Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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Ben Zornes

For Our Good & His Glory

For Our Good & His Glory

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Matthew Henry has a fine insight on Amos 3:6, “Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?”

Let them know that all their troubles came from the hand of God’s providence and from the counsel of his will (v. 6): Shall there be evil in a city, in a family, in a nation, and the Lordhas not done it, appointed it, and performed what he appointed? The evil of sin is from ourselves; it is our own doing. But the evil of trouble, personal or public, is from God, and is his doing; whoever are the instruments, God is the principal agent. Out of his mouth both eviland good proceed. This consideration, that, whatever evil is in the city, the Lord has done it, should engage us patiently to bear our share in public calamities and to study to answer God’s intention in them.

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The Best Guitarist I Know

The Best Guitarist I Know

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About ten years ago I helped start a church plant in North Fort Collins, CO. Being a small church plant I wasn’t expecting there to be a massive talent pool for help with the worship team. However, the pastor told me there’d be another guitarist there who’d be willing to help out.

ben-zornes-band-where-the-good-way-liesWell, help out he did, and I instantly knew he was the superior guitarist. We led worship together for a few years, recorded some demos of my songs, played some gigs at the obligatory coffee shops, and had a good ride as a garage band. He was/is the best guitarist I know, and is an even better friend. Really, Vince Rogers is an all around good guy.

He’s recently recorded some solo projects of ambient, instrumental rock; and he’s calling it “Where the Good Way Lies”, and there’s a great story behind that name. Do yourself a favor and support these projects.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

CLICK HERE TO VISIT HIS WEBSITE

Here’s a preview:

Here’s the story behind this project:

And here’s some Ben Zornes Band nostalgia:
ben-zornes-band-vince-rogers-where-the-good-way-lies
vince-rogers-ben-zornes-band-where-the-good-way-lies

And if you want to hear what we sounded like, here you go:

The Fight for Us EP

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A Suggestion for Kaepernick

A Suggestion for Kaepernick

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The sports world is all abuzz with commentary, criticism, support, disgust, and a wide variety of other responses to Colin Kaepernick‘s refusal to stand for the National Anthem. If this is the first you’ve heard about it, you haven’t missed much. To ‘splain, wait, that’d take too long, let me sum up: the 49ers quarterback has garnered a lot of attention for not standing during the National Anthem in a show of solidarity for the mistreatment of black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Now, regardless of my personal view of his “protest” (not a positive view, mind you), I would actually like to make a friendly suggestion to him that I think would launch his protest from the Bay level to the Stratosphere level. This idea would be a neon flashing light for his cause, and would almost ensure that the whole News media would continue talking about him & his protest for the foreseeable future.

Here it is:

At the next game, during the National Anthem, all eyes will be on Kaepernick; he should sanctimoniously stand up, march as close as he can to midfield and unfurl an upside down American flag (the sign of a ship in distress) with these two facts written on it: 1) black babies 5x more likely to be aborted than white babies & 2) 1 of every 2 black babies will be aborted.

If he cares about protecting and preserving black lives, he should do this at every game this season, unapologetically, and rally the nation to outlaw abortions once and for all. Otherwise, we will just assume he is just another celebrity pulling a publicity stunt. There’s a long and glorious tradition of peaceful protests, if Kaepernick would like to go down as a modern day Wilberforce, perhaps he’ll take my advice. But alas, this all will likely fizzle out far sooner than it should, and not bring awareness to the real genocide being carried out against black America every day.

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The Mind at Rest

The Mind at Rest

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Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2

Paul commands us here to habituate ourselves to right affections, in the right order. Our old man (Col. 3:9), must be put off, because he is in the opposite habit of setting his affections on things below. The command to set our affections (or sometimes translated mind) on “things above” is not a command to think warm, fuzzy thoughts about sentimental notions of pearly gates. It is not a command to general affections, but precise affections.

We are to think upon, cherish, and value the exalted Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God (Col. 3:1), with all authority given to him (Mat. 28:18-20), and, by faith, we are resurrected in Him and seated with Him (Eph. 2:5-6 & Col. 3:1). Your affections, therefore, are to be firmly lodged in the person of Jesus, the King of the earth. This leaves no room for the rebellious and sinful philosophies of men (Col. 2:8); and this necessarily leads to mortifying the behaviors that are the result of earth-bound affections (Col. 3:5).

Notice that affections that are set on Christ the King, who is seated at God’s right hand, are set in contrast with behaviors that are obviously the result of the affections being directed at earthly sources of pleasure. The issue isn’t the affections, it is where those affections are placed. The problem isn’t your body’s desires, the problem is that you are enslaved to your body’s whims and not the Lord’s commands. One leads to sin, the other leads to enjoyment of God’s earthly gifts.

Finally, to hopefully–and helpfully–illustrate how to put this into practice: my wife and I pray before we go to sleep, and we ask the Lord to grant to us (whether waking or sleeping) minds set upon things above. We know that the time when you are drifting off to sleep is a fertile ground for the temptations of anxiety, worry, lust, fear, jealousy, etc. We also know the promise of Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

A mind set upon Christ the King, is a mind that has perfect peace, because all things are being subjected unto His dominion and Lordship (2 Cor. 10:5). So, practically, fill your daily routine with checkpoints that force you to remember that your loyalty is to Heaven’s King, not earth’s lusts.

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Surprised by the Hardwood Floor

Surprised by the Hardwood Floor

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The Thud of Our Keister

We have come to the point where our society’s keister has been brought up short by the hardwood floor of reality; we kicked the chair of Biblical order and authority out from under us, and now we find that the Law’s of the Creator determine that those who would defy and redefine gravity will–in the end–find their end (usually resulting in an unforgiving “thud”).

