ReformedEsq

Wandering

2009-12-20T20:42:00.003-05:00

This move "back" in one sense has been hurried and overwhelming in many ways. It feels that we are still trying to get our bearings with what has occurred, all the while not really feeling settled because we have not found a physical home; 75% of our stuff is still in storage and we are crammed into a 1 bedroom condo. However, given the economy and current state of things, we are obviously thankful to have a roof over our heads and have our needs provided for.

It still doesn't change the fact that we feel a little displaced, since we don't have the rest of our stuff and we don't have our dog, not to mention that this is the first year since we've been married that we have NOT had a real tree. Instead, we have "ernie" the three foot fake pine tree. It is currently sitting right by the computer monitor on our desk, but its the only semblance of Christmas that we have in the place. Half to three quarters of our state got blanketed with snow, and it would appear that we live in the only place that got enough snow that the clouds must have sneezed by accident and gave some to us.

But enough of "woe is me" on lesser matters...there is a feeling of a prolonged winter in my heart, because simply enough, I have not been faithful to prayer and reading of the Word. Life got shoved into high gear when we moved and I have been scrambling to keep up. As each day passes, I become more and more convinced that if discipleship habits are not established early, they are harder to establish much less keep. This feels like my ultimate failing with my little boy; we did catechize him prior to bed most nights when at our old house but as things got busier up until and now after the move, it has stopped completely. My personal devotional life has all but dried up, with the exception of a few mornings when I go to the ESV site and have the Bible read to me audibly (Max McLean, specifically). When tired and needing to "relax," I find myself craving "entertainment" when what I often need is the "enrichment" from the nourishing and satisfying Word of God. (not that entertainment is bad, but it often can distract from what you really NEED)

The wandering is much like the people of Israel, wandering in the desert, persisting in their ways; I know that I must come back to the Bible and to faithfulness to the Word and prayer, but life and my own desires more than often get in the way of that. The move back has been tough because as we picked up our mat to go East, to come back here in one sense, it's not coming back to anything we know, because while the area is the same, the people we know are gone. Starting over again is tougher, because I am so busy at work and now with us trying to get our little boy to sleep by himself, it is difficult to find time with each other, much less get to know anyone else.

We have been in the condo much longer than we anticipated (I actually had to go to the mall to buy sweaters because we didn't want to go to the storage place to search through and get our winter clothes out!). Added to that is the church search, which has somewhat been up in the air since we did not know where we would live; we've tried a couple churches, but neither of them are obvious as the previous two we attended (first when we were living here at Beach the first time and then the one back where we just moved from). We attended those churches, and we just knew that it was the right fit. It has not been that way this time. So we are discouraged to come to Christmas and not have either question (home or church) answered. All this added to the fact that I have not been taking the daily bread that is right in front of me in the form of the Word.

I pray that we find a church that we can support and they support us in life-giving community; the road will be difficult enough ahead but I cannot see us doing well without such support. (I have prayed often for an older man to be a spiritual mentor, but this has not yet been granted) But the Lord is faithful and He has brought us here for His glory, and He will be glorified, whatever that will entail. Merry Christmas to everyone and may He bless you all.

How the Tiger Woods Saga Is An Opportunity to Share Your Faith

2009-12-10T07:10:00.005-05:00

There has been much focus in the media since Thanksgiving with Tiger Woods and the stories that continue to come out concerning his affairs with other women. Many have had their opinions about him being a terrible person, that he needs help, that he needs to focus on his family, that he needs to get back out on the golf course, etc.

One thing it is very easy for us to do, even as Christians, is to sit in judgment over Tiger Woods. Especially when there is a pattern of behavior, even we wonder how one could act that way and treat his family in such a manner; or that all the people around him would allow him to "go down that road."

The thing that we forget, however, is that we are no different than Tiger Woods. Yes, I said it. Read it again. We are no different, in that we are sinners that fall short of a God that is infinitely good, just and glorious. Apart from the grace we have in Christ, we too would do such things. The restraining power of the Holy Spirit (if obeyed, of course), is an amazing thing--but it is a function of the new creation that we are in Christ. But even then temptation will continue to beckon us to sin, and we often give into these desires.

So what does this situation have to do with our witness? Well, people are very quick to take a loftier position over someone else when they falter, regardless if they harbor the same types of desires or sins in their own hearts (or even if they are practicing it in their own lives). This is why Jesus in the Gospels extended the law to include thoughts that were sinful. The law only addressed actions; the Gospel addressed actions PLUS our desires and thoughts. So when someone says to you, "Tiger should know better" or "Tiger is an awful person" turn to them and say, "you know, I've struggled with some things in my life." Sure, we're not all adulterers; but men, can you say you've never looked longer than just a simple glance at a woman passing by and taken those thoughts where they lead? When we look down on a murderer, have we ever hated someone so much that we, in passing, would wish to see them harmed or even dead? Have we not all lied to someone at some point or played fast and loose with the truth? Human nature is to ignore that we are at our base a sinful creature but instead to think we are basically good; the populace is therefore shocked at others who act sinfully. However, we are sinful and our souls are black if we were to look at them as God could see them.

Tiger Woods ultimately needs Christ, as we all do. He can surely go into rehab for any addictions that he may have to address behaviors, but at the root of addictions is a need that is not fulfilled. This can ultimately be a blessing for Tiger and his family if it ultimately leads him to Christ. We must pray for him that the grace of Christ would take hold in his heart and the Gospel would take root in his life. He is one of the most powerful and influential people in the world, but he is human and fallen just as the rest of us. But the hope is Christ. Praise be to God!

