number five... alive

Long Line of Givers

2012-02-10T10:16:00.001-05:00

i've been using "Drawing Near" by john macarthur during my morning devotions this year. today's reading had me meditating on Philippians 1:3 and challenged me to thank God for people who have been a help to me in my Christian walk. well, as i drove to fca this morning i started making a mental list of people who through their giving have enabled me to work in ministry for the past 16 years as well as to travel on 8 short term mission trips (literally all over the world). i praise God for these people and miss those who are no longer here!

Ted & Dorothy Nusser
Ethel Richman
John & Sue Richman
Kenny & Berta Baxter
Mark & Tammy Blackburn
Jason & Brandyn Boyd
Paul & Lois Boyd
Ryan & Sarah Boyd
Ruth Boyd
Dick & Marilyn Chamberlain
Scott & Ginny Chamberlain
Wayne & Janet Christen
Mac & Betty Curry
Katie Dearth
Ron & Rachel Delaney
Don & Helen Derrington
Eric & Lisa Derrington
Heath & Molly Devore
Rick Devore
Mark & Jessica Dunn
Dave & Sue Elliott
Jim & Barb Elliott
Ethel Golba
Duane & Joanne Hetzer
Tom & Barb Jeffries
Dortha Johnson
Fred & Charmaine Kane
Mike Kane
Frank & Cathi Keenan
Merideth Keenan
Jean Kidder
Carl & Anne Kirkbride
Dan & Susan Kirkbride
Dick & Joyce Kontnier
Jim & Rena Lockwood
Steve & Helen Lorah
Donnie & Amy Maltarich
Ray Mathes
Ralph & Betty McAuley
Ed & Loretta McCoy
Rachel McCoy
Willard & Vera Miller
Mark & Karen Montgomery
Brian & Bethany Neville
Mark & Cathy Neville
Mike & Shannon Nusser
Terry & Becky Nusser
Willa Nusser
Jay Parry
Hop & Virginia Pickens
Jim Pickens
Dottie Pike
Jim Reed
Earl & Irene Reese
Matt Rickard
Sarah Richman
Amber Ross
Larry & Jill Ross
Jim & Becky Russell
Fred & Kathy Schaaf
Ken & Mary Schneidmiller
Leroy & Elaine Schrader
Scotty Shaw
Steve & Marcie Skrinjar
Rick & Kip Steffan
Rachel Tellish
Sarah Tellish
Don & Mary Thompson
Herb & Jackie Thompson
Jerry & Freda Thompson
Jim & Beth Thomson
Claire & Wanda Unrue
Denzell & Bev Walker
Elvin & Ruth Weir
Tom & Beth Weir
Harley Wheeler family
Dave & Anna Wiegand
Boots Windell
Bob & Helen Wolf
Ron & Marianne Wolf
Jeff & Diane Wright

wow! and i know that's just the tip of the iceberg... i'm sure i'll remember others throughout the day and keep editing this... PRAISE GOD for blessing me with so many wonderful people to supply my needs!

and the elders fell down and worshiped...

2012-02-01T18:06:00.000-05:00

Why?

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." Revelation 4:11

"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Revelation 5:9-10

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" Revelation 5:12

some good quotes for a snowy morning

2012-01-21T10:54:00.000-05:00

"With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and accepted by Him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity." Romans 12:1-2 (J.B. Phillips)

"We should be 'jealous'... for the honor of His name - troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed. And all the time anxious and determined that it shall be given the honor and glory which are due it." John Stott

"the Word of God that we read and proclaim will fall on deaf ears unless God Himself attends that Word by the Holy Spirit and opens the ears of those who hear it." R.C. Sproul

"The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ, is to send light into his heart, and show him that he is a guilty sinner." J.C. Ryle

the task at hand

2012-01-18T00:07:00.000-05:00

from the passage read during the devotions at my first session meeting as an elder in our church...

"and we urge you, brothers,
admonish the idle,
encourage the fainthearted,
help the weak,
be patient with them all." 1 Thessalonians 5:14

Father, help me to be faithful in Your service.

one oh three

2012-01-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

bless the LORD, o my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
bless the LORD, o my soul, and forget not all His benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

the LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the people of Israel.
the LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our iniquities.

for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.
as a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him.

for He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

as for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
but the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children,
to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments.
the LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

bless the LORD, o you his angels, you mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word!
bless the LORD, all His hosts, His ministers, who do His will!
bless the LORD, all His works, in all places of His dominion.
bless the LORD, o my soul!

lift your eyes

2011-12-28T11:42:00.000-05:00

"All through our lives, God's promises lift our aspirations higher. On our own, we would be content with some happy relationships; God wants for us union with the Son of God. We aspire for earthly success; He intends for us heavenly glory. We would settle for health and wealth; He has in store life everlasting." Richard Phillips

nate saint - December 23, 1955

2011-12-23T22:36:00.003-05:00

written in his journal, just a few short weeks before his death...

"If God would grant us the vision, the word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short, we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ. May God help us to judge ourselves by the eternities that separate the Aucas from a comprehension of Christmas and Him, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor so that we might, through His poverty, be made rich."

faithful?

2011-12-23T11:26:00.001-05:00

"All the gifts which we possess have been bestowed by God and entrusted to us on condition that they be distributed for our neighbors' benefit." john calvin

debunking a myth

2011-12-21T09:01:00.000-05:00

"Many people wonder why it is necessary to have qualifications for a pastor. They might think, 'If someone wants to be a pastor, should he not have that right, regardless of whether he meets a list of criteria?'... The truth, however, is that all of us see the need for criteria in other professions. No one would board a plane if they knew that the 'pilot' loved planes but didn't have a pilot's license. No one would want to be operated on by a 'surgeon' whose primary credential was that his father was a doctor. A young couple would not entrust the design of their dream home to an 'architect' whose portfolio was the back of a Lincoln Logs box. Qualifications are important in every job, and the more important the job, the more important the need for stringent qualifications."

Darrin Patrick "Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission"

heidelberg #60

2011-12-20T08:49:00.000-05:00

Q: How are you right with God?

A: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God's commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ as if I had never sinned or been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is accept this gift of God with a believing heart.

- Heidelberg Catechism Question #60

nineteen

2011-11-20T22:37:00.001-05:00

wow, i just love to let this psalm wash over me...

"the law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb. moreover, by them is Your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

Psalm 19:7-11

insightful commentary

2011-10-13T15:48:00.002-04:00

"if we know the characteristic sins of the age, we can guess its foolish and fashionable assumptions - that morality is simply a matter of personal taste, that all silences need to be filled up with human chatter or background music, that 760 percent of the american people are victims, that it is better to feel than to think, that rights are more important than responsibilities, that even for children the right to choose supersedes all other rights, that real liberty can be enjoyed without virtue, that self-reproach is for fogies, that God is a chum or even a gofer whose job is to make us rich or happy or religiously excited, that it is more satisfying to be envied than respected, that it is better for politicians and preachers to be cheerful than truthful, that Christian worship fails unless it is fun." cornelius plantinga jr. as quoted by d.a. carson

carson follows up that quotation with this great assertion:"what ought to make worship delightful to us is not, in the first instance, its novelty or its aesthetic beauty, but its object: God himself is delightfully wonderful, and we learn to delight in him."

Acts 26:29

2011-09-23T12:24:00.001-04:00

i was reading acts 26 this morning between fca and going to lift with eric. when i got toward the end of the chapter, it occurred to me, verse 29 was the one verse i really remembered well after my fifth grade year of quizzing:

"Paul replied, 'Short time or long - I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.'" Acts 26:29

i was telling e about it, and he remembered what it was right when i got to the end. we used to speak it very dramatically while standing on a chair in the fellowship hall... EXCEPT FOR THESE CHAINS!!!! we figured out that it has been 26 years since we memorized that verse. what a blessing Bible quizzing has been to my life ever since then. Praise God for His Word and the way He has used it in my life and in the lives of so many around me.

the context of the verse also encourages me and leads me to pray for opportunities... paul is receiving a hearing before festus, agrippa and bernice while awaiting his extradition to rome. he shares his testimony and the truth of the gospel (forgiveness of sins through Christ's suffering and resurrection), and then calls on agrippa to believe since he is familiar with the truth of the old testament. agrippa asks paul the question, "in a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?"

paul's boldness for the gospel took place in the midst of his imprisonment! may the Lord give me open doors and boldness to share no matter what my circumstances! (Colossians 3:3-4; Ephesians 6:19)

can't say it enough

2011-08-28T23:10:00.000-04:00

the guest pastor read the first question of the heidelberg catechism today. i know i've blogged it before, but it is such an excellent summation:

Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A: That I am not my own, but belong - body and soul, in life and in death - to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

btw - i'm reading a good book on the catechism: "the good news we almost forgot: rediscovering the gospel in a 16th century catechism"

beginning with a bang

2011-06-17T11:43:00.000-04:00

our summer quizzing program started up yesterday. it's a chance to let kids get a head start on learning stuff for the coming year, as well as being a less intimidating intro for some who may have never had exposure to Bible quizzing - and even for those who may not ever stick with quizzing, it's a chance to get some of God's Word into their heads and hearts.

i was able to spend some time doing one of my very favorite things (aside from raindrops on roses and the like): helping kids memorize Scripture. as i was memorizing with two who are heading into fifth grade, i was also relearning the beginning of 2 Peter myself... well, we only got through verse 3 (and honestly, i was the one who really had it that far, the other two were really only solid on 1 & 2), but let me tell you, i was blown away by how much meat of truth was there in just those first 3 verses - it reminded me why i love God's Word so very much!!!

"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called by His own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:1-3

just some nuggets:
* Jesus Christ is our GOD and our SAVIOR
* faith is a gift RECEIVED
* faith is a PRECIOUS gift received
* faith is a precious gift received THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS of Jesus
Christ (our God and Savior - see first nugget)
* FYI - this is a book written to believers (oh, it's from Peter - a
servant and apostle of Jesus Christ - i totally skipped that part)
* GRACE and PEACE come THROUGH the KNOWLEDGE of GOD and of JESUS OUR LORD
* FYI - not just a little grace and peace - grace and peace IN ABUNDANCE
* HIS DIVINE POWER has given us everything we need for life and godliness
* His divine power has given us EVERYTHING WE NEED for life and godliness
* His divine power has given us everything we need for LIFE AND GODLINESS
* His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness
THROUGH OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HIM (ties in with nugget 6)
* HE CALLED US
* He called us BY HIS OWN GLORY AND GOODNESS

i am so excited about the riches of studying God's Word this year!!!

a hymn (in progress)

2011-05-26T13:33:00.000-04:00

i've spent a lot of time this year moved by and meditating upon the connection between John 3:14, Numbers 21:4-9, Genesis 3:1-19 and Galatians 3:13...

cursed Man upon the tree
the curse He bore was
the curse He bore for me
now i'm alive eternally
for from the curse i've been set free

lifted up i'm forced to see
the weight of my sin
its dreadful gravity
my rebellion in Jesus' pain
His greatest loss, my greatest gain...

couple good quotes for thought

2011-03-16T17:52:00.000-04:00

"all the saving events and all the saving blessings of the gospel are means of getting obstacles out of the way so that we might know and enjoy God most fully. propitiation, redemption, forgiveness, imputation, sanctification, liberation, healing, heaven - none of these is good news except for one reason: they bring us to God for our everlasting enjoyment of Him. if we believe all these things have happened to us, but do not embrace them for the sake of getting to God, they have not happened to us. Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. and people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. the gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. if we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel." john piper

"i am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contentedly fallen and godless condition, absorbed in a merry meeting with my friends for the morrow or a bit of work that tickles my vanity today, a holiday or a new book, when suddenly a stab of abdominal pain that threatens serious disease, or a headline in the newspapers that threatens us all with destruction, sends this whole pack of cards tumbling down. at first i am overwhelmed, and all my little happinesses look like broken toys. then, slowly and reluctantly, bit by bit, i try to bring myself into the frame of mind that i should be in at all times. i remind myself that all these toys were never intended to possess my heart, that my true good is in another world and my only real treasure is Christ." c.s. lewis quoted by mark talbot

aleph

2011-03-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

gonna work my way through Psalm 119...

