - be healed.'"

There is much we can glean from this lone verse. We first realize that Jesus first saw the leper and then was filled with compassion.

σπλαγχνισθεὶς ("being filled with compassion") is in what is called the passive voice. This simply means that it was the physical state of the leper which filled Christ' heart with compassion.

APPLICATION
1 - If we have our eyes upon others and their needs, we will become burdened for them.
2 - Jesus opened his heart to the world allowing the needs of others to evoke him to take action and do something for them.
3 - Jesus moved moved toward this leper. The world promotes people coming to you, to serve you. Christ modeled going to others, to serve them.



Next, Jesus wholly extended (ἐκτείνας) his arm out to apply his healing touch to the leper. This word ἐκτείνας can literally mean to extend to full length. This says much of how we are to reach out to those around us. Jesus went against the norm in reaching out to someone who otherwise was overlooked and forgotten by society. Furthermore, he reached out all the way to this person!

APPLICATION
4 - Hold nothing back when it comes to serving others and may we not be afraid to go the extra step and do what we can, whether little or much for others, despite how we look in the eyes of modern culture.


Finally, through Jesus' touch, this man is healed. Today, we live as God's healing hand in the world, with him touching lives through us.

For Jesus, helping someone could mean, as it does here, healing them from their disease. God could still do this through someone today, but for the most part, helping others could be anything between faithfully praying for someone or going to help orphans in Africa. The needs of those around us are great and many. However, like Jesus, we must allow those needs to fill us with compassion which in turn, will lead us to do something.

Who is the friend you know who just found out they have cancer? Who do you know who just lost their job or is still looking for one? Who is the young person who is struggling in a home recently ransacked by divorce? A little encouragement, a meal offered, a listening ear, or even something as simple as faithfully praying for them may just be the healing touch of Jesus in their life.

Some Urgent Applicative Gleanings From Matthew 20:28

“ὥσπερ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι, ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν.”
"Just as the Son of Man came not to be served, rather to serve and to give his life a ransom on behalf of many."

Some urgent applicative thoughts on Matthew 20:28

To serve is to give.

ἦλθεν “[he] came”
- In English this is the word for “come/came.” Standing alone in Greek it literally is “he came.” The “he” of course is referring to Jesus.
- Jesus went to the people.
- Jesus approached people where they were in life: some where political figures, others were homeless beggars.
- He came to us, that we may go to others.

οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι “came not to be served”
- Jesus announces that he, the Messiah who is the King of kings, is a servant, not the one to be served.
- Overly so, this is antithetical to our world and culture. It is often a glamorous thing to be waited on and served and our culture deems famous and longs to be like those who are being served.
- Jesus calls us to serve and not to be served.

ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι “but to serve”
- “but” denotes a contrast
- The contrast is between being served and doing the serving.

διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι “to serve and to give”
- Hereon is where we find the climatic call in life from this verse and where I will close our discussion on this verse.
- διακονῆσαι “to serve” means more literally to be someone who gets something done on behalf of another, for another.
- καὶ “and” is a conjunction joining “to serve…to give” together implying here that they are one and the same --> to serve is to give.
- Hence, to serve is a call to give. But to give what?
- To give of yourself, your time, resources, energy, thoughts, words, and so forth.
- It is a call to sacrifice.
- Furthermore, this is a call to humility. If the King of glory is by far to One who should be served, but he announces he came to serve, then here is where we find in our ever proud culture the call to be humble.

A Man's Highest Calling --> Fatherhood

It is an often discussed question in our current culture regarding whether or not a woman's highest calling is to be a wife and mother. There is, however, another side to this coin which has seemingly been left un-discussed: Is not the highest calling of a man to be a father? Does not ministry begin in the home?

Of course in asking this question, fatherhood would need to be defined. However, here I am simply attempting to raise some thoughts about men being fathers in the world today. Furthermore, both for men and women in Christ, as a people, our highest calling is to live our lives unto the One who calls us to himself, making him our supreme desire. Fatherhood is but one of the great ways men - who are fathers - get to live out this highest calling.



This past Father's Day I was privileged to speak to a youth group in Michigan regarding their call to be a part of God's team and pursue his mission of the Great Commission. During the hours of preparation I spent for the message, I found myself for the first time as a expectant father realising that some day - Lord willing - my son will be faced with the decision to follow Christ and his claims.

This thought left me dumbfounded, but humbled. I realized anew and afresh the need to prepare to embrace fatherhood with the same passion Amber and I share for the Lord and his service.

In a world desperate for good fathers, may it be that I and others are equally as excited and passionate about the home front and our need to be there as we are about the sea of people around us, their need for the gospel, and where we think our specific place in all of that is.



One thing I have been reading up on lately is communication with your child while he or she is still in the womb. Amazing as it is, the unborn child is alive and well in the womb and can hear the outside world. As a result of this, Amber and I have been attempting to read a Proverb each night aloud to our little handsome squirming gummy bear. As we do this, my heart overflows with warmth in realising the dialogue between a father and son - as seen in the book of Proverbs - has already begun. Will our early attempt at training up our child in the way he should go reap a manifold blessing of a child who walks the straight and narrow? Regardless if so, may we continue to passionately embrace parenthood, realising that as our heavenly Father makes us the center of his love and care, so too are we called to do with our child.

I believe ministry begins on the home front as parenthood, being the highest calling for a husband and wife. Could this mean hard work and self-sacrifice? Duh. Is it worth it? Of course.

