Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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Ben Zornes

Living Beside the Cross

Living Beside the Cross

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An excerpt from Henry Law‘s fantastic series Christ is All: The Gospel in the Pentateuch.

The Curse

Believer, will you not live beside the cross! Can you withdraw your eyes! Read its clear language. Take its rich comfort. Clasp its full joy. Doubt not–be verily assured–that it absorbs your Curse. Drink its deep streams of peace. And bless your precious Lord, who thus vicariously saves. Give all your heart–give all your life–to Him. Is He not worthy! Think, that, without His love, your endless state would have been endless Curse. Think, that, through His curse-bearing death, your present state is blessing–your eternal home is glory.

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The Glory of Sex

The Glory of Sex

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Needing a Creed

The church of the 21st century seems to be faced with the theological question of what God’s purpose is for human sexuality. Other generations have debated soteriology, Biblical veracity, sacraments, and furthest back the early church debated whether Gentile believers needed circumcision (Acts 15:6-29). Through all of these historic debates, one common trait is that the result is some form of creed or confession. At first the creeds were defining Christianity, and as history has gone on they have had a tendency to define types of Christianity.

Nevertheless, the 21st century, I believe will be a century in which the church must decide upon the matter of human sexuality. There may well need be a sort of “creed of biblical sexuality” that ought to be crafted and adopted by the church to distinguish herself from the libertinism that has swept up our culture and sadly has swallowed many denominations in its deluge. [Read more…] about The Glory of Sex

In Defense of the History Major

In Defense of the History Major

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I Might Be a Joke, But My Major Isn’t

As the joke my brother tells goes, “how do you get a history major off your doorstep? Pay him for the pizza!” He is currently pursuing a lucrative career in business management & administration, and, back in the day, I chose to be a history major; which is certainly a less lucrative enterprise.

digiorno-fake-pizza-delivery-large-5_FotorI heard on the radio a few months back that many school are electing to replace history class with courses that are more sensory and will actually prepare students for a life in the globalist & tech driven economy of the 21st century. As the thinking goes, no one can provide a curriculum that presents a cohesive history of past events, and it is always going to be lopsided (after all those who write the history textbooks control the perception of what happened).

But, as a history major, I would very much resent the idea of a wholesale disposal of historic instruction. I think vocational preparation is of great importance and would highly encourage a return to a master/apprentice model. And I suppose I might add that I would also very much like a dissolution of the entire behemoth of the Department of Education. The DMV should be enough of a reminder that government has no business overseeing the education of our children, nor do they have much skill in it. [Read more…] about In Defense of the History Major

30 Years Together

30 Years Together

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Mom Dad Wedding_0004Dear Mom & Dad,

Today marks the 30th anniversary of your wedding vows. What a ride life has taken you on; the twists and turns in the plot of your story make Dickens, Austen, and Tolkien look like they were writing “See Dick Run” books. Ups & downs. Riches & poverty (but mostly poverty). Good times & bad.

Through it all, together.

Together is a good word isn’t it?

It speaks at once of the unity and diversity that makes Christian marriage so glorious. It denotes that there are different & separate entities, but somehow united. As Christians we know that the one who does the uniting isn’t a priest, magistrate, or even the couple; but rather “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder (Mk. 10:9).”

I’ve been there for a large portion of those 30 years. Four years into my own marriage, my appreciation, respect, and admiration for your faithfulness to each other has only been augmented and deepened. Neither of you have been perfect, but together you both gave me–and my brothers and sisters–the nearest picture of God’s perfect plan for mankind.

Mom Dad Wedding_0003A husband and wife in marriage reminds us of the Eden lost and–for the New Testament age–the promised Eden to come; we see two separate entities joined in one happy state. Heaven & earth, God & man, (though still distinct) were once perfectly united. The fall bungled that. But in Christ, God and man are reunited, the Kingdom of Heaven is permeating earth and will do so until it covers the earth as water covers the sea.

Dad, thanks for going to work every day, to provide for us, clothing and feeding us by the long hours at a desk; planning lesson outlines, meeting with troubled teens, or leading those crazy youth all-nighters! Or even further back, rising when it was still dark to shine your boots to serve our country. In more recent years, thank you for sticking to it, even when dreams fell apart, the path got hard to make out, sickness hampered progress, and youthful energy began its decline.