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways!
You have commanded Your precepts to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments.
I will praise You with an upright heart, when I learn Your righteous rules.
I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

may the cry of my heart be that of verse 5... that my ways would match up with those of the blessed described in verses 1-4...

taking up the cross

2011-03-03T17:19:00.001-05:00

"and He said to all, "if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23

this seems to be a repeated theme over the last couple of weeks... the song i've practicing on the guitar after watching the indelible grace documentary with ryan and sarah... the quote the pastor closed his sermon with on sunday evening... the amazing testimony of a pakastani government official gunned down for his faith... may my life match the song!

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I've sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.

Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
O while Thou dost smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
Show Thy face and all is bright.

Man may trouble and distress me,
'Twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, 'tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me;
Oh, 'twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Go, then, earthly fame and treasure,
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure,
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o'er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father's smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine.

Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.
Heaven's eternal days before thee,
God's own hand shall guide us there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

WDJD?

2011-02-11T21:01:00.001-05:00

what does Jesus do?

"This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but He holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever. consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since HE ALWAYS LIVES TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR THEM." Hebrews 7:22-25

there's a great example of this intercession in John 17:20-26:

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me. The glory that You have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent me and loved them even as You loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that You have given me because You loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent me. I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

may my prayer life mimic that of my Lord and Savior... that His people might have: 1. a knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ... 2. love and unity rooted in and for the sake of the gospel... 3. a great longing to be with Jesus.

on a day set aside for reconciliation...

2011-01-17T11:58:00.000-05:00

there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that has the power of reconciliation like the message of the gospel!

"remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. for He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing hostility. and He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. for through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. so then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. in Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." Ephesians 2:12-22

"we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20

the power of context

2010-11-26T09:05:00.001-05:00

in and of itself, Proverbs 26:12 is pretty pointed:

"do you see a man who is wise is in own eyes? there is more hope for a fool than for him."

however, when taken with the first 11 verses of the chapter, it becomes more like a sledgehammer!!!

"like snow in the summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
a whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.
like a thorn in that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? there is more hope for a fool than for him."

*** o Lord, protect me from the dangerous pride of being wise in my own eyes!

praying for revival

2010-08-19T16:19:00.001-04:00

a couple of weeks ago, as we were reading the 'resh' section of Psalm 119 (vs. 153-160) responsively in the morning worship service, the repetition of the phrase "revive me" stuck out to me.

we use the nkjv in worship, but when i went back to look at it later and read it in the esv, i noticed that it is translated there, "give me life..." what a marked contrast to several local billboards whose slogan reads: "we bring church to life." (they have rubbed me the wrong way ever since i first saw them!) here is the true answer - a plea to our God to give us life!!!

what follows is a look at the various ways that the psalmist offers up this prayer throughout Psalm 119.

"my soul clings to the dust, give me life according to Your word!" Psalm 119:25

"turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in Your ways." Psalm 119:37

"behold, i long for Your precepts; in Your righteousness give me life!" Psalm 119:40

"in your steadfast love give me life, that i may keep the testimonies of Your mouth." Psalm 119:88

"i am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to Your word!" Psalm 119:107

"hear my voice according to Your steadfast love; O Lord, according to Your justice give me life." Psalm 119:149

"plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to Your promise!" Psalm 119:154

"great is Your mercy, O Lord; give me life according to Your rules." Psalm 119:156

"consider how i love Your precepts! give me life according to your steadfast love." Psalm 119:159

O Lord, may Your Word be used to inform and instruct my prayer life! O God, GIVE US LIFE!

a strange kind of transplant...

2010-08-18T16:43:00.002-04:00

my heart was moved
800 miles today
she took it with her
when she went away
although i knew
she wasn't gonna stay
i can't help feeling
a little blue
because of you
now that you're gone

a good refresher of a camp theme

2010-08-08T13:25:00.000-04:00

so i read the following this morning in Living Water by brother yun:

the kingdom of God does not advance in this world through human endeavor. it advances through the life of Jesus Christ flowing through His servants who have died to themselves and their own desires. peter explained, "since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. as a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." (1 Peter 4:1-2)
the will of God should be the primary focus of all Christians. to glorify Him should be our greatest honor and privilege. all else is a waste of time, and this world is perishing while too many Christians live out fleshly lives full of compromise and selfishness.
the good news is that our Lord is loving and merciful, and He will forgive all who come to Him in humility and meekness. He can take your life and make you as bold as a lion and bring your days as a timid Christian to an end. are you willing to submit to this process of being daily shaped and molded by the Holy Spirit?
if you are, you will not regret it.

sometimes i need a shake up/wake up

2010-06-14T15:22:00.001-04:00

it generally comes in threes - the hearing or reading about a concept or idea that stirs my brain, (kinda like the way i have someone read a verse to me three times in the memorization process) and then i guess the telling or the blogging is just the next natural step (like the repetitive quoting to make it stick).

have you ever put off doing the things your mom left on a to-do list because she wouldn't be back for quite some time? or have you ever been in "mad cleaning" mode because someone was coming to the house? i guess my thinking's sort of along those lines... but in a much grander, eternity type serious mode...

the sermon last night came from 1 Peter 4, and the part that really struck me was verse 7: "the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers." (nkjv) the point which the pastor emphasized was how very different our prayer lives would look if the impending end of the world was in our view! too many times we can become like the people before the flood, or of sodom and gomorrah, or worse, like the scoffers of 2 Peter 3:3-7. Jesus himself warns in Luke 17:26-30 that the last days will be full of oblivious people. too often, i am that oblivious one... WITH NO EXCUSE FOR MY STATE.

this morning, i listened once again to the online preview of listener's new album, and was struck by the closing lines:

"there is something coming, and everything matters. guard your heart, and watch the wind."

finally, i was rereading over thomas watson's "heaven taken by storm" in preparation for sunday school and was gripped by these words on the way we listen to the preaching of the Word of God:

"it may be the last time that God will ever speak to us in His Word; it may be the last sermon that we shall ever hear; we may go from the place of hearing to the place of judging. if people would think thus when they come into the house of God... with what devotion would they come! how would there affections be all on fire in hearing!"

as i think on these things, may i take peter's admonitions to heart:
1. being self-controlled and sober minded in prayer (1 Peter 4:7)
2. living a life of holiness and godliness (2 Peter 3:11)
3. being diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace (2 Peter 3:14)
4. taking care not to be carried away by lawless error (2 Peter 3:17)
5. growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)

what's it worth to ya?

2010-06-02T13:29:00.002-04:00

"my son, if you

RECEIVE my words
and TREASURE up my commandments with you,
making your ear ATTENTIVE to wisdom
and INCLINING your heart to understanding;
yes, if you CALL OUT for insight
and RAISE YOUR VOICE for understanding,
if you SEEK it like silver
and SEARCH for it as for hidden treasures,

then

you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God."

Proverbs 2:1-5

cling to the crucified

2010-05-30T16:36:00.001-04:00

from horatius bonar's lyra consalationis

"Cling to the Mighty One, Cling in thy grief
Cling to the Holy One, He gives relief
Cling to the Gracious One, Cling in thy pain
Cling to the Faithful One, He will sustain

Cling to the crucified, Jesus the Lamb who died
Cling to the crucified, Jesus the King
Cling to the crucified, Jesus the Lamb who died
Cling to the crucified, Jesus the King

Cling to the Living One, Cling in thy woe
Cling to the Loving One, Through all below
Cling to the Pardoning One, He speaketh peace
Cling to the Healing One, Anguish will cease

Cling to the Bleeding One, Cling to His side
Cling to the Rising One, In Him abide
Cling to the Coming One, Hope shall arise
Cling to the Reigning One, Joy lights thine eyes"

for those who are interested...

2010-05-27T15:26:00.002-04:00

from the camp forms:

CAMP BIBLE MEMORY MATERIAL

We will be memorizing and quizzing over the book of John from the following passages:
6:25-59 (I AM the Bread of Life)
8:12-30 (I AM the Light of the World)
8:48-59 (Before Abraham was born I AM)
9:1-12 (I AM the Light of the World)
10:1-21 (I AM the Gate, the Good Shepherd)
11:17-44 (I AM the Resurrection and the Life)
14:1-31 (I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life)
15:1-17 (I AM the True Vine)
18:1-11 (I AM He)
(New International Version, Copyright 1984).
Please feel free to start studying in advance to be prepared!

delighting in God's glory

2010-05-26T11:43:00.002-04:00

"as it is desirable in itself that God's glory should be known, so when known it seems equally reasonable it should be esteemed and delighted in, answerably to its dignity. there is no more reason to esteem it a suitable thing, that there should be an idea in the understanding corresponding unto the glorious object, than that there should be a corresponding affection in the will. if the perfection itself be excellent, the knowledge of it is excellent, and so is the esteem and love of it excellent. and as it is fit that God should love and esteem his own excellence, it is also fit that he should value and esteem the love of his excellency. and if it becomes a being highly to value himself, it is fit that he should love to have himself valued and esteemed. if the idea of God's perfection in the understanding be valuable, then the love of the heart seems to be more especially valuable, as moral beauty especially consists in the disposition and affection of the heart."

jonathan edwards, the end for which God created the world

on revival

2010-05-19T13:24:00.002-04:00

"the greatest problem confronting us in the Church today is that the vast majority of professing Christians are not convinced of the reality and the desirableness of revivals.... an evangelistic campaign is the Church deciding to do something with respect to those who are outside. a revival is not the church deciding to do something and doing it. it is something that is DONE to the Church...the whole essence of a revival is that it is something that happens to the Church, to the people inside. and they are affected and moved and tremendous things happen.... first and foremost, (they become aware of) the glory and the holiness of God... and that leads inevitably to a deep and a terrible sense of sin, and an 'aweful' feeling of guilt.... then they are given a clear view of the love of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, especially of His death upon the cross.... they begin to get a concern for the members of their own family.... there is a constraint that is driving them. they talk about it to people...and they begin to pray for them.... others who are outside begin to join the meetings and to say, 'what is this?' so they come in, and they go through the same experience."

martyn lloyd-jones, revival

on prayer

2010-05-17T14:29:00.004-04:00

speaking of how Jeremiah begins his prayer in Jeremiah 32:16-25:

"This prayer is rich in its praise of the attributes of God. Jeremiah worships God for His omnipotence and omniscience, for His love and justice. His prayer is informed by his doctrine of God.