Serving the Least of These-A Meeting with Rodney

2009-10-20T22:00:00.002-04:00

Today was just one of those days..our little boy did not sleep well last night and I was up late signing various documents for my job so the little sleep I did get was more than what my wife got. So we were both very tired, and our little boy did not nap at all today! yikes! All this was a recipe for me suggesting that we get out of the condo and go get something to eat, since it was 6:30 by the time I got home.

We went to Moe's Southwest Grill, which is VERY tasty and quickly becoming a favorite of mine simply because of how fresh the food is and how fast they make it. We ate our dinner and went outside when a homeless man, who we later found out was named Rodney, approached us and asked us for money for a meal. We paused and then asked him what he would like from the restaurant we were just in, he told us, so we got him a meal and a drink; while my wife was inside ordering it, he said he needed money to get to a shelter he knew of close by and I gave him a few bucks for the bus ride.

He stated he had no family and could not hold a job because he had been sick; he stated just yesterday he found out he had Parkinsons. I did notice a slight shake in one of his hands. A cynical person might have said that while he may have been poor, even homeless, the rest of the story was contrived or something to that effect.

However, these are the lost we are called to reach out to, these are the "least of these" that Jesus wants us to show his grace and love to. I am glad that my son was there to meet Rodney and to see that such folks are NOT outcasts or untouchables, or worst, people to ignore. To be sure, most people do not wish to be MEAN to the homeless, they are simply an inconvenience or a "strain" on their routine or finances. We must remember that before Christ, we were all lost in the sea of our own sin. It rather amazes me that the same people who would state that we need to preach the Gospel to everyone because we don't know who God has chosen or not chosen to be the "elect" (which is the truth, of course, no matter whether you are Calvinist/Reformed or Arminian), are the same people that have a predisposition to think that all people (homeless or otherwise) asking for help as Rodney did above are devious and are not to be trusted. Many say, never give them money, offer to buy the thing they request; while in some cases this might be prudent, is there never a time to simply give the money and leave the rest in the hands of God? Will He not deal with them at the proper time?

Showing Rodney a small amount of grace through the purchase of a meal and a ride as well as praying with him, I hope and pray that the Lord continues to guide Rodney to a knowledge of Him and Jesus whom He sent. May we all continue to be inspired to serve those that come across our path for the glory of the One who saved us from the depths of our sin!

On Friendship

2009-10-05T21:52:00.003-04:00

So moving back to the area has been a whirlwind and things are starting (somewhat) to get into a pattern of things. My wife and I both have come to a realization that while we are "back" in one sense, it's not really true for the most part. We're living in a city adjoining where we used to live and we don't really know anyone. True, she's got some online contacts in the area and I'm getting to know people at work (sort of) but no real connections as of yet. There is some promise in the church we've been attending for two weeks now, but that all hangs in the balance as we consider our house search.

Having moved back and forth across the state, I've come to some realizations about friendships. Like many other things, you only get out of them what you put in; however, it would seem to me that not all friendships are created equal, or to put it differently, some friendships are valued more than others. Recently I have put out some contacts to folks (from various times in my life) but have not received much response. And looking back, I realized that in some cases I initiated most of the contact, yet with others, I did not probably do the work to maintain contact; could be they were too busy..who knows. But I wonder if, being human as we are, one side might value the friendship more than the other; subconsciously, if we are the side that does not value it as highly, we might be courteous and giving but then let it go or allow geography or life to excuse us out of it.

I say this only as an observation because I do not think we set out to do this to others, but we simply prioritize our social obligations; geography plus the pressures of life often make it very difficult to maintain a friendship with a former neighbor or co-worker (though having lived with my college roommate for four years, we manage to talk at least once a month).

Friendship is something slowly grown, maintained and kept like flowers in a garden; often we are casual with our "friendship," maintaining our real friendships as we would on Facebook. I have close to 400 "friends" many of whom are contacts I made throughout my life, but not really friends. Real friendship takes work and time that, I confess, I don't often have. Many might blame technology or the fast-paced nature of society and the world around us, but we shouldn't get off that easy. That excuse just covers up the heart of the matter--our selfishness. "It's my time and I can do with it what I want!" Or we take on friendships not for their own sakes but what it can do to advance us either socially or professionally. And yet we are surprised when an actor or famous person dies of an overdose or dies penniless; everyone "liked" that person, but no one truly knew him or her, not like a true friend would.

Value your friendships and be faithful to those who are put across your path; they might really need it, and you may find you need it too.

Child-Like Faith

2009-10-04T22:07:00.002-04:00

We were in church this morning when my son was trying to climb up my body as he always does to point out and/or reach the things he sees above him. You see, when we were still in Roanoke, there was a Sunday where he was a little tired and not really wanting to be there and so I thought we would have a fun game where I lifted him up and he touched the "EXIT" sign above the doors leaving the auditorium/sanctuary. From that point on, he has been convinced that no matter how high the object, if he is on Daddy, Daddy can help him reach it.

I was thinking on this today and drawing a parallel in how our faith should be with our heavenly Father. What we SHOULD do is look back on all the glorious blessings that He has bestowed upon us, how faithful He has been, and say: "God can get me through it, He can do anything!" But often we get bogged down in our lives and we get overwhelmed by the circumstances to remember that this is the God who parted the Red Sea, caused the walls of Jericho to come down and controls the very universe we live in. But children have a unique perspective in that in looking to their earthly parents, they are in wonder of what their parents can do and think they can do anything with their parents help. It might do us good to think of our God that way. Lord, give us child-like faith!

Trying to Keep My Head Above the Water...