Mom, thanks for seeing the folly of government run education and determining to raise your children to know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. Your patience with me alone is deserving of a presidential medal of honor, not to mention the other kiddos that you are still homeschooling! Crazy! Your doggedness for truth and honor have made me the man I am; and inspired many souls to seek more fervently after the Lord Jesus.

Your 30 years together have blessed hundreds if not thousands of lives. Now, especially through your children and grandchildren, that tally will only continue to grow exponentially. A hundred years from now there will be little children with the last name Zornes, who will trace their lineage to your faithfulness. Because you have been loyal to follow God’s Word in raising your children, there is His promise to bless your children, and children’s children.

Mom Dad Zornes - Wedding 0002Those Zornes, a century from now, will–by God’s grace–go to church, worship God, read their Bibles, and then when they are grown, start godly families of their own; and, again, all because Amy was the only girl who could return Tom’s volleyball serve!

I’ve watched you both face the trials and remain unflinching. I’ve watched as the trials have grown larger, harder, more subtle even, and still you’ve stayed together; counting God’s Word of greater authority than your own convenience, feelings, or comfort. You’ve stared down cancer, financial trials, the buzz-saw of church politics, a rascally son like me, and job uncertainty with faith in the Lord.

You may have wobbled and wavered, teetered and tottered, but here you are with 30 years of loyal love and a godly heritage to show for your selflessness, and sacrifice. Even sinful mistakes have, by grace alone, been used by God to correct, warn, and instruct our whole family. Like John Newton said in his fine hymn, Begone Unbelief:

Since all that I meet shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet, the medicine is food;
Though painful at present, wilt cease before long,
And then, O! how pleasant, the conqueror’s song!

As I’ve reflected on how to thank you, a memory came to my mind. We were on vacation in Southern Colorado (the trip that was Scooby’s last). We needed a night in a hotel, but I’m sure that the budget was tight (as it usually was). I remember that we stopped at a payphone (kids, that was a thing in 90s), probably to find a nearby vet (Scooby was in a bad way).

Mom Dad - Zornes - Wedding 0001One or both of you just made a statement to the effect that God would provide for us and our needs, and then dad went to the payphone to make his call. When he came back, he was grinning from ear to ear; he had found four $20 bills sitting in the phonebook … enough for a night at Motel 6! It is a thousand moments like that–all of us together, mom & dad trusting God to take care of us–that have made me into the man I am, inspired me to become an even better one, and given me a model for what I want my little family to be.

Your togetherness has not only made me, it also shaped me…and most of the godly attributes in my life are directly because of the grace given to me through witnessing the faithful marriage of my parents. I got to sit on the front seat of two imperfect people, showing me the perfect picture of Christ and the Church; and largely by your love & togetherness, I came to love Christ and His Church

If the first 30 years together have been this good, just think what the next chapter holds?!

With Love,

Your Son

Pharaoh Self-Funded His Campaign, Too!

Pharaoh Self-Funded His Campaign, Too!

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In Old Testament history we read the story of Judah‘s king Hezekiah and the Invasion of the Assyrian army (Isa. 36-39, 2 Ki. 18-20, & 2 Chr. 32). Israel had already fallen, and Judah was one of the few remaining nations who had not come under Assyrian control.

The only other nation who had the strength to resist Assyria was Egypt. Thus, as King Sennacherib turned his eye on the prize of the conquest of Judah & Jerusalem, the leaders of Judah were faced with a very real political dilemma. The survival of their nation & way of life seemed to hang in the balance. Many of the leaders of Judah were advocating an alliance with Egypt.

The prophet Isaiah had a word for the leaders who were advocating this course of action: “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD (Isaiah 31:1)!”

In his commentary on this chapter Motyer notes,

They faced the most critical of tests – the Assyrians – but the real crisis was: ‘Where is your faith placed?’

The  21st century evangelical church of the United States faces a very similar dilemma as 8th century Judah did. We are facing a muscular foe of secularism, humanism, despotism in the form of the liberal progressive agenda as espoused by Clinton and Sanders. But over yonder in Egypt is a Pharaoh strong enough to push back; he can self-fund his campaign of chariots, and he says it like it is. He is unafraid of the Assyrian media and he promises to make Judah great again. The caveat?

Forsake your loyalty to God, His Word, and the principles found therein, and trust in the mere “brute force” of Pharaoh’s dynasty. The people of Judah found that an allegiance with Egypt only bought upon them the rage of Assyria, and ultimately, a century later, the shame of a Babylonian exile; all because they did not trust God and remain faithful to follow His commands.