The same ought to be true of the prayers of every Christian. You must have a theology before you can have a prayer life. Knowing the character of God precedes having intimacy with Him through prayer. Too many prayers are superficial in their grasp of the character of God. Instead, they ought to be saturated with the praise of His glorious attributes."

Philip Ryken, Courage to Stand: Jeremiah's Message for Post-Christian Times

why it's GOOD news.

2010-05-12T13:13:00.003-04:00

"The background of the good news of the gospel is the bad news about the sinfulness of sin and the certainty of sin's judgment...

Sin is essentially the resolve - the mad, utterly blameworthy, but nonetheless, utterly firm resolve - to play God and fight the real God. Sinners resolve to treat themselves as the center of the universe and so they keep God at bay on the outer circumference of their lives - or so they think. They won't allow the Creator to rule over them as he wills to do. If they appeal to God at all, they ask God to act according to their will and for their convenience like a servant who gets them out of trouble and bestows on them good gifts. They never serve him from the heart and only resent the claim to dominion that he makes... sin wills the fundamental abolition of God. Sin wills that God should not be there. Sin plays God, sin fights God, and sin wishes that God didn't exist at all...

God cannot help recoiling from that attitute in man that expresses itself in fighting him, defying him, and willing him out of existence. You cannot wonder that he hates the abominations which sin produces. God is holy. Sin is uncleanness in his eyes and he hates it... God is just. This means God does everything right and deals rightly with everyone. God expresses his justice by dealing with sin as sin ought to be dealt with... The just God will deal with sin as sin deserves..."

j.i. packer

as part of the answer to the question of "whether or not the atonement (at the cost of His Son) was necessary" in the book atonement

try saying that 5 times fast

2010-05-04T11:33:00.001-04:00

eyjafjallajokull - yeah, that's the name of the volcano that erupted in iceland. with a name like that, it MUST be a bad one.

i have a whoring heart

2010-04-15T13:25:00.002-04:00

so it seems that you don't have to look very hard these days to find a celebrity sex scandal. (and i don't think it's necessary for me to post links to make that point...) while it is highly disappointing (especially when it's the team i like or the guy from the show i like or the sport i play), as a christian who understands the nature of sin and the universal effects of the fall, it is not really all that surprising. and for God? definitely not...

i was reading Numbers 15:37-41 about putting tassels on robes as a reminder to obey God's law and "not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after." God KNOWS my inclination!!! (and gives a pretty creative way to fight it)

we've been talking a lot recently in sunday school class about Colossians 1:15-20 where paul is listing characteristics of Christ: God, creator, sustainer, ruler, purpose, reconciler, etc... these are the glasses i need to keep on to have a clear view of the world, but i tend to neglect and forget them. this is the message which i need to be proclaiming with my lips and with my life. too often, however, i act like the king and purpose of my existence. too often, i whore after my own passions and pleasures... after other little gods...

so if you see me with tassels or like ernie with strings on my fingers, know that i am trying to remember, because God knows that my proclivity is to forget!
keep me mindful of You, O Lord! keep me ever in Your Word and Your Word in me! may i love and long for the means of grace and be faithful to them! may i be a reminder for others and may others remind me of You!

btw - HERE is a great sermon on the colossians 1 passage!

who is your God? what are your idols?

2010-04-06T22:21:00.003-04:00

here are some verses i sent in an email august 30, 2000 (the title comes from an advertisement for an old mortal album... i recently read the book counterfeit gods by tim keller which fits in with the theme as well - and which i'd highly recommend)

Psalm 119:113
i hate double-minded men, but i love your law.

2 Chronicles 25:2
he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, BUT NOT WHOLEHEARTEDLY.

Joshua 24:14-15
now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. but if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.

1 Kings 18:21
elijah went out before the people and said, "how long will you waver between two opinions? if the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." but the people said nothing.

2 Kings 17:38-41
"do not forget the covenant i have made with you, and do not worship other gods. rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies." they would not listen, HOWEVER, but persisted in their former practices. EVEN WHILE these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.

Matthew 6:24
NO ONE can serve two masters. either he will HATE the one and LOVE the other, or he will be DEVOTED to the one and DESPISE the other. you cannot serve both God and Money.

- think 'em through... and remember:

Psalm 24:6
such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

oh the memories...

2010-03-25T14:03:00.002-04:00

as i was leaving fca at the christian school today, one of the guys stopped me to show me a devotion he had written based on 1 Timothy 4:12. (it's really cool - a group of students there is staying everyday after school for devotions and prayer!)

well, i was mentally transported back to the days of the 4-1-2 fellowship that began by asking the question: "if the entire body of Christ looked like me in how they talked, lived, loved, believed and were pure, what would the body of Christ look like?"

with those days in mind, when i got back to the office, i started looking back over some of my old "daily verse" emails that i used to send to that group in pre-facebook, blogging and even im-ing days. it was a real blessing to reread some of the stuff. (this kind of encouragement is a great reason to journal!!!) they are mostly just scripture and a few thoughts. some of them i have reposted previously at http://timmy5jack.tripod.com/dailyverses/, but i thought that i'd go ahead and put some of them here over the coming days. God's truth doesn't change, and i pray that He would continually enable me to communicate it!

here's one from august 7, 2000 that fits in perfectly with this year's quiz material:

faithful?

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
"So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN GIVEN A TRUST MUST PROVE FAITHFUL. I care very little if i am judged my you or by any human court; indeed i do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He WILL BRING TO LIGHT what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

***check out 1 John 1 to go along with this......

make mine a willing heart

2010-03-22T18:24:00.002-04:00

the other morning, i reached the beginning of jonah in the commentary on the minor prophets that i've been reading. shortly thereafter, my ipod (set on random) played the song "hold fast hope" by thrice (which just happens to be based on the story of jonah)...

so i guess the place that leaves me is saying, "o God show me who is my ninevah today, and make mine a willing heart!"

chisel me

2010-03-10T13:46:00.007-05:00

picked up "entermission" by dj official... this is definitely the one that's getting the most play:

chisel me, holy God
break me down with Your love
don't spare Your holy rod
though this pain will be tough
chisel me, Lord
mold me to look like You
this isn't easy but...
do what You gotta do!

a helpful analogy

2010-03-09T09:02:00.002-05:00

a quote from g.i. williamson:

"the fact of the matter is that the Bible cannot possibly be proved to be God's word by anything external to God Himself. this does not mean that the testimony of the church is useless. a guide who points out various masterpieces in an art gallery is of use. he does not make doubtful paintings into masterpieces. he does not even prove masterpieces to be such. but he may be the instrument by which we are brought to see the intrinsic qualities which make them to be masterpieces. so the church may point out that the Bible is the word of God. but this is possible only because it is God's word - because it already displays everywhere within itself the excellencies which belong to word-divinity. it must be there in order to be seen to be there."

It must be getting closer...

2010-03-04T10:30:00.003-05:00

last night, i dreamt that i was emceeing the opening rally for nationals. i was introducing the various ministries that were there but realized that some were still arriving - the auditorium was only about half full. in order to kill some time, i decided to just walk around the crowd and ask random questions. i stuck the microphone (a long sticklike one - kinda like price is right) in kyle keeney's face and asked, "to kill a mockingbird. yes or no?" kyle answered, "yes," and then my alarm went off to wake me up. i found myself very curious as to what the crowd response would have been.

zacchaeus, coke, liberty mutual and the transforming grace of God

2010-02-25T15:09:00.005-05:00

at the end of our study of titus a couple weeks ago, i was talking with one of the girls about attitudes with bothersome people, especially a particular teacher of hers, and how our christianity should be evident even in those situations. i reminded her of zacchaeus' words in Luke 19:8 that she had memorized last year: "but zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'look, Lord! here and now i give half of my possessions to the poor, and if i have cheated anybody out of anything, i will pay back four times the amount.'"

talk about a dramatic response to the presence of Jesus! we discussed what this would look like lived out practically in our lives. as an example, i suggested that instead of saying bad things about the teacher, a reaction of grace might be to bake her brownies - "because Jesus had mercy on me, and because i have spoken poorly of you." she said that she can't really bake brownies, and i said, "it was merely metaphorical."

after she left that day, i continued to think about the concept of the ripple effect of our truly living out of the transforming grace of God shown to us in the death of Christ. astounding. then i began to think about a coke commercial i had seen. (thanks matt c. for finding it and pointing out the liberty mutual ones, too)

if these companies "get it" enough to use this concept to sell us soda or insurance, how much more so should those around us understand that the grace of God has "gotten us?" so i'm gonna keep meditating on Titus 2:11-3:8 and looking to bake some metaphorical brownies to the glory of God!

new deepspace 5 is coming!!!

2010-02-22T22:42:00.003-05:00

seems it's been awhile since i picked up bakesale to help 'em fund this one, but judging from this sweet video dust has done for "from the outside" the drop date is getting closer. :)

challenging quote (to say the least)

2010-02-05T13:10:00.003-05:00

the following is from the chapter, "the discipline of the mind" in r. kent hughes' book "disciplines of a godly man":

"i am aware of the wise warnings against using words like 'all,' 'every,' and 'always' in what i say. absolutizing one's pronouncements is dangerous. but i'm going to do it anyway. here it is: it is impossible for any Christian who spends the bulk of his evenings, month after month, week upon week, day in and day out watching the major TV networks or contemporary videos to have a Christian mind. this is always true of all Christians in every situation! a Biblical mental program cannot coexist with worldly programming.... i am not suggesting a new legalism which forbids tv and the cinema. (there are many worthwhile things to view; moreover, while Christianity is by nature countercultural, it is not anti-cultural.) but i am calling for believers to take control of their minds - what comes in and what goes out."

definitely a thinker... this book was written in 1991 and quotes a 1984 survey that showed U.S. citizens viewing an average of 4 hours of television a day. i am sure that number has not decreased since then. using that figure, that's 28 hours of tv a week... think if even half of that time was spent in serious Bible study and prayer, in loving service to other Christians and neighbors, in talking with my family and friends... how much greater could my impact be?