2009-09-28T21:56:00.003-04:00

The new job is certainly challenging, and I'm just trying to keep up. I've been in several courts over the last week, learning the idiosyncrasies of each court and meeting so many folks it's hard to keep it all straight.

The whole "takes 25 minutes to get to work" (though it's only about 8 miles there) is an adjustment too, but it's all for the long haul and the end result.

Good news is the house in the Valley closes tomorrow, got those docs signed and Fedexed out today; God has certainly been faithful in getting that closed soon. After reviewing the settlement documents today and figuring in the real estate fees (that we would have paid even in a better market), we really didn't lose all that much in the end.

We did attend a pretty interesting church this past weekend, an Anglican church (Anglican Mission in America) where they had actual wine with communion and had some formal readings but also had two Chris Tomlin songs and Days of Elijah (Robin Mark song?). We were presently surprised; as usual, a smaller church, but this will likely do okay for the time being while we are where we are--especially since it's only 4 miles from where we live and not 20 or 25 miles!

So here's to another Saturday and hoping that sleep will come in abundance then...had too much to accomplish last weekend, so hoping that rest arrives then.

New City, New Blog Design

2009-09-17T15:36:00.003-04:00

I decided that since moving back to Hampton Roads, it was time for a fresh start with the template, so that's why it looks different! It's been interesting to adjust to the new area, since it's not the Beach but rather a city near it, and so it's not really like we're "back" in that sense. Hopefully we can get the house closed back in the Valley and move forward with looking for something more permanent here.

I really can't believe I slept until nearly 9:30 today, but it felt pretty good. I strapped Josiah on my back and we mopped the ENTIRE condo floor (the only place that has carpet-like flooring is in the kitchen...we'll be getting a rug for that area for sure!). It took eight or nine of those swiffer pads and let's just say I'm glad it's clean now so we can let our little one crawl around without thinking about how dirty it is.

Hopefully we can finally get around to getting some substantial groceries today so that we can stop eating out. We ate at Moe's Southwest Grill last night, was quite a tasty meal--I'd never eaten there before. It was fast and quite good.

Monday will get here soon enough and hopefully Saturday the move of the rest of the stuff (at least what we need for now) won't take that long and with the help will be easy.

The place we're in has a doorman. A doorman! Our little guy has taken a liking to the morning doorman, though it's no surprise since he's an older gentleman, graying hair, etc (he's a softy for these types).

We may try out the zoo tomorrow, depending on how little J is feeling...should be fun!

Movin' On

2009-09-14T09:00:00.002-04:00

I was up until 3 this morning packing our PODS container, and I've still got a few items to put in it prior to their arrival sometime between 11:30 and 2:30. Putting some of the last of the larger items in the POD yesterday began to make it real that this relocation is really happening. God has had a way of shaking my life up just as I perceived settling or comfort; I had always thought that the Valley would be a stopover, but just recently, beginning my fourth year at the firm this past June, I thought it would be a little longer than that. Instead, a casual conversation turned into a job offer four months later.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and made some great friends; I only regret that I did not grow spiritually as much as I ought, simply treading water for a good bit of the time I have been here and sitting on my theological laurels, having not really grown much in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Even more lamentable, I did not share the Gospel well (if at all) with the 50 plus people I would come into contact with at work on a regular basis. I am consoled by the fact that a good man moved in next door to me at the office earlier this year who has no problem sharing his faith, and I pray that the Lord would use him in a mighty way, that God's grace will be known.

Moving on is moving back; back to an area that we somewhat know and yet don't know. We lived at the Beach, now we're going to an area near there, but many of our friends have moved (or are moving) and so it will be like starting over again.

I just finished my last day at a job where for the first time I left for a better opportunity--not because school was starting (or ending) or the job was done. So it's weird in a way. Now we see what God has in store, which is why this is exciting/nerve-wracking/amazing all at the same time.

Wait Until Your Father Comes Home...

2009-06-01T22:43:00.002-04:00

(yes, I am still alive...I often have things that cross my mind that I'd LIKE to blog about, but rarely have the coherence/time to put them down into a post such as this one. Now, back to your scheduled program...)

Have you ever been talking with a group of friends or even colleagues at work about your childhood and you get around to the subject of discipline? It might go something like this:

Person 1: "Boy my dad really put the fear of God in me."

Person 2: "Yeah, I'd back talk my mom and all she'd have to say was 'wait until your father gets home' and that would straighten me right up."

I've been reading a book called Grace Based Parenting by Tim Keller that has made me really analyze the traditions of discipline, even as it plays out in the Christian community. Even as Christians, we have the above conversation, even I admit to having it with other folks, even believers, and we almost during the conversation boast about a discipline that may not have been grace-filled or biblical.

I'm going to make a strong statement: discipline that is NOT based in Christ's love, His grace and His Gospel is abuse. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines abuse as a "corrupt practice or custom." Thus, abuse is the corrupting of a practice or custom that may be considered normal or acceptable. Another definition is the improper use of something, which could also be applied here.

Now, before certain parents (who would be against spanking) start pointing fingers at other parents (who would agree with the spanking of children), saying "see, you shouldn't spank your kids, that's abuse!" Please hear me. This abuse goes deeper than the method used; our motivations and our heart drive our parenting behavior and methods. In application, I could easily see one parent who combines love and discipline through the method of spanking and yet another who does not spank but abuses the child emotionally and verbally.

Our goal in discipline should ultimately be (after correction and discipline) restoration and the preaching of the Gospel to our children; God in His goodness provides access to Him through Christ to whom we can repent of our sins. Even though we are His, our sin creates a barrier to Him in that it builds up a wall in our relationship with Him. So too is it with our children; even if the act is not against us directly, the disobedience is ultimately against God and we must (as stewards of the blessings of children that God has given us), direct them to Christ and mend the wall that has built up between our children and us. We do so by showing them grace, love and mercy throughout the disciplinary process.