Motyer again:

Life must be faced theologically, that is to say, in the light of what we know about God.

The 2016 presidential campaign is the touchstone of our Nation’s theology, and sadly, all too many evangelical leaders are making a statement that their theology is far more pragmatic than they’ve led us to believe.

Finding Morality

Finding Morality

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So news broke that the much anticipated Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory, is going to briefly feature a Lesbian couple. At least that’s what the rumor is. Now, as a rule of thumb Christian evangelicals, of late, seem to either care too much about one thing and care too little about others. In this instance, I have the hunch we will boycott the movie and express outrage over the normalization/glorification of an unbiblical lifestyle; and then fail to do anything productive about it in the long run.

The main issue with what Disney/Pixar is doing here is that by presenting a lesbian couple as normative, they are presenting something which God reckons as evil, and endeavoring to normalize it. Furthermore, although the homosexual couple doesn’t seem to have a key plot role, the problem is that they don’t have a key plot role! There’s nothing sinful in story-telling about portraying sin in order to show it as sin. There is something wrong with presenting sin as not sin. We’re told to flee immorality, not doll it up. I take this to be the real problem if indeed Pixar is trying to pander to the GQ BLT crowd. [Read more…] about Finding Morality

Analytics for a Non-Analytic

Analytics for a Non-Analytic

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ben zornes - thank you - blogpost 05-31-16I’ve been tinkering with my blog recently, and I have some changes to be revealed soon. But one thing I came across as I was making these adjustments was the data for the traffic that has visited my site over the last three years. It took a bit for me to start to realize what these numbers & stats mean, and I was shocked when it began to sink in. Over the last three years my little blog here has had visit from 150+ countries, the top ten are as follows:

  1. United States: 28,701
  2. Canada: 2,506
  3. Australia: 1,308
  4. South Africa: 799
  5. Brazil: 592
  6. United Kingdom: 577
  7. Philippines: 386
  8. Germany: 290
  9. India: 249:
  10. New Zealand: 212

On an average month, 1,057 spend a spell reading my blog posts, or perusing the other resources on my site. Even over the last year, since we’ve moved to Moscow, ID for me to attend Greyfriars Hall, and my blogging has been less frequent, there’s been a considerably faithful following. That humbles me, and spurs me onwards in living a life to the glory of Christ, in service to His saints, and reaching the lost through all means available to me.

The top ten most read posts are:

  1. George Muller: For the Benefit of the Church (7,037 views)
  2. Bamboozling Our Inner Pharisee (3,920 views)
  3. Think About Porn (2,714 views)
  4. To Destroy the Works of the Devil (2,581 views)
  5. The Ministry of Intercession (2,476 views)
  6. Your Days (of Singleness) Are Numbered (2,104 views)
  7. The Recipe for Spiritual Starvation (1,839 views)
  8. Leaven in the Lump (1,590 views)
  9. A Bunch of Baby-Haters (1,526 views)
  10. Summer Advice for Sons (1,463 views)

Ironically, the term that has brought in the most traffic via Google searches is: “destroy the works of the devil”. This is because one of the first things I did on my blog, clear back in 2009, was a series on “5 Reasons Jesus Had to Die”, and the last one was “To Destroy the Work of the Devil”. Numerous variations of that phrase have brought in traffic, and I’m grateful that as people are grappling with how to fight the Adversary of the church, somehow they land on my site and, I pray, are guided into understanding that the cross of our Lord Jesus has dealt a death blow to Satan and his kingdom.

If I were to pick which post is the most important to me, that’d be tough, but perhaps A Great Mountain, and a Crumbling Statue would rank highly. With Beware Erasmus ranking highly as well. He Will Answer, from about a year ago, is also one that is profoundly important for me and I think for all the saints.

All of this is simply to say, thank you. Those who have returned with each post and shared and tweeted out quotes from my posts, you have left me humbled and grateful. I do this all to present the preciousness of Christ to the church and the world. Reviewing the last three years’ analytics has only deepened my gratitude for the readers/visitors of this site! I profoundly value your support and disagreement, as both are important to me. Every time you re-post, share, tweet, email, print it out and hand it to a friend…I’m blessed that the thoughts I’ve cobbled together have been a blessing to others. So, here’s to the next three years…onward and upward.

Ben Zornes