Bible math

2010-02-03T14:43:00.002-05:00

it never ceases to amaze me the way the Bible works together as a unified whole! as i read in Psalm 119:160 today, "the sum of your word is truth."

my old testament reading this morning had me in Numbers 7. this is NOT one of the more lively, exciting passages i have ever read. it takes place in the 12 days following the original setting up of the tabernacle and the consecration of the altar. on each successive day, a list is given for what each chief among the tribes of israel brings to offer for his tribe. it's a fairly long list with each one bringing a couple silver bowls full of grain, a gold bowl full of incense, oxen, bulls, goats and lambs... and... EACH ONE BRINGS THE SAME LIST OF STUFF! it gets fairly repetitive, but there is an impressive tabulation at the end: after 12 days, they'd brought 2,400 shekels of silver (60 lbs.), 120 shekels of gold (3 lbs.), 12 bulls, 24 oxen, 72 rams, 72 male lambs, and 72 male goats - and this was just the first 12 days of the sacrificing that would continue on for hundreds of year! All pretty mindblowing, but how does this account relate to me now? and more importantly, what does it teach me about God?

well, my new testament reading just happened to have me in Luke 23. (God is so cool the way He works out even the little details of what i'll be reading together in a day!) what's Luke 23 about? Jesus' trial before pilate and herod, His suffering at their hands, and His crucifixion.

the verses that immediately spring to mind are 1 Peter 1:18-19, "knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." praise God that He did Himself what i could never do, even with stacks upon stacks of sacrifices: pay the price for my sin with the blood of His own Son. may the preciousness of that impress itself more and more and more on me, and may the idol of my self-sufficiency be replaced by His all sufficiency!

"for since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? but in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.... but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool at his feet. for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Hebrews 10:1-4, 12-14

good stuff for chewing

2010-01-28T19:40:00.003-05:00

i've been reading the institutes of the christian religion. at the rate i'm going, it'll probably take me 2 or 3 years, but it's good stuff that i've gotta get in good bite sized pieces. here are some samples from book 1, chapter 1:

"our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.... in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts toward the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves;... in the second place, those blessings which unceasingly distill to us from heaven, are like streams conducting us to the fountain... the infinitude of good which resides in God becomes more apparent from our poverty. in particular, the miserable ruin into which the revolt of the first man has plunged us, compels us to turn our eyes upward;"

"there exists in man something like a world of misery, and ever since we were stripped of the divine attire our naked shame discloses an immense series of disgraceful properties... we are accordingly urged by our own evil things to consider the good things of God; and, indeed, we cannot aspire to Him in earnest until we have begun to be displeased with ourselves... every person, therefore, on coming to the knowledge of himself, is not only urged to seek God, but is also led as by the hand to find Him."

"man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God and come down after such contemplation to look into himself. for (such is our innate pride) we always seem to ourselves just, and upright, and wise, and holy, until we are convinced, by clear evidence, of our injustice, vileness, folly, and impurity. convinced, however, we are not, if we look to ourselves only, and not to the Lord also - He being the only standard by the application of which this conviction can be produced."

"so long as we do not look beyond the earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue; we address ourselves in the most flattering terms, and seem only less than demigods. but should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God, and reflect what kind of being He is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness, and wisdom, and virtue, to which, as a standard, we are bound to be conformed, what formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness will become polluted with the greatest iniquity; what strangely imposed upon us under the name of wisdom will disgust by its extreme folly; and what presented the appearance of virtuous energy will be condemned as the most miserable impotence."

"as Scripture uniformly relates, holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God.... men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.... when He shall exhibit His refulgence, and give a nearer view of it, the brightest objects will, in comparison, be covered with darkness."

hoping for a broken heart

2010-01-27T12:26:00.002-05:00

a poem by paul david tripp from his book, "whiter than snow: meditations on sin and mercy":

I am too satisfied
with the things I say
the things I do
the attitudes
of heart
that shape my reactions
day
after
day
after day.
I too easily
accept
quick assessments
of my own righteousness
in situations
where I have been
anything but
righteous.
I am too skilled
at mounting
plausible arugments
structured
to make me feel okay
about what I think
what I desire
what I say
what I do.
I am too defensive
when a love one
makes an attempt
to call me out
and suggest
for a moment
that what I
have decided
said
or done
is less than
godly.
I am too
comfortable
with the state of things
between You and me
too relaxed
with the nature
of my love for You
too able to
minimize
my need for Your
grace.
In the recesses
of my private
world
there is so much
that is wrong
that I am able
to convince myself
is right.
There are attitudes there
that should not be.
There are words there
that should not be
spoken.
There are thoughts
that do not agree
with Your view
of me
and mine.
There are desires
that take me in a
different direction
than what You have planned
for me.
I make decisions
based more on what
I want
than on what
You will.
So I am hoping
for
wise eyes
that are able
to see through
the cloud of
self-righteousness
and see myself
as I actually
am.
I am praying
for
wise ears
that are able
to hear through
the background noise of
well-used platitudes
and hear myself
with clarity.
And I am longing
for
a humble spirit
that is willing
to
accept and confess
what You reveal
as You break through
my defenses
and show me
to me.
I am hoping
for
a broken heart.

"A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17

read old books

2010-01-14T11:21:00.002-05:00

john piper quotes c.s. lewis in "God's passion for His glory" (the quote is originally from lewis' introduction to athanasius' "on the incarnation"):

There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books. . . . This mistaken preference for the modern books and this shyness of the old ones is nowhere more rampant than in theology. . . . Now this seems to me topsy-turvy. Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old. . . . It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. . . . We all . . . need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. . . . We may be sure that the characteristic blindness of the twentieth century . . . lies where we have never suspected it. . . . None of us can fully escape this blindness. . . . The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.

doxology

2010-01-11T13:02:00.004-05:00

during opening for our sunday school youth department, we've been talking about what different words mean - recently, words such as "advent,""hark,""herald,""Emmanuel," and "frankincense," just to name a few. since words are what we use to communicate, it's important for us to know what they mean, or else they don't really communicate much.

the Scripture reading for last sunday's sermon finished up with 1 Timothy 1:17, so i started thinking about singing "immortal, invisible, God only wise" this week for sunday school and thinking about the word "doxology."

now of course when we sing "the doxology," i know it's the song that goes:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

then, when i looked the word up on dictionary.com, i found that it means "a hymn or form of words containing an ascription of praise to God," and that it's origin is "[Medieval Latin doxologia, from Greek doxologiā, praise : doxa, glory, honor (from dokein, to seem; see dek- in Indo-European roots) + -logiā, -logy.]"

it also intrigues me how often in their epistles after making key doctrinal points, the apostles would just burst out in doxology - spontaneous praise to God. just scanning through quickly, i found at least the following examples: Romans 11:33-36, Romans 16:25-27, Ephesians 3:20-21, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:15-16, 2 Timothy 4:18, 1 Peter 4:11, 1 Peter 5:11, 2 Peter 3:18 and Jude 24-25.

this brief survey is just a reminder of where all our doctrine should bring us, where our religion should point, what is in fact our chief end and why gram and i could enjoy five iron frenzy together! PRAISE GOD!

a great way to start the new year...

2010-01-06T20:53:00.002-05:00

from "jonathan edwards' resolutions and advice to young converts":

"being sensible that i am unable to do anything without God's help, i do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake.

remember to read over these resolutions once a week.

1. resolved, that i will do whatsoever i think to be most to God's glory and to my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now or never so many myriads of ages hence. resolved to do whatever i think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. resolved to do this, whatever difficulties i meet with, how ever so many and how ever so great."

(he's got 70 of 'em. they're worth checking out!)

"this week the trend" or "my barnabai"

2009-12-15T10:56:00.009-05:00

reading Ezra 7:10 today in t.t.b.t.t.y. by john stott was a culmination of a least a week of lessons/thoughts. i would love for that to be the summation of my life: to have set my heart to studying, doing and teaching the Law of the Lord!

to reach a goal, however, requires individual steps in the interim. mom always talks about wishing that she could just think and be somewhere, but the reality is that traveling takes time and effort. along that journey, i think that it is important for us to have pauls and timothys and barnabai (or barnabases, if you prefer). these would be ones who are more mature who can help train, mentor and encourage us, those for whom we are playing that role, and those who are our companions progressing at relatively the same level.

God has surely blessed me with pauls too numerous to list - godly men, not only from the united states, but all over the world whose live have impacted mine. men from whom i have been able to sponge wisdom. i am also grateful for books that have allowed me to learn at the feet of men of other generations.

the Lord continually makes timothys readily available, and by His grace, i am learning how to be more effective in pouring into their lives.

the hard one for me sometimes (because youth ministry has me spending much of my time with teenagers) is the role of barnabas - "the son of encouragement" who grows along with me. it is easy to wallow in that "i am all alone" attitude or to soldier on as a "lone ranger."

this past week, i have been reminded of the need to be intentional about developing these kind of relationships ("to have a friend, you've got to be a friend"), and the Lord has been overwhelmingly faithful in showing me just how many opportunities there are around me.

so thank You Lord for the board of deacons (may we grow together in the ministry of mercy). thank You for wednesday lunches. thank You for the pkn and friends to spill my guts to. thank You for a brother in Christ who messaged me with a doctrinal question out of the blue to make me think. thank You for 3 hour lunches at the hot dog shop talking about God stuff. thank You for a brother who is growing up and getting married and seeking to develop a greater depth of relationship. thank You for a friend to work out with and to hold hands with afterward and pray in the ymca parking lot (a masculine arm wrestling type hand hold - see illustration below). thank You for a friend to save me a seat at the high school choir concert. thank You for a new book coming at just the right time. thank You for Psalm 108 being sung to the tune of "rise up, o men of God." O Lord, keep my eyes open for these opportunities!

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
to serve the King of kings.

Rise up, O men of God!
The kingdom tarries long.
Bring in the day of brotherhood
and end the night of wrong.

Rise up, O men of God!
The church for you doth wait,
her strength unequal to her task;
rise up, and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where his feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man,
rise up, O men of God!

THIS NOT

a challenging quote

2009-12-12T15:54:00.003-05:00

"neglect of prayer signals serious defects in a ministry even if other signs of success have not diminished." - bryan chapell

love songs and weddings

2009-12-10T13:08:00.003-05:00

have i mentioned that i really like the shuffle feature? whether it's on my cd player, my blog playlist, itunes or my ipod, i like to let random songs play. well, what came on over the ipod this morning? for better, for worse by slick shoes!

and since i'm going to be at two weddings next week, it got me thinking in a couple of different directions:

1. what are some of my favorite love songs?