Lord, let us search our hearts and examine ourselves while being good stewards in leading and guiding our families!

Saw It On Facebook...

2009-03-18T22:24:00.004-04:00

Friend's status: "just saw Manute Bol"

Friend of friend's comment: "Did you climb him?"

HILARIOUS! I could laugh about this one for a while! ha!

(For those who do not know who Manute Bol is, see here. He played in the NBA and at 7 foot 7--that's right, four inches TALLER than Shaquille O'Neal--was one of the tallest players ever to play in the NBA. My friend comes in at a shade under 6 feet.)

I just found this image, where he's pictured with Mugsy Bogues, one of the shortest guys to ever play in the NBA.

Greatness of Grace

2009-03-10T07:45:00.002-04:00

I was up early, as usual this morning, and the Lord reminded me of how my love for the Gospel was awakened when I came to understand biblical (Reformed) Theology. It was, in a way, like a conversion but more like a wake-up call. Many that are not totally opposed to Reformed Theology usually have the hardest time with the election prong of it.

However, it was truly understanding this doctrine that knocked me over and made me say, "Thank you God!" Election was not about God randomly choosing to keep people OUT of heaven and His salvation, but rather graciously calling them out of their sin and from their inevitable destruction and INTO His grace and life eternal. When I grasped this concept, I was amazed at His grace, that He would do this for me. He didn't have to save one of us, but to glorify Himself in showing his justice and mercy in the same act, He called His Son to die to pay our debt and guarantee our salvation.

Amazing grace, isn't it?

I just realized this is the 200th post. Thanks for reading!

Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday, Saturday, Sunday

2009-02-23T08:01:00.002-05:00

That's about how our weeks feel right now; it's the same every day or just feels like one long day, then the weekend.

I finally located a video/music clip that illustrates this feeling. The Marx Brothers were truly (in my opinion) the greatest entertainers that ever lived. Some people are musically talented, some are funny, but these guys were BOTH. You don't find that anymore. This scene is from Animal Crackers, and at about the 3:00 minute mark, Chico Marx plays the theme song for the weeks we've been having. Enjoy the WHOLE clip--Groucho is great, but you have to pay attention because you have to think about what he says or you might miss his humor.

Sin is Crouching At Your Door

2009-02-20T06:55:00.003-05:00

My good friend in Virginia Beach wrote a great post on sin and how it relates to both our being male or female as well as our personality.

Sin is Crouching at the Door

Check it out!

Making the Final Cut

2009-02-10T22:57:00.002-05:00

Rather than talk about the spendulus package that is currently being discussed in DC, I will post on something more lighthearted and trivial.

So, before our son came along, we were really into to several programs and we loved our DVR because we could pretty much record them all and watch them at our leisure. They included (in no particular order):

Lost
24
Heroes
Bones
House
Chuck
Smallville
Supernatural
The Closer
Psych
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Burn Notice
Eli Stone
The Biggest Loser
American Idol
The Office
Eureka
CSI: Las Vegas
Mythbusters

This is likely not the whole list since there are some shows that I know we probably watched but (thank goodness) did not last long and were canceled; Eli Stone, listed above, was one of those shows that did get canceled, but was well done.

But then our little boy came along and we really had to focus on him (since obviously he was more important. What happened in the weeks and months after he was born was like something out of Survivor or American Idol.

We began cutting shows. First we cut Bones, then I stopped watching Supernatural (which of course JUST NOW got interesting. Oh well.). Then CSI had to go, then the Office, then House (yes, it's good, but the cynical just wears on you after a while). Law and Order Criminal Intent went and then Chuck had to go too; we had three episodes of Chuck on the DVR and we just didn't feel interested. Heroes was the one that was taken out with the final cut, and I'd have to say it hurt, but when you have three programs on at the same time, there you go! (as an aside, my wife and I were thinking the other day how weird it would be to go back 10 years ago and say, "oh, I'll just catch the episode online"). Psych may be on the outs as well since life in general takes too much time for silly little programs, even if it is funny!

So, now I'm down to about 5 programs--life has a funny way of setting priorities. In the end, I think I'm better for it. And even these five are hard to get watched (I spent most of Sunday trying to catch up on 4 hours of 24!). And I'll catch up on these other programs some other day.

Wha?

2009-02-02T07:42:00.002-05:00

Last week started like any other week, though I did know over the weekend that my grandfather was getting worse. Then several bombs got dropped on me at work (things brought to my attention that needed immediate work) and I really didn't get anything done.

Then, about 20 minutes before I went home, I got the call from my dad (who had already flown to Missouri to be with my grandpa a few days earlier) that grandpa had passed away. The week then shifted into high gear and the whole thing felt very surreal.

I had in some ways been trying to prepare myself for this eventuality, his passing, but not having seen him much in my life due to the geographical distance between us, this was hard to quantify emotionally. I was really sad, but glad that he didn't suffer long; I was disappointed I didn't get to see him again before he passed (and also that my wife never met him), but happy that he had my dad and aunt near him when he did.

The thing that complicated the week was a HUGE winter storm that was coming through the Midwest at the start of last week; as a result, I left with wife and son Tuesday morning at about 11AM and dropped them off in WV around 3PM. It was raining but quickly changing to a sleet/snow when I got to Charleston. It got messier and messier the further east I got, since I was going to my folks in KY to meet up with my mom. It took me about an hour and a half longer to get to my parent's house, and I was pretty beat by that point. I then spent two hours shoveling the driveway and chipping off the ice of my mom's car because we had to drive it that next morning to Missouri. Sleep was not great because I spent the night listening to various huge branches being cracked and torn by the ice that had accumulated (sounded like thunder!). We then left at 6AM and it took me about an hour longer than usual to get to Louisville to pick up my brother (we didn't break 40 MPH in the icy slush).

