Ad Fontes

Before you get too impressed with my Latin title, Ad Fontes, I have to admit I’m borrowing it from Dr. Donald Sweeting, new president at Colorado Christian University. Patty and I recently attended the inauguration and there he shared his vision for CCU-Ad Fontes, which literally means return to the fountain. Dr. Sweeting articulately spoke about his belief that many aspects of higher education are floundering because as a culture the true source of knowledge, which is Jesus Christ, has been abandoned and replaced with a relativistic approach. In such cases there is no absolute truth. Without truth to build upon there is no anchor and high education is a rudderless ship tossed about by the whim of the latest theories.

Dr. Sweeting’s address parallels a message by the pastor and theologian John Piper who states the ultimate essence of evil can be found in Jeremiah 2:13:

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Ancient Israel’s two sins sound like a commentary on our present society as well. We have left the source of Living Water in exchange for broken systems that we have built that leak and leave us spiritually parched. Piper stated “the essence of evil is to lose our taste for God or to prefer anything more than God.” We are saturated with the seduction of the serpent who continues to spew out lies that we must eat from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” to be truly satisfied. Just like our first parents we look at the luscious tree of self -rule, throwing off our need to walk in loving communion with Father God. As a result we run around exposed, desperately trying to cloth ourselves with fame, fortune, and countless false gods that are unable to cover up the shame.

Amen to Ad Fontes! I believe the Holy Spirit is calling the Father’s children back to the source of Living Water. This call is not only to higher education, but also the church. Both need to return to the foundation and drink deeply from Jesus Christ. Five hundred years ago it was the cry of the Reformers to get back to the source, Christ alone, Faith alone, Grace alone, Scripture alone, and the Glory of God alone. It is time again to go back to the source, back to the book of Acts and thirst for what that early church had. There we see a church filled with the gift of the Father, His Spirit and they were an unstoppable force that turned the world upside down as the preached with power and performed signs and wonders that pointed to a Father in Heaven who sent His only Son as the perfect sacrifice for sin.

The vision of Oceans Ministries is to reveal the love of the Father to spiritual and physical orphans around the world so that they may know they belong to Father who loves them dearly. I need this, you need this, we all need Ad Fontes! May the Spirit of the Father be unleashed again in our day and flood the nations with Heaven’s love that comes through knowing Jesus Christ as the fountain of life.

Please, please make it your priority to pray and ask our Abba Father to send upon us a fresh outpouring of the River of Life to revive our thirsty souls with His presence once again. Let the waters of His love be the desire of our hearts.