We’ve railed against “the Patriarchy”, and now are surprised by the hard and brutal truth of a society without Fathers. We’ve spared the rod of fatherly protection, and now have spoiled a generation; our boys have been curdled with effeminacy, our daughters with the mouldering loneliness which comes from Enlightenment individualism.

By forsaking the Biblical order of the home, our sons and daughters have been brought up without the guidance of parents wisdom, and now have come to the inevitable conclusion of moral subjectivism; this results in thinking they can make squares that are circle, up that is down, and feelings which trump DNA.

Our Sons & Daughters

Our daughters are attending drunken parties as expressions of their millennial independence, then being raped behind dumpsters by white-washed tombs of Western Culture. But don’t talk to us about the protection afforded by strong, wise, and caring Fathers.

Our sons have become professional rapists because we have taken them to the movies that taught them how; all in the name of a good time. Then our Victorian sensibilities are dumbstrrruck (roll the r there) when they demonstrate what spirit they are of: the libertine spirit of this age of subjective morals. We’ve raised them on the Disney message “follow your heart”, which brought them to binge on pornography by the time they are 12, and then we harvest what we’ve sown as they come of age: greedy and lecherous fools.

Reaping What We’ve Sown

We should be proud of the morally ambiguous creatures which our self-esteem, follow your heart, fulfill your destiny, do what feels right instruction has produced. They have discovered themselves, wasn’t that our goal? Oh, but in discovering themselves, we found that the human heart is a dark pit of sin, idolatry, and selfishness.

There is no excuse for what Brock Turner did. None. This case, by all accounts, is one of the saddest miscarriages of justice we’ve seen in recent years. However, should we be surprised that justice is miscarried when we’ve insisted on rejecting the moral/legal framework of the Christian worldview, which would afford the maximum penalty of the death sentence for rapists (Deu. 22:25)?

We will not have God’s rule over us, and so we ought not be surprised that our society is now ruled by the laws of devils. We’ve failed to instruct our sons and daughters in the ways of biblical wisdom, and now we are reaping a harvest of adults who have no moral north pole. We let our children discover themselves, yet the human heart is incapable of plumbing the depths of its own wickedness.

The only way to “discover oneself” is in the light of the Gospel, which tells us we’re sinners in need of a Savior. The good news is that when we find ourselves crashing into the hardwood floors of reality we are conveniently positioned to kneel in repentance.

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Headlong Into Worse Sin

Headlong Into Worse Sin

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The Text

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:4-7)

Samuel’s Ministry

Samuel began his ministry with a denunciation of the sinfulness of the sons of the High Priest, Eli. Amongst the many transgressions of these wicked sons, perhaps the most poignant one was bringing the ark of covenant into battle with the Philistines (1 Sam. 4-6). Essentially, they wanted to pretend at piety, but their prior lifestyle showed them to be apostates of the worst kind.

Skipping forward, Samuel’s position as the highest leader of Israel is capped off in 1 Samuel 7 when it tells us of another battle with the Philistines: “And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel (1Sa 7:10).” This is followed by the intimation that Samuel’s sons were exhibiting corrupt behavior; and the people of Israel, not wanting a repeat of the defeat brought about by the wickedness of the sons of Eli, insist on having a visible King lead them in battle.

God the Warrior

Here’s the important thing to remember. From the conquering of Canaan under Joshua & Caleb, to the deliverances recorded in Judges, down to the account of this victory over the Philistines in 1 Samuel 7, God is presented as fighting for His people. Despite their idolatry, God would always raise up a deliverer; but it was God who was viewed as the Warrior on behalf of His people (Deu. 1:30, 3:22, Ex. 14:14).

It strikes me that part of the Israelites desire for a king was in one sense a reaction to the immediate failures of Eli’s wicked sons, and the prospect of a seemingly similar failure on the part of Samuel’s sons. Either way, their response was not to turn to God in faith, entrusting themselves to His care. Rather, we are told–from the Lord Himself–that this act was an act of rejecting His reign (1 Sam. 8:7).

The Narrow Way

In an attempt to avoid a known evil (corrupt leaders, i.e. Eli’s sons & Samuel’s sons), they chose the unspeakably worse evil of rejecting God’s reign over them, choosing rather to place themselves entirely in the hands of fallen men. So, do not flee in fear from one temptation into the arms of another one; the most secure path is the narrow way of holiness and faith in Christ alone.

Mama and the Seductress

Mama and the Seductress

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My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: […] To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
–Proverbs 6:20, 24

In the face of temptation God always provides us a means of grace to resist the temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). The maturing Christian must learn to make use of those means and deriving them from Scripture. We do not help ourselves by using un-Scriptural means to combat sin, as that is sure to lead only to more temptation and sin.

Now in regards to the specific sin of lust; many men make poor use of the means which God’s Word affords us. We live in a culture that perpetually bombards us with seductive images and if not careful, informs our minds with carnal thoughts; thoughts which have no place in the abode of the Holy Spirit.

We must not think that we are innocent bystanders in this bombardment; men, we are the ones who have ignored the Bible’s instruction, and we have not guarded our daughters’ and sisters’ honor. Instead, with Herod-like lechery, we have forced them to dance for us. We have produced this  seductive culture by our laziness, greed, and lack of understanding.

However, we are not left without recourse and remedy. One of the means God has given to sons to fight lust is their parents’ instruction, and perhaps most particularly, his mother’s law. In a man’s battle against lust, Scripture teaches that the most effective response to the seductress (whether in person or online) is to reply, “My Mama warned me about girls like you.” If she asks, “And what sort of girl is that?” He should basically respond, “The kind of girl whose house is the vestibule of hell (Pro. 7:27).”

Ben Zornes