After getting stuck in snow in the McDonald's drive thru, we then trekked out to Missouri, but we didn't get there until 6PM CST (7PM EST), meaning we left from Louisville at 8AM and it took us almost 11 hours from that point, when it should have taken seven. I was driving anywhere from 35 to 45 MPH, and at some points, we were the only car on the road; I had to stop somewhere about every hour because the temps were so cold outside that it was icing up my windshield wipers and making them ineffective (meaning I couldn't see). Not that even with a clean windshield was I able to see the road. It was still snowing while we drove, so it was SNOW/ICE/More Snow. I saw many tractor trailers jack-knifed and on the side of the road, and many abandoned cars. I said MANY prayers while driving. The roads really didn't clear up until St. Louis, and I let my brother take over driving from that point.

Thursday morning brought the lunch/viewing/funeral/gravesite service, with the whole thing lasting about four hours, and then back to my stepgrandmother's house for supper. It was good to see all of the family again, though too bad it had to be under these circumstances. We all went to bed somewhat early that night, then got up on Friday and drove back to KY. When we got back to Louisville to drop my brother off, his landlord said they didn't have power. My dad and I helped my brother get the ice off his car and he followed us back to my parents' house.

I had contemplated going to WV on Friday night, but it was snowing YET AGAIN in eastern KY and WV, so I went to bed early and drove the 4 hours to WV on Sat morning. We then went to church yesterday and came home yesterday, getting home about 9:30 last night.

After doing 1800 miles in five days, I'm okay with staying put for a while. Maybe one day next week I'll be recovered. Thanks for all your prayers.

The Pentavirate!

2009-01-16T22:08:00.006-05:00

I had been looking for this clip for a while and finally stumbled across it today. From one of the funniest comedies I've seen (So I Married An Axe Murderer), here's Mike Myers playing the ever-funny Stuart Mackenzie:

If I Was Sending a Telegram...

2009-01-13T23:53:00.002-05:00

It might read: "Tired. STOP. VERY Tired" My wife and I have both been a little more than wore out this week after finding out our little boy weighs about 17 and a half pounds (no wonder I have back issues!) and being dragged down by the cold. Winter can have a way of wearing a person out.

Work is busy; I'm now a part of a Bill Tracking Committee with the State Creditors Bar Association and I help track legislation that could adversely affect us as attorneys. One particular piece of legislation has all attorneys up in arms--the fact that a Senator is proposing to increase the filing fees for ALL civil cases, to the point where some pro se (meaning people who represent themselves) plaintiffs as well as small filers will be priced out of access to the courts. It's kind of fun making calls to other businesses and attorneys to get them on board to oppose the bill, simply because it's a break from the regular grind of working the accounts at our office.

I'm off to court tomorrow and hopefully I'll stay awake; though as tired as I am right now, Friday looks like a good day for taking a vacation day. But with all that's going on, I still have to trust that Christ is right there, in the midst of it all, providing grace all the way.

Our Bodies as Fragile Vessels

2009-01-06T23:39:00.004-05:00

We are, as Adam, created from the dust; our bodies are temples unto the Lord, yet are subject to fatigue, injury, sickness and ultimately death. Today was one of those days weather-wise that really brought the fatigue and sickness to the forefront, but news from my dad about the state of my grandpa's condition made it even more real.

My grandpa is a retired Methodist preacher, a great man of God (I am named after him); he was a circuit preacher (meaning he traveled to three or four churches over a month's period) in some of the coldest country there is, North Dakota, when my dad was little then settled into Indiana. He has a great passion for the Gospel, but early Alzheimer's has set in and he has been dealing with numerous health problems. Lately he has had mini-strokes which cause him to blackout and lose his balance; this, coupled with not remembering certain things have started to rob him of who he is. Within the last week, he has been hospitalized with a severe bacteria infection (he has been put in isolation where you can only approach him with a protective suit because it's so contagious) and has been diagnosed with what's called "sundown syndrome." Sundown's has this effect: about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, my grandpa becomes a different person, very nasty and very curt with anyone (even his wife) that is near him.

This is really wearing his wife out physically, and she knows she really can't take care of him at home with all that's happened. I am most sad that due to finances and distance, my wife has never had a chance to meet the man I knew growing up, and if things do not improve, Josiah will never see or know his great-grandpa. This would be tough, but God has His hand in this. I imagine the hardest thing for my grandpa is that he wants to remember things and can't; I pray that the grace of God abides in Him and with his wife during this situation. I'd appreciate the prayers of any of those out there reading this as well. Most of all, I pray that the Alzheimer's doesn't rob him of his knowledge of the Gospel and that, if all else leaves, the grace of the Gospel will guide him through to glory.

All this reminds me how fragile we are, and that while we may be called to suffer for Christ's sake, the road is most certainly hard.

Being Transparent with the Body of Christ

2008-12-29T07:16:00.003-05:00

Our Pastor David had some very good closing words during his pastoral prayer yesterday that really got to me; he spoke of putting on that fake smile, like everything is okay when it really isn't. Oftentimes he pointed out that in church settings, if someone doesn't have that "mask" on, we get really uncomfortable that they're being so real, open and broken before us (almost to the point where we don't want to associate with them). Sometimes I have to fight the urge to put on that face during that linger time we have after the service, but I was able to be honest with some people yesterday that no, things were rough at home because both my son and wife were sick (thankfully I think both are on the upswing!) and in trying to care for them I was really weary.