2. marriage... especially Ephesians 5:22-33 and praying for adam and heather and matt and becky (and brendan and pam and machia and elizabeth) - that their marriages would be a reflection of Christ and the church, as well as thanking the Lord for allowing me to be in a role to speak truth into these lives (as well as praying for continued guidance and wisdom to do so).

so what songs came to mind besides the aforementioned for better, for worse?
1. droned (in love version) by starflyer 59... "you're the best thing, easily."
2. coupleskate by joe christmas... "hold my hand, stay with me. round and round with the girl of my dreams."
3. i can be her man by the lassie foundation... "seraphs, sages..."
4. the weight by thrice... "love is a loyalty sworn, not a burning for a moment."
5. 5 years to write by john reuben... "this song about my wife took me 5 years to write"
6. new york to california by mat kearney... "for you i would crawl... from new york to california"
7. bicycle by plankeye... "yesterday she lost. her car broke down, so now i ride a bicycle"
8. fell in love at 22 by starflyer 59... "this is our life, our old times"
9. portrait by dear ephesus... "they're a portrait of grace in many shades. how he's growing, learning more each day. oh she loves him in spite of all his ways. they're a portrait of grace in many shades."
10. brightest by copeland... "she said that i was the brightest little firefly in her jar"
11. the romantic balloons by joy electric... "i'll come to greet you soon, and bring to you the romantic balloons" (followed by much synthesized joy)
12. learning me by mars ill... "without a doubt the rose petal tamed the hurricane"

well, there they are... "for better, for worse" LOL! may God truly bless these marriages!

oh yeah, and slick chicken by joe christmas... "so,uh, what are you doing for the next 40 or 50 years? you wouldn't mind uh um marrying me much, would you?"

profound poetry

2009-12-04T14:42:00.002-05:00

i have been reading "whiter than snow: meditations of sin and mercy" by paul david tripp, a series of 52 meditations based on Psalm 51. today's poem really struck me (and reminded me a little of some stuff i have written):

"I wish I would live with You in view;
Eyes to Your glory
Ears for Your wisdom
Heart for Your grace.
But I live with me in view.
Eyes to my kingdom
Ears for my opinion
Heart captured by my will.
I know I was made for You,
I know that Hope
Meaning
Purpose
Identity
My agenda for every day,
Is to be found in You.
But I want my own kingdom
I love my own glory
I define my own meaning
I delight in my control.
I know You are not fooled
By my burnt offerings.
There's a war that never ends;
The battleground is my heart.
It's a moral skirmish
Between what You have ordained
And what I want.
So I don't find pleasure in Your glory,
I don't delight in Your law.
But my heart doesn't rest;
I know there's a better way.
I know You are God
And I am not.
My sin is more than
Bad behavior
A bad choice
Wrong words.
My sin is a violation of the relationship
That I was meant to have with You.
My sin is an act
Where I replace You
With something I love more.
Every wrong thing I do
Reflects
A lack of love for You,
Reflects
A love of self.
Help me
To see
To acknowledge
To weep
And say,
'Against You, You only have I sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight.'
And then help me to rest
In Your mercy
In Your tender mercy
In Your faithful love,
Even as the war goes on."

our ebenezer

2009-11-30T20:34:00.004-05:00

several years ago, we began the tradition of having a family "ebenezer" time (1 Sam. 7:12) when we are all together over the holidays. it has been such a blessed reminder to be able to share what the Lord has been teaching and working in our lives throughout the year as well as praying and singing with one another! we had our gathering this past saturday and the following are some thoughts and prayers that have risen in my mind from that time (as compiled from our quiz material - 2 Cor. 2-5):

gram - 2 Cor. 3:2 - thank you God for allowing us to be in the family of this faithful woman.
dad - 2 Cor. 5:18 - thank you for reminding us to view life through the lens of God's sovereignty!
mom - 2 Cor. 5:15 - thank you for your selfless example - may Christ receive all the glory!
uncle paul - 2 Cor. 5:20 - thank you for representing Christ well wherever you go!
aunt lois - 2 Cor. 2:4 - as sarah reminded us, your letters were such a reminder of your love :) thank you!
bean - 2 Cor. 4:8-10 - know that we are standing with you on our knees - He will not give you more than you can handle. may Christ's life be manifested through you even in this difficult time!
joey - 2 Cor. 3:16 - we pray for your turning - O Lord, remove the veil.
jason - 2 Cor. 3:12 - i began to pray this one for you as you shared - praise God for hope, praise God for boldness!
brandyn - 2 Cor. 4:13 - it's a blessing that you feel so free to share with us - and such faith to speak... may the baby within you grow to be God's mighty servant!
levi - 2 Cor. 5:7 - way to go learning your verse! may this truth guide your life, little priest :)
layla rose - 2 Cor. 4:17-18 - we never knew you, but we celebrate the wisdom of our God... you already know the glory far more than we do!
baby boyd - 2 Cor. 4:15 - may God's grace extend to you - increasing our thanksgiving and His glory!
ryan - 2 Cor. 3:5 - Christ IS your sufficiency. amen.
sarah - 2 Cor. 2:14 - your joy is a constant reminder of our triumphal procession, may it continue to spread the knowledge of Him.
julia - 2 Cor. 4:6 - may the light of Christ shine in your heart!
matt - 2 Cor. 5:17-19 - as a new creation in Christ, may you be an agent of reconciliation!
becky - 2 Cor. 5:11 - welcome to the family :) hopefully the time together has helped you to get to know us a little better.

hitting the nail on the head

2009-11-20T08:16:00.002-05:00

after much anticipation, when i finally got the new thrice cd, beggars, 2 weeks ago, my first listen left me a little disappointed. but a crazy thing has happened, it has not left my player since! and i love it a little bit more every time it plays. much of this appreciation has to do with dustin kensrue's lyrics... great stuff! very biblical stuff like this from "all the world is mad":

We can’t medicate man to perfection again;
We can’t legislate peace in our hearts.
We can’t educate sin from our souls, it’s been there from the start.

But the blind lead the blind into bottomless pits,
Still we smile and deny that we’re cursed.
But of all our iniquities ignorance may be the worst.

Oh, what little light we have!
It only serves to show
The snares and seeds of wrath
We have already sewn on every path.

Praise God for Jesus Christ - the only remedy to our situation! "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

for the sake of His name

2009-11-16T18:06:00.002-05:00

key:

what God will do

why God will do it

"thus says the Lord GOD: it is not for your sake, o house of israel, that i am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. and i will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. and the nations will know that i am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you i will vindicate my holiness before their eyes. i will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. i will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. and i will give you a new heart, and a new spirit i will put within you. and i will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. and i will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. you shall dwell in the land that i gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and i will be your God. and i will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. and i will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. i will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. it is not for your sake that i will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. be ashamed and confounded for your ways, o house of israel.

thus says the Lord GOD: on the day that i cleanse you from all your iniquities, i will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. and the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. and they will say, ' this land that was desolate has become like the garden of eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' then the nations that are left all around you shall know that i am the LORD; i have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. i am the LORD; i have spoken, and i will do it.

thus says the Lord GOD: this also i will let the house of israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. then they will know that i am the LORD." Ezekiel 36:22-38

just another reason i love thrice

2009-11-08T23:07:00.000-05:00

thrice - "in exile"

catching up via some mental images

2009-11-02T14:21:00.002-05:00

several things that i have seen or heard over the past few weeks that have caused me to stop and think:

- standing behind a girl in line at the cafeteria, and reading the tattoo on the back of her neck: "trust no one." wow - what pain lies behind such a statement? what a hopeless credo to live by! praise God for surrounding me with people that i love and CAN trust... and even moreso, that even when these people fail me (cause CAN i really trust them or even myself 100% of the time?!?), i can ALWAYS trust God!

- hearing our pastor's young son (just turned 1) calling out from the back of the sanctuary just as we were closing the celebration of the Lord's Supper: "hi dada." and mark's reply of "hi benjamin." the significance that this meal represents the fact that we can approach the King of all creation, the Lord of heaven and earth with simple confidence as our "dada" through the death of His Son - the body and blood broken and shed for our sins. sweet communion!

- the preparations of an elderly christian man for the day of his funeral, assuring that the gospel would be spoken clearly even when he is gone from this lifetime by requesting that the first question of the heidelberg catechism be read as part of the ceremony:

Question 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death? Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

rockin' out at red lights...

2009-07-31T10:27:00.002-04:00

i like to put my ipod on shuffle as i drive around. well, yesterday was one of those times when a sweet song (get up by bleach) came on just as i pulled up to a red light. since i wasn't in the act of steering a vehicle, i was jamming on my air guitar. i glanced up and who was standing on the corner pointing and laughing at me? mark, my youth group leader from when i was in high school! i rolled down the window and yelled, "it's a sweet song!" to which he replied, "i know, i do the same thing all the time!"

as i drove on, i remembered a time when rick devore spoke for Bible club and shared a similar scenario. he likened the experience to the gospel: when people can hear the music, it makes perfect sense, but when they can't hear it, they can think we're pretty crazy.

we're just starting to embark on a year long journey through 1 and 2 Corinthians and Titus. paul may not have had an ipod, but i'm pretty sure he'd agree with the analogy:

"for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

as we head into camp this next week and throughout the entire year, my prayer is that many many young people would "hear the music of the gospel."

changin' focus a little bit

2009-07-21T22:50:00.002-04:00

just a little under 2 years ago, i moved to an apartment house in east end next to my grandparents. a big part of me being there was to help keep an eye on them. well, now that they have moved to a nursing home, my purpose there needs to be more intentially directed elsewhere. where to? building relationships with my neighbors and sharing the truth of Jesus Christ with them. one main focus will be matt, who is buying pap and gram's house from them.

a good encouragement for this has come in studying Jonah this summer at disc golfing, and then having our messages in fairmont last week come from the same place. praise the Lord for the power of the gospel! (Jonah 2:9) may i be a useful tool in His hand!

ironically, what was playing on the ipod random shuffling this morning on the way to the office??? nineveh by brandtson! :)

it's so hard for me to tell you how i feel. and i can never say exactly what i mean. you are my nineveh and i've been jonah from the start. and i can't let you make the same mistakes i've made. if for a moment i could overcome my fear i wouldn't have to hide behind this fiction wall. sometimes i wonder how i call myself your friend. a failure to myself. a failure to Him. what if i told you. would you reach for Him after all. would you fall down to your knees. would you walk away from it all. would you fall down at His feet. and i watch you live in months between the sun. i can't help but feel that i wanted more than this. and still i smile inside and know it's not the end. because the light of hope is brighter than this wall of silence

for thought

2009-07-04T12:01:00.002-04:00

"it is not enough to be correct in our beliefs about the Scriptures if God is not day by day dealing with us through the Scriptures." j.i. packer

would i? peg leg!

2009-06-15T17:44:00.003-04:00

friday night, i experienced one of those "time slows down, brain makes analysis, body reacts" moments. i was heading for second base, and the shortstop had gotten a ground ball and was running there, too. there were two outs, and my brain did the math on the distance we both had to cover. if i slid HARD, i could beat him there. i did. the bad thing is, the bag didn't really give at all. so, since friday evening, my left leg has been like a giant stoved finger... a big, old club hanging from my hip. it really is troublesome when your knee refuses to bend!

one of the guys said to me as i stood doubled over after the slide, "you know, you really don't have to do that... especially when we're ahead 12-3." well, that's just not me. i go after it, cause that's the way i'm wired.

which brings me to the point of this blog... i was reading 2 Corinthians 12 the other day, and came across verse 15: "i will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls." did you catch that? "i will MOST GLADLY spend and be spent for your souls." that's how paul described his ministry! and that's how i want to be for the sake of the gospel (not just in athletic competition)!

the cool thing is, i can couple the two in softball. after playing 8 or 10 years with my cousins' church, we have our own team this year. it mostly consists of young guys who aren't very active in church and whom i don't know much about their spiritual condition. of course, it's my privilege to have the team devotions before the games and to make sure that the gospel is plainly spelled out for all to hear.

what's my prayer in this thing? "God, i'm asking You for these souls!!! (fred, fred, nate, jake, zach, sam, brian, jess, jeff, steve, matt, nate, brian, louis). i will MOST GLADLY spend and be spent for them! use me."

pilgrims (what may flowers bring)

2009-05-28T12:32:00.004-04:00

may has seen me spending a lot of time in the garden, and since i always fill out those email surveys that ask "what do you want to be when you grow up?" with "a gardener," it has been a particularly enjoyable month. (even with all the other "life" stuff swirling around)

i've been tossing this particular blog entry around in my mind for quite some time. in fact, i first started thinking about it when looking at the tulips outside my front door just before leaving for nationals and realizing that they'd bloom while i was gone, and that i'd probably miss most of their "beautiful" days.

