Daniel Burton, Author at The Gospel Outpost

And He Shall Be Called: Wonderful Counselor

November 27, 2017

At the front of who this coming Messiah is remains a Wonderful Counselor. When we hear this phrase our initial reaction is to reduce it to a good psychologist. He is someone we can go to who would give us good advice. However true this may be, this severely understates the full scope of Jesus Christ. When Isaiah speaks of something being “wonderful” it is not as we understand it now, but more so as something that is full of wonder. It is incomprehensible and unfathomable. The counsel that Christ brings defies the expectations of mankind and exceeds our humanly ability to understand. Furthermore, Christ goes beyond merely being a counselor as we understand that term, but he is the one who derives the plan. The counsel that Jesus brings is the plan for our salvation.

Exodus Week 1: God Calls Moses

November 24, 2017

At the end of Genesis, things are looking fairly good for the Israelites. While they may not be in their home land, the hand of provision is upon them and God has provided for them and blessed them during a severe famine. Through Joseph’s obedience to God and a series of circumstances that could only be described as the hand of God, the Israelites were safe. This is the situation we arrive at when we get to the book of Exodus, the second book in the Pentateuch.

The Book of James: Faith and Works - James 2:1-13

James 2:1-13 Money and Mercy

November 22, 2017

Too often we judge a person by their financial wealth and ability to produce. We give fine seats to those who have money and influence and place them above others. Through God, however, this system is turned on it’s head. God, having all the riches of the world, chose to come to those who were poor and in need. Likewise, James exhorts the readers to do the same. Money causes problems and conflict and generally serves as the sign the world uses for worth, even intrinsic worth. With God, however, the sign of worth comes from knowing and being known by our creator and heavenly Father.

Luke 4:31-44 The Authority To Heal

November 20, 2017

For all the attempts to relegate the authority of Jesus Christ, each one would submit the Sovereign King to outside authority, a move that Jesus did not need to make. Jesus is King over all. No one, whether spiritual force or personal presence is able to override the authority of the Lord. When the people in the synagogues heard Jesus teach, their spirit resonated with the understanding that they were hearing true authority. They were hearing the authentic word of God spoken by the mouth of God, made plain to them. Thus, as Jesus was approached with opportunities to heal, there was no issue in doing so. Jesus had the authority that belongs to God alone to heal sickness and command the demons and spiritual dark forces. Jesus had the authority to make the broken people whole.

Nobody Special: Stranger Things and Politicians

Nobody Special 022: Stranger Things and Politicians

November 17, 2017

This week, the boys of Nobody Special have finally caught up on sleep after their stunt from last show and ready to take on the news this week! But the news is a total bummer. With all the allegations of sexual assault, we look at what the Christian response is to holding leaders, both Christian and non-Christian, to higher standards.

Then we talk about Stranger things because Danny finally finished it. Man that took a while. We look at the good parts as well as the dangerous parts of the show. And things get a little turned upside down. Whaaaaat? Is that a reference? Maybe? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

The Gospel Outpost Presents Nobody Special

The Difference Between Justice and Blood Lust

November 13, 2017

When someone makes a mistake in their job, no matter how small the infraction, we move quickly to stating they should be fired. When a person commits an atrocious act, the response of those of the faith has been to hunt and kill them. All of this being guised by the call to justice. The issue is that the scale of the punishment and how quickly the conclusion was arrived at shows that something in the heart is not asking for justice but rather for vengeance. Instead of looking for the right thing to be done, the temptation is satisfy a blood lust and see our enemies suffer. The Gospel is ignored in our blood lust.

The Book of James: Faith and Works - James 1:19-27

James 1:19-27 Input and Output

November 8, 2017

James begins to look at the input and output of our religion. He reinforces the idea that whatever a person allows to rule inside of them will naturally flow through them. There is a natual expression of the change in our identity that occurs with Jesus Christ. Whlie James isn’t claiming that it is works that save us, he does state plainly that it is the works that show our faith, for good or bad. Whatever we allow in to shape our identity will be the thing that is expressed through what we do. Furthermore, this is not a passive process but an intentional shaping and molding as we allow the word of God to become implanted deep into our spiritual DNA.

Anxiety: Feeling Not Good Enough

November 6, 2017

We strive so hard to prove our own worth through our own actions and feats, but doing so will never distill the anxiety but only multiply it. Grace through faith is the key to calming our anxious minds. In the end, our works are vastly insufficient to produce a self-worth of any value. But this is not the stem of our anxiety but rather are we good enough. We ask the question over and over presenting our best works forward to the people around us in hopes for validation of a question that can only be answered by God. “Am I good enough?” The answer from a loving God who sought us out in our ruin, is a most assured and resounding “yes.”

Nobody Special 021: Thor Ragnarok and Sleep Deprivation

November 3, 2017

What is better than talking about a movie that just came out? Doing so on very little sleep. The boys discuss the Godly themes throughout the new movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Also, talking at 1am is pretty difficult but we push through because we love you. And we thought this would be funnier. Oh well. Lessons learned.

This episode contains spoilers for Thor Ragnarok so be careful. We try and wait until the last half of the show but only make it 6 minutes. Sleep deprivation.

The Book of James: Faith and Works - James 1:12-18

James 1:12-18 Dealing With Temptation

November 1, 2017

Every person seeking to follow Christ will most assuredly encounter tempation along the way. This is an unavoidable fact that we must be willing to deal with. It is during these times of temptation that what we believe about God and about His salvation becomes clear. We quickly see what the things we turn to are and who we blame for our situation. But James makes it clear, that being able to stand up in the face of temptation is a valiant expression of our faith; one that leads to eternal glory. Furthermore, God is there every step of the way through our times of temptation to see us through to the other side.