I could have smiled and said (in response to "How's it going?"), "pretty good, how about you?" and continued on with the small talk/chatter that often accompanies that start to a conversation. But if we can't be real in church, to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who can we be real with? Is our response those at work understand us better? Or the guys at the bar? If so, then we need to prioritize the relationships where we are being real with people (and others in the church have a role to play in that as well, in changing their attitudes towards others).

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I am praying very hard that soon after the start of the year that I can find a mentor in life to help guide me (and keep me accountable) in my spiritual walk as well as in life in general. It has been difficult at times over the past few months to gauge where I am at (if at times I even know what day it is), in the busyness that is my life. I am very quick to help and listen, but oftentimes not as quick to ask for it; as a result, I can feel a little weighed down emotionally, as I do at times right now. Christ's grace has sustained me, but I need His means (meaning His people).

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In other news, my wife and I sat down on Saturday and hammered out our first monthly budget, EVER. After reading Dave Ramsey's book, Total Money Makeover, we have been motivated more than ever before to attack our debt and eradicate it from our lives. It will be long and hard, and we will have to make sacrifices, but I want several things from this: 1) for my children to be able to live without the burden of debt and to see what it means to live without debt; 2) to be able to save for kids' college and our retirement (read: my career change--I don't think I'll ever retire); and 3) to be able to give more than I ever have before.

This last one is one I am looking forward to more than anything else; there are times I want to give to someone or something but can't because my debt has restrained me from giving like I would want to. So as Ramsey says, we will live like no one else, so that one day, we WILL live like no one else. Pray that God will guide us through this.

More to follow.

This Election

2008-10-25T07:17:00.004-04:00

I honestly have no interest in politics, but I will comment on the current status of things; to be honest, before Palin was added to the ticket, I didn't really think that McCain was a great choice, but better than the alternative. In a way, McCain almost holds back Palin, because she's having to temper her more conservative views to his more moderate views.

But make no mistake, the Obama "machine" (pollsters, mainstream media, etc) is trying everything in their power to get him elected; if he does, make no mistake. He WILL bring change, though not a change that everyone will be happy with (and even those who are drinking the kool-aid will be happy with either). His administration will bring a level of government intervention that we have never seen, censorship of opposition (through use of 4th branch entities such as the FCC), and taxes beyond belief.

Obama was here a week ago and the scene (according to a friend of mine who went just to see what it was like) was sad, to be honest. People were treating Obama much like a rock star, even a savior; crying when he spoke, like they hung on his every word. I've got a message for those folks: There's not a person on this earth that's infallible, and everyone's going to let you down. I've already got a Savior who holds my very soul in his hands. Government cannot save you (ask the Russians) and Obama cannot save you (and neither can the Republicans!); I watched a great special the other night on 20/20 with John Stossel where he illustrated how great things work when government DOESN'T get involved. He correctly exposed the credit crisis as a result of too much regulation and too much intervention. People like to think that price controls and bailouts are the only way to go; however, we the people control our own destinies through the market.

That's right: we have the power as the consumer. How do I know that? Just look at gas prices. They were telling us at the beginning of the summer that prices would reach $5 and go higher and higher; so you know what? We (as a country) combined trips; we carpooled; we didn't take that vacation trip and had a staycation. So what happened to the gas prices? It's dropped nearly a buck and a half in less than 4 months. Did the government do that (no, though I could give some credit to Bush for stating some months ago that he was repealing the executive order against drilling off the coast--gas prices did drop a little after he said that). By cutting our demand, supply increased and gas stations, in a free market, began to charge less and less; this is the advantage of competition. I just read today that the price for a barrel of oil is STILL falling, despite OPEC cutting production.

However, this will not be allowed in an Obama administration, the idea of a "free market." The problem with the Democratic Party ideal is that they want two things that cannot coexist: they want everyone to have jobs by MAKING corporations pay a certain amount and then penalizing them with tax increases since they're so "greedy" with profits. The disconnect here is that it is profits that create jobs; it's the business owner that has a five-year plan to open another branch or even franchise that gets undercut in this idea by heavy taxes. If he is heavily taxed, he won't see the incentive to expand, create more jobs, etc, so those jobs are never created and the economy never sees the increase. Minimum wage is another issue; by INCREASING minimum wage, they have in fact let down employees trying to find good jobs. You see, if the minimum was where it used to be, then employers and employees would negotiate in an open market what one was willing to pay and the other was willing to accept.

Change is coming, alright; it's up to the American people what change they want. I had thought about writing a few posts on what I would do if I became president, but I think I've gotten political enough for one season.

Pressed But Not Crushed

2008-09-20T16:07:00.002-04:00

Having a little boy inserted into our lives has made it tiring, challenging and interesting all at the same time. I had a different post that I could have done each day, since the circumstances and situation with Josiah has changed every day, though the tiredness factor superseded my desire to write.

It still in some ways is a little surreal to know that there is a small person that we are responsible for, though obviously very real in how he has affected our lives, as well as thought processes.

It's been a rough week and a half, getting home from the hospital, losing sleep while at the same time this week getting back to work (and trying to catch up). We then dealt with Josiah's bout with some dehydration, which now thankfully he's back on the mend.

The weirdest thing about all this is losing track of what day it is; the tired feeling you get really disorients you in some ways and the fact that I did not make it to church last Sunday didn't help. Routine can help to structure your life and keep you somewhat situated, but a baby comes along and whoa! We're so thankful to have him, though.

I do have to comment how wonderful it has been to have her mother here during all of this, and the support of our church in providing meals for us; God is gracious in the friends He has given. He is faithful, to the uttermost.