(yes, these are azaleas not tulips past their prime blooming)

as i spent time at nationals meditating on all the Scripture that had been memorized throughout the year, 1 Peter 1:24-25 came to mind:

"all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. the grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever."

praise God for the eternality of His Word! may it fall on good soil.(Luke 8:11-15)

everything i need

2009-05-22T17:14:00.002-04:00

so i've been reading concurrently through the old and new testaments... today's reading had me in Exodus 29 and Mark 6. interestingly enough, both had something to do with God's provision for those whom He calls to serve Him.

in Exodus 29:31-34, the priests are to eat portions of the sacrifice of atonement in His presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. not only does God provide the atonement that allows us to come into His presence, He even provides the food for us to eat!

in Mark 6:30-44, Jesus' disciples are tired after coming back from a time of ministry. He takes them off to "a desolate place" to "rest a while." they hadn't even had the leisure to eat... well, you know the story, the crowd beat's them to the desolate spot and Jesus spends the day teaching them. then He tells the disciples to feed them. talk about blowing their minds! well, who multiplied the bread? Jesus. who gave the disciples what they needed to carry out His command? Jesus. and who provided leftovers for the disciples? Jesus.

even (especially) when i feel like i'm over my head... i can trust the Lord to provide EVERYTHING I NEED! lol - and all the other times? well, He's the one providing then, too, i'm just too dumb to recognize it!

the time between times

2009-05-21T13:17:00.003-04:00

may's kinda the month where the quiz season is done, Bible club is wrapping up, and i kinda get a deep breath from youth ministry before pressing on into the coming year. besides a lot of weeding and planting in the garden, i've also been doing some reading... including rereading thomas watson's "heaven taken by storm: showing the holy violence a christian is to put forth in the pursuit after glory." here are some good thoughts on meditation:

"[meditation] is a holy exercise of the mind whereby we bring the truths of God to remembrance, and do seriously ponder upon them and apply them to ourselves.... but where is the meditating christian? here i might lament the lack of holy meditation. most people live in a hurry. they are so distracted with the cares of the world that they can find no time to meditate or scarcely ask their souls how they do.... i dare to be bold to say that if men would spend but one quarter of an hour every day in contemplating heavenly objects, it would leave a mighty impression on them.... but how should we meditate? get a love for spiritual things. we usually meditate on those things which we love. the voluptuous man can muse on his pleasures; the covetous man on his bags of gold. if we loved heavenly things, we would meditate more on them. many say they cannot meditate because they lack memory; but is it not rather because they lack affection? if they loved the things of God, they would make them their continual study and meditation."

pretty applicable stuff from a guy who wrote over 300 years ago!

all things are working together OR He is God, i am not

2009-05-19T12:37:00.002-04:00

as previously mentioned, i'm not a way distant thinker, but a "now" type of person. well, today's one of those days when the status quo is being shaken up a bunch (looks like a nursing home's a must :( ), so i'm especially thankful that our sunday school lesson this past week was from Romans 8:28-39!

***there are so many precious promises that i am clinging to in that passage, since life is currently beyond my feeble understanding!

thoughts on prayer (the day after the national day)

2009-05-08T08:27:00.002-04:00

"but after we have learned by faith to know that whatever is necessary for us or defective in us is supplied in God and in our Lord Jesus Christ... that we may thence draw as from an inexhaustible fountain, it remains for us to seek and in prayer implore of Him what we have learned to be in Him. to know God as the sovereign disposer of all good, inviting us to present our requests, and yet not to approach or ask of Him, were so far from availing us, that it were just as if one told of a treasure were to allow it to remain buried in the ground." j. calvin

"let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from and evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:19-22

do it!

christianity in its very essence is a resurrection religion!

2009-04-12T16:01:00.002-04:00

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the victory, Thou o’er death has won;
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave clothes where Thy body lay.
Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death has won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.
Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death has won.

No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life;
Life is naught without Thee; aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conqu’rors, through Thy deathless love:
Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above.
Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death has won.

a very good place to start...

2009-04-11T09:25:00.003-04:00

when you mix together my love of the sound of music and techno (and my friend links to this video), then i wind up whistling do re mi and dancing around like i did yesterday...

ironically enough, as justin was doodling on his paper while we were waiting for others to finish their table officials' tests last evening, i realized what "1 2 3 4..." is in luke - and it IS elementary!

"for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12:34

blood of the Healer, fall on me...

2009-04-10T09:03:00.003-04:00

it's not enough to simply know the facts of Christ's death and resurrection... to know that His blood pays the price of sin, or even to know that it pays for sins of the people around me. i need His blood to pay for MY SIN. God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

"knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter 1:18-19

we've sung this hymn a couple times recently

2009-04-06T12:25:00.002-04:00

it's "come ye sinners, poor and needy," by joseph hart

this verse is especially great:

come, ye weary, heavy laden,
lost and ruined by the fall;
if you tarry till you're better,
you will never come at all.

me against me against me

2009-04-05T15:29:00.002-04:00

i've been reading a devotional book by john stott called "through the Bible, through the year." this week's readings are the 7 words of Jesus from the cross. today, in thinking about His total selflessness in saying, "Father forgive them," in the midst of His suffering and pain, i was forced to repent of my own selfishness. i think that the time when it rears its head the most is when i'm sick or injured, and Jesus was specifically thinking of OTHERS in the midst of His pain... i need to keep the words of Philippians 2:3-4 always before me!

the title i gave this makes me think of a great old project song:

(yeah, i've been this close)

my mother's words haunt me still...

2009-04-03T17:20:00.003-04:00

when sarah and i were younger, mom had some key catchphrases she'd use - things like "with great skill and dexterity" and "you can't sue me, i already am." sometimes when we were being especially obnoxious, she would tell us, "you can be replaced by a short monkey." that phrase always seemed kind of odd to me and stuck in my head, so much so that we even named a spaceman joe album of oddities after it.

so i've been gone all week. i saw on the facebook that heather had put up some photos of people "studying" while i was gone. in one of them, i noticed that randi had a stuffed animal that i did not recognize. hmmmm.

well, today, while we were getting ready to study, joey pulls the monkey out and tosses it to randi and refers to it as "little steve." i asked, "where did that come from and what did you just call it?" joey said, "i found it in the basement the other day, and we named it after you since you were gone."

so, yeah, i've been replaced by a short monkey!!!! (thanks mom) ;)

jon price, tim keller and tony dinozzo

2009-03-27T10:23:00.004-04:00

(it's been a hectic week... i'd meant to blog this much sooner)

jon price preached (or is it praught) at our church sunday morning from John 4:4-27 - talking about Jesus sharing the gospel with the samaritan woman and what our attitude is towards unbelievers... or as he was saying "those" people...

some of his good points echoed tim keller from his book, the reason for God... which i highly recommend. (i on the other hand was quoting from the prodigal God on sunday evening, which i would ALSO recommend :) )

interestingly enough, my mind also went back to watching an episode of ncis with the mccoys and ramseys saturday evening(maggie and jeremy were in for the weekend and are in love with the show almost as much as my parents). in the episode, tony was undercover as an escaped convict in an attempt to get another convict to lead him to some stolen valuables. little did he know that the seemingly mild mannered prisoner was a serial killer! when he found out tony was a federal agent and was about to slit his throat from behind, he made this comment:

"Just so you know, when I said no one ever treated me like you did, I meant that."

now tony dinozzo is not someone that i would usually point to as a model for behavior. however, shouldn't that be the reaction of people around us to our attitude and witness... humble servants sharing the truth out of hearts compelled by the love of Christ!!!!

(the contrast of sinner/righteous stereotypes is also a major theme in the luke... maybe more on that later)

celebrating green

2009-03-17T14:59:00.002-04:00

nah... not because it's st. patrick's day... because i noticed some of the first flowers popping up out of the ground this morning... a great reminder of new birth in Christ - life from death... i've been reading a really good book by john piper on that subject, you should check it out! me? now i'm excited to do yardwork! :)

i had to help pap put on his socks this morning

2009-03-16T11:26:00.002-04:00

this past month, especially since gram got home from the hospital, i've been reflecting a lot on a lesson i first learned in tanzania in the spring of 2001. i had some really great alone time with God at the guest house we stayed at in dar es salaam. mike and i were doing seminars morning and evening, but in the afternoons i got to spend some precious time in study and prayer on a patio overlooking the indian ocean...

anyway, for several years, one of our key thoughts that we kept coming back to at Bible study was "pleasing God is a good thing" (originally springing from Hebrews 11:6... it was the answer i could always count on jen roberts to come up with)... as i was reading my Bible in tanzania, i came across Ephesians 5:10: "find out what pleases the Lord." hmmm - a command - i like straight forward commands. kinda like having a to do list, it gives direction.

now this was several years before i read "the pleasures of God," (i HIGHLY recommend it) and i didn't go nearly as in depth as john piper did... but, what i did do was to flip through my concordance and look for the words "this pleases the Lord." seemed pretty logical ;)

well, one of the first passages i came to was 1 Timothy 5:4 "if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing to God."

boom! smack in the face. i had to repent of the fact that i sometimes resented the "inconvenience" of going down the driveway to my grandmother's trailer to help her with things. this was a mirror into the selfishness of my sin nature... i want my own way and to control my own schedule... i need to constantly be reminded to humble myself before God's will, saying "USE ME! HOWEVER, WHEREVER, WHENEVER!"

little did i realize at the time, that i had less than a year to put this lesson into practice with gram... next week, it'll be 7 years she's been gone. but now, as i live next to my other grandparents, and as they struggle with failing health and many "difficult" days, may my service to them be a reflection of my gratitude to Jesus for His gracious sacrifice for me and of gratitude for godly grandparents who are in a large part responsible for who i am today! Lord, help me to serve you with JOY!

getting bogged down

2009-03-12T11:59:00.002-04:00

"but watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. for it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. but stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:34-36

i'm a "right here, right now" type of person (no, not like jesus jones... though i CAN do the falsetto). more like, i can get very focused on the place that i am, the people i'm around, the task at hand or even the current distraction. this can be a good thing in some instances (such as not getting homesick when traveling or pushing to finish a task), but it can also become a tunnel vision that keeps me from thinking ahead. i miss the big picture and need reminding.

as i read this passage today, it was a big picture reminder. "watch" - i tend to notice this word a lot. i don't think that Jesus would say "watch," if there wasn't a danger.

as i was meditating on this idea of dangers that could bog me down and take my mind off of the reality of Christ's impending return, i realized that i wasn't coming up with a good mental definition of "dissipation." so i looked it up. of course, the first one in the list wasn't really all that helpful:

1. the act of dissipating.

duh. but then it got thought provoking:

2. the state of being dissipated; dispersion; disintegration.
3. a wasting by misuse: the dissipation of a fortune.
4. mental distraction; amusement; diversion.
5. dissolute way of living, esp. excessive drinking of liquor; intemperance.
6. Physics, Mechanics. a process in which energy is used or lost without accomplishing useful work, as friction causing loss of mechanical energy.

how do i keep from wasting what i have, just muddling through the day? i need to heed Jesus' commands: watch, stay awake, pray... be aware of His impending return, because someday i will stand before the Son of Man.

instead...