For the Dad out there who feels as though he has blown it and wasn't a good father, be encouraged knowing there is still time to work toward making the most of what is left.

For the new Dad or those with me who are expecting Fathers, may we seek the wisdom of Dads who serve as good examples of fatherhood. Pray for me as I do for you as we strive together to figure out how to be fathers in our world today, for our children - to the glory of God.

For Am and I, our blessing from the Lord will hopefully have arrived by this time in October. Surely there will be plenty of diapers to minister to - all in love.

Cell Theory & The Reality of the Centrality of Christ

What has the cellular theory to say about Christianity? Not a whole lot. BUT if you will return with me for a moment to Biology class, the parallels we can glean from the theory do help us better understand our basics as Christians.

The Cell theory is as stated:
1 - All living things are composed of cells.
2 - The cell is the fundamental unit of life.
3 - All cells arise from previous cells.

I would like to take this as instead of talking about a theory, talk about truth - God's truth.

For Christianity, the above three hallmarks of the cell theory may look like this:
1 - All Christians find their identity in Jesus Christ. This means we are to live in such a way that who we identify ourselves with (Christ) is evident in any way possible to those who do not (Eph. 1; 1 Pet. 2).
2 - Christ is the fundamental Builder for all of life and existence (Prov. 8; Col. 1). If you read through Proverbs 8 and Colossians 1 (as well as other passages) it will be evident that Christ is supreme in all things. And, at this, that we turn to him through his word for counsel on how to live life.
3 - All Christians became a Christian by hearing the gospel from another Christian (at best and at most).

The third one has a huge implication. If all Christians became a Christian from hearing the gospel from another Christian, then it follows that part of being a Christian involves sharing the gospel.

Perhaps this analogy will help us better grasp the picture of being in Christ and his centrality in all things.

It is crucial to know one more thing about cells: if a virus enters the body which cannot be controlled, cells will begin to die off. If too many cells die - the body dies.



This is what cancer does to the body. In like manner, when spiritual cancer - sin - enters the spiritual body - our inner person - at less we stand firm and resist (Eph. 6), we will be taken over and Christ will play a less prominent place in our life. This will lead to at least three things:
1 - Greater detriment of the Christian body as a whole (the church).
2 - God's glory being displayed less to other people who do not know him.
3 - We ourselves will walk in conviction and contradiction from our identity - Christ.

May we strive to make Christ and his commands central to our life, family, relationships, job, home, and so forth.

The Proof's in the Pudding

When it comes to our God, I believe it is safe to say that the proof is definitely in the pudding. A man once said “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.” God’s extraordinary claim of loving us is backed by his even more extraordinary proof.

Romans 5:8

but God proved his love to us, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The word for “demonstrate” [συνίστησιν] means to provide evidence of a personal characteristic or claim through action.

For God, his claim is that he loves us. His action – Christ' sacrificial death. God’s characteristic which is seen here is his love. As Christians, demonstrating our love in anyway through action demonstrates the gospel. This leads to sharing the gospel.

APPLICATION:

1 - We are called to prove our love to the others through action. God did this and we are called to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1).
2- Think of some ways you often show love to others. Maybe it’s writing a love letter to your spouse every now and then. Perhaps it’s working at a soup kitchen in your city.
3 – Now think of some ways in which you are not the best at demonstrating your love to others and resolve to work on them. For example, how do you think about others? Are you constantly criticizing them? How do you respond to conflict with your friends and family? We can always find ways to demonstrate our love, that the world may know his love.

In English, συνίστησιν is in the past tense, whereas in Greek it is in the present tense. This is what we call the present progressive which means God is continually proving his love to us. Thus, we should continually be demonstrating our love to him and others.

APPLICATION:

1- Think of ways God continually shows his love to you. These can be even the most common things in life such as food, a job, and so forth.
2 – Think of ways you could show your love to a friend, to your spouse, to a stranger.

God provided evidence for his love and this evidence is the cross of Christ. The cross implies a sacrifice. So it follows that showing love can often call for a sacrifice to be made by the one trying to show love to someone.

But what type of love is demonstrated here? The word used in this verse is ἀγάπην and it is the unconditional love of God. But why is it unconditional?

Typically we love people we like or know, or who are nice to us. This is not merely God’s love. God loves even his enemies, those who hate him, those who never come to him. If you look back a few of verses, you’ll read in v. 5 that we, that is, you and I, we were God’s enemies before he called us to himself. Yet, God still loved us and proved it to us. People can ignore the cross, but God's love will never ignore them.

APPLICATION:

1 – Think of someone in your life who you typically do not appreciate or are not that fond of. Regardless of the reason, talk to God about him working in your heart to work toward loving this person and accepting them.

One way we could re-read this verse to gain a more intimate feel for it is to substitute the word “us” with the word “me.” Hence, “God proved his love to me, while I was a sinner, he died for me.”

Lastly, we must realize that during the days of Rome, heroes died for their fatherland and for people who loved them and they were celebrated. Christ died for people who did not know him, others who hated him, and he died for those in a foreign land. He came to earth to die for people who knew him not. We are called to leave our comfort zones and prove God loves other with our actions and by sharing the gospel.

Perhaps today this opportunity may present itself.

Below is a music video which shows members of the Billy Graham Association proving God's love to people. May you and I be encouraged to do the same.