Surprise!

2008-09-11T10:06:00.002-04:00

So we went in for an ultrasound on Monday, to do a more in-depth ultrasound because the doctor saw something on his VERY low-resolution ultrasound equipment on Friday. We were a little disappointed on Friday because we wanted to go ahead and schedule the C-section because the baby was breech, but he wanted to schedule it on the next visit (which was to be today).

Well...we got into the appointment on Monday and while the ultrasound tech did NOT see what the doctor thought he saw, she did notice the fluid surrounding the baby was VERY low (it was about 3.4 and it should have been around 12 something). So we were not sure what that meant and then the doc comes in and says, we need to take the baby; so we say, "okay, well, he'll have to come this Friday instead of the 19th." Doc says, "no, I mean TODAY." Wha????

So, flash forward to Dan rushing home (while our midwife, thank goodness, stayed with my wife--she was a HUGE blessing and we could not have made it without her) and packing everything, taking the dog to the neighbors, making MANY phone calls to ask for prayer and informing work that he was NOT coming back today.

We had gotten to the hospital for what we thought was going to be a routine ultrasound about 1PM and Josiah was born a little after 9:22PM. He was 8 lbs, 3 oz. and 20 inches long. We're very blessed and beside ourselves with joy.

God has been very faithful to carry us through years of infertility to this point, where we hold our precious Josiah! God's love and mercy are unending; praise His name.

(Thank you all for your continued prayers!)

Songs and Meditations on Grace

2008-08-15T07:48:00.003-04:00

I was getting ready for work this morning when a song popped into my head, Jaci Velasquez's God So Loved The World. The song is simple enough, but for some reason I thought about it and went to the next verse in Scripture, John 3:17:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The reason that this impacted me so much in thinking about this song and these verses was the correlation between salvation and the doctrine of election: Christ did come into the world to proclaim Truth and while He did state that this Truth would pit mother against daughter, and father against son, Christ came with the hope of the Gospel. Christ's entrance into the world was the ONLY way to save us from our path of destruction.

God had given His people, Israel, generations to attempt to obey His law; he would punish them, forgive them, then they would forsake him again. He could not leave redemption to chance or to our fickle nature--He sent Christ into the world to guarantee (not just make possible) the salvation that He would give.

When Christ speaks to Nicodemus in John 3 about being "born again," this is not the same as being educated on what car to buy or what college to attend and then making that choice. Because with most choices in our lives, if we really look deep down, we could see certain motivations that drive us to make those choices--even ones that on the outside appear good, moral and/or altruistic.

The radical nature of the "choice" of following Christ is one that is totally opposite of our thinking: we must "die" to self, giving up our desires to make His desires and will first. Think about that: we must submit to the will of someone else. Have you ever known yourself (or someone else) to purely want to do that, in any situation? Sure, on the outside, a person wouldn't let on that it rubs them a little wrong when they're asked to do something, but apart from Christ's indwelling, would you not act the same way? The Holy Spirit must move in our hearts, changing our hearts to be receptive to the Truth and to truly live for others rather than ourselves.

If the change in our hearts or choice to follow Christ is grounded in ourselves and our own power, rather than Christ, then is it not subject to the same weakness of foundation as all other choices?

I mean, I have a problem with "buyers remorse" sometimes--can you imagine if the salvation decision was as easily abandoned--would God do it that way? Would God, in His infinite wisdom, have Christ die for those who would not ultimately be saved simply because those people did not "choose" to? And this is election: that God not only ordained the vehicle for salvation (which is the birth, life, death and resurrection of His Son Christ) but He ordained the method, means and timing of our justification, sanctification and our ultimate glorification.

I thank God that He holds me firm in His grip and my faith is bound up in Christ's faithfulness rather than my own, and that He drew me to Himself, knowing that Christ had already paid for my specific sins on the Cross.

So, Yeah, a Few Things Have Happened...

2008-08-14T22:23:00.004-04:00

I haven't blogged in a few weeks, and quite a bit has happened. We finally finished the childbirth classes we were taking, had a baby shower (with several family members staying a day or so and then going) and I decided to paint my back deck.

The baby shower filled the crib with numerous gifts, all of which we are very thankful to have, though we do have some things still to get (car seat, chest, CAR!, etc.).

I painted my back deck and it went pretty well while I had my neighbor helping me, but when I got to the actual deck part (he had helped with all the railings and detail parts) and the steps, time constraints and the fact that had been weather and sun-beaten so bad made the end result, well, "spotty" to say the least (I may take some pictures to show my great "artwork.").

The cool thing is that a buddy of mine that lives near the Beach has a job interview here tomorrow and we'll be going to lunch. Should be fun.

(Oh and I can't forget the AMAZING dinner I had Sunday night with some friends we know from church--I ate a LOT of crab legs! I'm sure they were probably getting concerned I might turn into a crab! ha!)

New Blog--Thoughts on Spurgeon

2008-07-26T12:35:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking about doing this for a while and finally got around to doing it last week. I created a new blog called "Thoughts on Spurgeon" since the Morning and Evening readings often spur me to think about different things, so rather than clogging up this space with all those thoughts (which can be lengthy), I thought I'd do it there.

Here's the link, and feel free to comment!

Nursery Update

2008-07-26T12:29:00.003-04:00

Well, my wife just received the valance and bumper for the crib, so the nursery is somewhat coming together. We decided today that with the nautical theme we were going with, that it would be easier (and somewhat cheaper) to buy accents for the room and maybe just paint one wall (more than likely the wall the crib would be against) rather than paint the entire room.