2009-03-04T14:13:00.002-05:00

when i turned on the radio this morning, this song was playing. it's been awhile since i've heard it, but it made me sad to listen - especially the line, "my daddy gave me a name, then he walked away."

i've spent some time meditating this morning on Ephesians 6:4, Deuteronomy 6:5-9 and Luke 11:2-13. how very important it is that we raise up a generation who understands the true nature of our Heavenly Father and who live out their relationships in light of that knowledge and relationship!

practical christian living

2009-02-26T09:08:00.002-05:00

"'everything bad [the ungodly] can seize hold of in our life is twisted maliciously against Christ and His teaching. the result is that by our fault God's sacred name is exposed to insult. the more closely we see ourselves being watched by our enemies, the more intent we should be to avoid their slanders, so that their ill-will strengthens us in the desire to do well.'

as believers we should seek to be exemplary in every aspect of our lives, doing our best for the sake of Christ and His gospel. our work, play, driving and shopping should all be done with a view that unbelievers will be attracted to the gospel that they see at work in our lives."

(the content of this post as well as the title comes straight from tuesday's devotional by jerry bridges... the quote within the quote is from john calvin)

hitting the homestretch

2009-02-24T09:18:00.003-05:00

so you have your gregorian calendar, your lunar calendar, your fiscal calendar, your liturgical calendar, your school calendar, your chinese calendar... but my calendar, of course, is the quiz season calendar. i don't remember if i was born in the year of the monkey or the rabbit or the rat, but i DO remember that i graduated in the year of luke. and crazy enough, i keep track of when others graduated in the same way.

well, i've just about come full cycle again. there are just over two months left with this gospel which is so full of treasures. it seems like so long since the days of meditating on Luke 1:4.

this morning i had the opportunity to speak at chapel for the christian school (the first time since they became our new downtown neighbors), and i expanded some on saturday's quiz devotional. i read a good portion of chapters 22 and 23 (thank you whitney and joey and justin - you got my head in these ones a lot) looking at different people's reactions to who Jesus is. we focused most specifically on the thief on the cross who understood his just punishment, Jesus' undeserved death AND the fact that Jesus alone had say over his eternal destiny. (Luke 23:39-43; 2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

anyway, i just came away from that time marveling at the goodness of God as He has opened up the whole of the book throughout the year and enabled me to pull further illustrations from earlier in the book even as i spoke today about chapter 23! what an exciting process, what an amazing God!

little did i realize that i was about to receive a multiplied blessing... in checking my email before heading home to put out pap's trash, i read a missionary update from the sawka's who work in Bible translation in zambia (ironically, ken used to teach at the christian school). i'll share a paragraph:

Because their language has been neglected and is not well known outside their own area, the Soli have been called ‘the hidden language group’ of Zambia. They number well over 50,000 speakers but have never had a book published in their language. We hope to have the first book in Soli by the end of this year, and it will be a book of the Bible!!

and below that paragraph is a picture with this caption: "first drafts of the gospel of luke in the soli language"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yeah, this living and active Word that has been unfolding anew for me this year will be the first thing that these people EVER READ IN THEIR LANGUAGE! praise God - may He open hearts and eyes!

***please pray for the sawka's in their translation work, for our quiz teams as we wrap up the local season and head for nationals in st. louis AND for the christian school... i would love to see them add Bible quizzing next year - especially since they are now down here close!

2 randoms from last night

2009-02-19T08:56:00.002-05:00

first, on lost, there was one of the greatest lines... ever. during a particularly tense situation, jack asked ben "how can you read?" ben's response: "my mother taught me how." totally deadpan... i LOVE it!

second, i've been reading a devotional by jerry bridges, holiness day by day. last night's was dealing with Titus 2:11-12. he gives a very helpful and convicting definition for "ungodliness":

"ungodliness in its broadest form basically comprises disregarding God, ignoring Him, or not taking Him into account in one's life. it's a lack of fear and reverence for Him... a person may be highly moral and even benevolent and still be ungodly."

i've definitely been chewing on that one a bunch! the coolest part? God's grace trains us to renounce ungodliness! :)

post super bowl thoughts...

2009-02-02T13:52:00.002-05:00

the number of late games (4:15 start) that the steelers have played this year coupled with the fact that evening church is 6-7 and youth group 7-8:30, i haven't seen many entire games this season. however, more than once, we spent the first 10-15 minutes of youth group listening to a tense final few minutes on the radio as they pulled out dramatic wins...

with that in mind, after i got over the initial shock and disappointment of fitzgerald's go ahead touchdown, my first two thoughts were very similar to mike tomlin's post-game sentiments: "well, at least they have more than 2 minutes on the clock," and "i'm sure they can pull this out, it's what they've been doing all year."

oh, we did youth group before church last night, so i got to catch the end of the first half and all of the second half AND the steelers beat the cardinals 67-60 in our annual youth group table top football super bowl. (we play 7 minute quarters)

no longer

2009-01-25T12:41:00.002-05:00

i've been reading a commentary on the minor prophets, which of course begins with hosea. this week, Hosea 2:16 really caught my attention... (twice actually - which means that the first blog entry remains unwritten or actually has been included together with this one):

the first english version of the Bible that i had looked at translates the verse "you will call me 'My Husband'" and "no longer 'My Master." i was meditating and praying through that idea... how i long for myself and for the students to which i minister to react in our relationship with God based on the true nature of His covenant with us: a loving relationship, rather than one of duty... ie. not saying "well, i'll do it because i have to" or afraid of punishment but out of joy of relationship and a longing for the pleasure of God. (understanding that HIS pleasure is what brings me pleasure).

well, when i was getting ready to type that all out the other day, i was caught up short when i read the esv (and subsequently several other versions). rather than translating the word to english "master," - it leaves it as the proper name "baal." that can throw a whole new twist into it - not saying that the first thought is not a good meditating/prayer point, but that perhaps it is not necessarily the main point that is being addressed here.

rather (and it makes sense understanding the entire context of hosea), the prayer should be that we as the people of God would return to proper relationship with our covenant God as opposed to pursuing and crying after other lovers. speaking personally and corporately - it is SO EASY to be tempted to "chase the skirts" of so many baals.

oh God, may i, may we return to our first love! do a Hosea 2:17 work in us... "remove the names of the baals from [our] mouth[s]!"

baby it's COLD outside...

2009-01-16T12:31:00.003-05:00

(though def not as cold as minn/wisc... we are soft!) so last night, i was a little reluctant to go out to the car to go home. i wound up following a little trail on the internet, that i will now lead you down. why, you ask? because the end results are a couple really cool things that i found!

(keep in mind, this is all occurring while i'm having a conversation with matt clutter on the facebook)

last week, rachel had commented on my blog that she had gotten my message to levi. however, when she asked me this week if i had seen her message, well, i had not. so i read it last night and then clicked to look if she had updated. seeing her profile, part of her "interests" intrigued me: bible quizzing. hmmmm, i thought, i wonder who all i might know of all the bloggers who are interested in bible quizzing. who did i happen to find? teens for Christ northwest! i read on their blog about an online practice quiz generator (i probably should have noticed that the entry was from 2004) which was located on their homepage. the generator's not there, but i DID find two gems: reftagger and wordle.

reftagger allows me to type in a reference such as my life verse, Hebrews 4:12, and as long as i capitalize it, the reader can scroll over the reference and see the verse! without me having to worry about linking to bible gateway or anything else...

wordle in simple terms makes word art. the input comes from your entered text OR from an rss or atom feed. what is really cool is that the words are sized by how often they occur. the really sweet art on tfc's site shows the gospel of luke, and which are the 400 words that most frequently occur (it can weed out common words like "the" and "a" and "and").
(oh, this one's actually only the top 300 words...)

i was like, COOL! so i experimented awhile. here are some of my creations:

Godspeed by mortal

dr. seuss's ABCs for my little cousin levi
(i removed the words "big", "little", and "begins" cause they dwarfed everything!)

some will seek forgiveness, others escape by underoath

sunday, bloody sunday by u2

running to stand still by u2

every new day by five iron frenzy

come thou fount of every blessing

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

stare at the sun by thrice

oh the irony

2009-01-14T15:36:00.003-05:00

the other day i was listening to the radio and a guy was commenting on the somali pirates who had hijacked a saudi oil tanker. he was lamenting the fact that they had given in on their demands and accepted $3 million for its release rather than their initial $5 million ransom price. he was making a humorous point about the devaluing of the dollar, and that if they were gonna take such a risk they ought to get their money's worth. well, believe me, i was surprised to see this article a little later on. welcome to reality, boys, Jesus' words still ring true:

"for what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
Luke 9:25

oh the weather outside is frightful...

2009-01-13T07:45:00.004-05:00

so a verse that i've been mulling over since sunday evening's sermon is Matthew 24:12: "and because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold." as i was meditating on it yesterday, another verse that came to mind was 2 Timothy 1:6: "for this reason, i remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."

i've been getting a graphic illustration of this lately because of the cold weather and stoking my woodburner. i am also reminded that charles spurgeon referred to members of his congregation who would pray for him while he preached as the church's "boiler room."

so i am striving to be stoking my life daily with the Word of God (Psalm 39:3), adding the breath of prayer (Ephesians 6:18), praying for the spark of the Spirit (Luke 11:13), moving around in acts of service (1 Cor. 16:15) and seeking the warming friction of fellow believers (Prov 27:17). may my heart stay well warmed within me, O God!

"when you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn!" john wesley

HOLD FAST HOPE!

2008-12-17T17:07:00.006-05:00

so today i sandwiched attending a funeral in between calling to wish joey a happy birthday in the morning and calling to wish jason a happy birthday at noon. (being a pacific coaster, i figured he'd rather me not call him at 4:45 am his time...) but as i was getting ready for the day and also thinking about the impending birth of ryan and sarah's baby... i found myself meditating on this passage in Ecclesiastes 7:

"a good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. it is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools..."

the other night at men's bible study, we were talking about the complacency of normalcy, (say that 5 times fast) and the stunning nature of Revelation 9:20-21. 1/3 of mankind is destroyed, but the living DO NOT repent. they just keep on going...

i'd also been listening quite a bit to the new thrice "live at the house of blues cd" (and watching the dvd). some lyrics have really been sticking out at me... from "broken lungs": "A fire burns beneath Manhattan still we breathe with broken lungs we act like none of this matters is that what we meant when we said that we'd sing what must be sung?" yeah, it's totally possible to be shocked and then to go back to life as normal...

i found myself writing in the margin of my bible, "God, may i not be as obstinate!" and being humbled by the fact that He has opened my eyes to the reality of the gospel!

today, i have come face to face with birth and death; life temporal and life eternal. may my living in the one be always grounded with an eye towards the other!

self examination

2008-12-10T10:59:00.004-05:00

i've been reading a book called Death by Love: Letters from the Cross by Mark Driscoll. in the chapter on reconciliation, he had some good stuff about bitterness... its source and some good questions to check ourselves for it:

"bitterness is often unrelated to the magnitude of a sin but is instead correlated to the emotional proximity of the offender. it is also often tied to betrayal. what i mean is this: if a stranger sins against you in a big way, you are unlikely to get bitter. but if a beloved family member or friend sins against you in a little way, you are likely to get bitter because you have opened your heart to that person and have high expectations for the relationship. therefore, those whom you love the most are most likely to provoke your bitterness because their sin rises to the level of betrayal."

am i bitter? questions:

"1. do you continually replay in your mind with great detail a negative past event and dislike for the person(s) involved?
2. do you find yourself continually referring to someone in a pejorative fashion because of some past hurt?
3. do you intentionally avoid certain person(s) because you find yourself becoming continually annoyed or angry in their presence?
4. do you find that your dislike of someone is growing over time?"

*** why is any of this important? remember the words of Hebrews 12:15 "see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" bitterness can cause us to miss God's grace and keeps us from living out of it towards others. bitterness causes trouble. bitterness defiles others.

"for He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility" Ephesians 2:14

raising the harvest song

2008-11-21T19:05:00.002-05:00

with it being thanksgiving time, we of course have been practicing a couple of "thankful" numbers for choir. the one for sunday morning is an arrangement of "come, ye thankful people, come." well, the arranger must have had some sort of issues that he wanted to take out on the tenors and basses, because after not singing for the first page and a half, we then sing DOUBLE TIME to try to catch up with the ladies. and not just double time... sometimes it's double time with a stutter!

however, redemption comes in the final verse, as we come back to sing together and "more broadly." every week as we finish the song, i find this verse becoming my prayer and all hardships that i had with the arranger long forgotten (fittingly enough, my Bible reading had me at matthew 9:37-38 yesterday as well!). sing it with gusto!!!

even so, Lord, quickly come,
bring Thy final harvest home;
gather Thou Thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there, forever purified,
in Thy presence to abide;
come, with all Thine angels come,
raise the glorious harvest home.

amen. come Lord Jesus.

yeah, i'm an emo kid...

2008-11-20T14:00:00.003-05:00

or at least i tear up more than your "stereotypical guy" is supposed to...

of course, who says that the stereotypes are correct? i think about when the psalmist says, "my eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law." (ps. 119:136), or the ephesian elders crying over paul's departure (acts 20:37), or even better, Jesus himself ("Jesus wept" - john 11:35).

so what makes me cry? (and why do i analyze and form lists?)

goodbyes: driving away from my sister's place in jersey, hugging dad at the airport

books: reepicheep sailing away in the voyage of the dawn treader (the best of the lot! imo), a walk to remember, the departure from the grey havens in the return of the king (note: the movie did NOT make me cry)

movies: the scene where julius' eyes meet gary's mom's in the er in remember the titans, pretty much the whole way through we are marshall

songs: hearing taps played at the memorial or veterans' day parades

BUT - being the week it is AND being the son of a tubist... when the drum major salutes and high fives the tubist... something within me swells and the tears begin to fall - yeah - i'm from O-H-I-O:

not what you expect to hear in a message about tithing...

2008-11-16T12:48:00.002-05:00

"don't give"

yup, you read that right. today in our pastor's series where he's been covering "back to basics," we came to "what the Bible teaches about tithing." well, because 2 corinthians 9:7 says, "each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver," mark's point was "nothing short of an attitude of gratitude for the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ should be the motivation for our giving." AND if our motivation is ANYTHING else - guilt, habit, etc. - it is better not to give at all! chew on that one.

never thought of it that way before...

2008-11-13T14:53:00.003-05:00

as part of studying Luke this year, i've been reading a commentary by michael wilcock. he makes a great point about luke 15:2 ("and the pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, 'this man receives sinners and eats with them.'") - although the pharisees are saying this as a complaint against Jesus, it is the truth of the gospel!

JESUS WELCOMES SINNERS WHO KNOW THEY ARE SINNERS AND HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO TURN!

hallelujah!

for introspection...

2008-11-09T12:49:00.002-05:00

the following is a quote from "death by love: letters from the cross" by mark driscoll:

"the opposite of the gospel is idolatry. idolatry is worshiping someone or something other than God. by worshiping i mean that we make sacrifices (e.g., time, energy, money, emotion, thought) so that we can give ourselves to someone or something because it is our highest priority. everyone is a worshiper for the simple reason that we were made by God to worship and cannot help ourselves. but because we are sinners, we are prone to worship created things rather than God the Creator. romans 1:25 teaches that this is at the root of all paganism/idolatry, saying, 'they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.' this is a complete inversion of the purpose of our creation, which is to worship God and rule over created things as shown in Genesis 1:26-28. martin luther taught that idolatry is, therefore, not just a sin but rather the sin that is the cause of all other sins..."

i love the way the new underoath albums starts...

2008-11-08T13:58:00.002-05:00

the drum track begins and the vocals cry out:

"i'm the desperate and You're the Savior!
i'm the desperate and You're the Savior!"

blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. matthew 5:3

revealed to little children

2008-11-05T20:54:00.002-05:00

what a blessing to listen to the 7 year old beside me praying in the prayer meeting tonight:

"thank You Lord that you have given us so much - a home and food and a place to live. help more people to come to know You every day."

amen!

2 deaths and a blown tire

2008-11-02T09:00:00.004-05:00

this past week, two men that i knew died suddenly. both of them had had physical problems for a while, but their deaths were still somewhat of a suprise.

the first man was a well to do business man (he even had a doctor for a son). he had lived a hard partying life, and i was a bit suprised that he was only 67, because his body seemed to be much older than that. i have no idea where he stood with the Lord, but the life that i observed, spoke of little hope. he seemed to be a fairly bitter old man.

the other guy was one whose life had been amazingly transformed. he had been a night watchman before his illnesses made him unable to work any longer (and also made his medical bills difficult to pay). although his sister came to our church, he was very anti-God. about 3 years ago, when he was in the hospital his sister had asked us to pray for him. the pastor went to visit him and the church helped him out some with his bills. after he was home and stronger, he began to attend on Sunday mornings (perhaps just out of a sense of gratitude). let me tell you, Jesus got ahold of bill's life! it has been such a joy to see him stand before the church and make a public profession of faith, to hear his childlike prayers of faith at the prayer meeting, and to experience his hunger for God's Word at the men's Bible study. i was shocked when i heard that linda had found him dead on his floor last tuesday, but my very next thought was "Praise You Lord, bill is with You!"

another incident happened to me this past weekend. we were part way to an fca event at ysu, when i suddenly had only 3 good tires on my van. this pretty much ended our trip as we waited for the tow truck to arrive. the saddest part? i had known that the tires were in declining condition, and had even planned to replace them this week. too late, the blowout had already occurred. how many people live putting off their need of Jesus Christ? how many does death suprise unawares? don't push it!

regress is easier than progress

2008-10-23T11:08:00.002-04:00

"make progress!" was a phrase that became popular with me a couple of years ago when i was trying to encourage a couple quizzers to keep up a regular schedule of learning. the idea was to move forward, even if it was just a little bit at a time.

since that time, the concept of "progress" (and no i don't mean the pedro the lion e.p.) has been one that has come to mind often, especially because it ties in rather nicely with the tool of a growth plan. a verse that often comes to mind is 1 Timothy 4:15 which says, "practice these things, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress."

so i've been trying to get in the habit of doing little things regularly that are helpful to growth (easier said than done, because i can be rather sporadic and undisciplined). moving into my own place has also made this a little bit easier (because i am also easily distracted... and at my house i have no tv or internet).

i've made goals and tried to be more thoughtful (hmmm - i actually do more when i consciously think about it). i've had successes and i've had failures (usually stemming from neglect of thoughtfulness and the aforementioned proclivity to distraction).

one little every day bit of progress this summer was pulling weeds in the garden. maybe i'd only have 5 minutes some days... but i'd get some pulled every day. i was making progress! then i went away to camp for a week, and guess what?!? the weeds had taken over... and stronger than ever.

since that time with the weeds (and yes, the poor old lu song is applicable), i've been thinking through this simple point: it takes effort - thought and energy - to move ahead. progress is not easy. regress? well, that's easy, just stand where you are. i think back to the analogy of walking the wrong way on the airport moving walkway. "standing firm" according to paul in philippians 4:1 relates back to "pressing on" in chapter 3 (cue relient k) - standing still takes me the wrong way.

so for me, for now, i'm thinking of that turtle.... and saying to myself, "MAKE PROGRESS!" (ok, yeah, now we can go to pedro...)

lol... and thus continues my theory that no matter what the subject, i can come up with a musical reference...

prescription for spiritual constipation

2008-10-21T11:48:00.002-04:00

so the other night at youth group, we were talking about one of my favorite passages of Scripture - Hebrews 10:19-25 (lol - i actually have soooooo many favorites, it's funny for me to use that phrase as a description), and once again we were making the wordplay joke about "let us" and "lettuce."

well, this morning as i was meditating on that passage again, i thought... "hmmmm - the analogy of roughage and it's benefits to our digestive system can really work here." so i started thinking about constipation, and what we're like when we are experiencing it... uncomfortable, bloated, pained, irritable, frustrated, worried that something's wrong with us... just feeling "not quite right," because our systems aren't functioning properly...

so what did i do? yeah, i came in here and started searching the internet for symptoms of constipation! how did people ever work through their analogies properly before the internet?!?

of course, we all know that one of the first prescriptions that we get for "keeping ourselves regular" is MORE FIBER... so, here's a little Scriptural fiber prescription:

"therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

LET US draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

LET US hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

and LET US consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

so what do we do when we have a sense that spiritually things are "just not quite right?"
1. DRAW NEAR TO GOD - the way is opened for us by Jesus' blood!
2. HOLD FAST TO HOPE - God is faithful and He is working!
3. GET TOGETHER WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS - our salvation has brought us into a community of believers, we are not meant to be isolated, but to spur and encourage one another in the faith!

... lol - and thus continues my theory that EVERYTHING in creation, God has made with a view toward us realizing His truth... digestive track - check.

good thought from the conference

2008-10-14T14:10:00.002-04:00

apologetics is a word for defending our faith. todd burden from inbounds ministries, who is a basketball coach, was talking about how we need to be good at defense. BUT that defense should always be with a mind towards offense. in this analogy, what is our offense? THE GOSPEL. if i can defend my faith, but can't share the truth of the gospel, i have done NO GOOD! i must ALWAYS keep eternity in sight.