Other than that, I am just completely amazed it is almost August. Yikes! (and yea!)

Took the Plunge

2008-07-05T08:55:00.005-04:00

Well, my wife and I took the plunge yesterday and bought a new washer and dryer. It will be a HUGE upgrade for us but a necessary one since we are going the route of cloth diapers with our child (along with the several other loads of laundry that having a child requires!). We got the whole shebang: high-efficiency washer, high-efficiency dryer, pedestals, warranty, etc. Here's a picture (of the washer unit):

Now when people ask us about us being kind to the environment, we can say we are so green, our washer and dryer are actually green!

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UPDATE: They are installed, and yes, my wife has already done four loads of laundry. We just don't know what to do with clothes that come out dry the first time. Whodathunk?

Fighting a "Lean" Spirituality

2008-07-03T08:04:00.004-04:00

Spurgeon, as usual, really grabbed and convicted me this morning. Here's what he had to say (emphasis mine):

"The ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven wellfavoured and fat kine."
Genesis 41:4

Pharaoh's dream has too often been my waking experience. My days of sloth have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous industry; my seasons of coldness have frozen all the genial glow of my periods of fervency and enthusiasm; and my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life. I had need to beware of lean prayers, lean praises, lean duties, and lean experiences, for these will eat up the fat of my comfort and peace. If I neglect prayer for never so short a time, I lose all the spirituality to which I had attained; if I draw no fresh supplies from heaven, the old corn in my granary is soon consumed by the famine which rages in my soul. When the caterpillars of indifference, the cankerworms of worldliness, and the palmerworms of self-indulgence, lay my heart completely desolate, and make my soul to languish, all my former fruitfulness and growth in grace avails me nothing whatever. How anxious should I be to have no lean-fleshed days, no ill-favoured hours! If every day I journeyed towards the goal of my desires I should soon reach it, but backsliding leaves me still far off from the prize of my high calling, and robs me of the advances which I had so laboriously made. The only way in which all my days can be as the "fat kine," is to feed them in the right meadow, to spend them with the Lord, in His service, in His company, in His fear, and in His way. Why should not every year be richer than the past, in love, and usefulness, and joy?—I am nearer the celestial hills, I have had more experience of my Lord, and should be more like Him. O Lord, keep far from me the curse of leanness of soul; let me not have to cry, "My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me!" but may I be well-fed and nourished in thy house, that I may praise thy name.

I often find my spiritual life--my walk with the Lord--in a very bad state. I find my self simply existing or surviving but I know it should not be that way! I talk a great game, knowing my theology and my terms and even how I should pray, but do I do it? NO! I let other concerns grab my attention and before I know it, another day has gone by without prayer or without studying the Word (yes, I often READ the Bible, but I don't study it, meditate on it).

And as Spurgeon states above, even when I do make strides, my own inconsistency tears down the advances I have made because of my lack of discipline. The daily grace that we receive must be replenished; the daily supply of spiritual food through the Word and through prayer is a daily bread that the Lord grants to those who seek it. If it is not asked for, then simple struggles will help to erase strides that a Christian has made in increasing faith and trust in Christ. Of course, it is not of ourselves, but of the Lord--but our minds (and our faith) must be exercised. Just as you tone muscle in the gym or flex your brain in doing a crossword puzzle, so too is our faith toned or flexed when we consistently pray or get in the Word.

People might often wonder why those who have come to the faith need the Gospel preached to them; because we need to be reminded! I sat and watched The Passion of the Christ and I thought to myself, "what graphic images, I will never forget them!" And yet I have! I cannot even now glimpse an image from that movie in my mind! How much more do we need His Gospel in the Word and His grace as it is given to us in prayer! I fight a leanness in spirituality every day, and I must confess that I lose most of the time. Lord help me to feast in your fields and help me to hold fast to Your Word and Your love.

What a Blessing!

2008-06-27T07:54:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning lying next to my dear wife and felt the baby kicking/punching quite strongly and was amazed to think how this time last year I was hoping SO HARD that this would be an eventuality.

My wife and I were talking just yesterday how we can't wait to meet him, wondering what he will be like, etc. When I think about him, honestly every other care melts away and I am so thankful that the Lord has continued to be faithful.

In other news, I did meet with my boss again yesterday and he came back with a number that is not quite what I hoped, but it was certainly a MUCH better raise than I got last year.

Obedience of Faith

2008-06-23T20:28:00.005-04:00

Pastor David had a great sermon yesterday on the obedience of faith. The main text came from Hebrews 11, where we are talking about the subject of Noah building the ark, condemning the world and becoming an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Pastor David spent some time in Romans 1, where Paul speaks of preaching the Gospel so as to bring about the obedience of faith. It is something that I honestly have not thought much about, in the sense that the Gospel is a command. When Jesus (and the apostles that followed) preached the Gospel, the words given to repent and believe was not just a statement but a command.

If we are obedient, we are granted faith, but even faith is something that is granted to us as a gift. We must be obedient to the command of the Gospel to repent and believe in order to live eternally (it is a hard thing to sometimes swallow, that being man's responsibility coupled with God's sovereignty in salvation, but that is another post). The Gospel is God's answer to our rebellion because the Father's ordaining that His only begotten Son should die on our behalf and thus bear the wrath of the Father relieves us of our role in the very rebellion which separated us from the Father when Adam fell.

What some in past times (and even now--as Solomon says, "There is nothing new under the sun") is that the Gospel is not here to "fix" our temporal, earthly problems, even to bring the world into harmony or some inner peace. On the contrary, Christ himself said in the Gospels that he came to divide with the Truth He delivered. Father from daughter, mother from son--He acknowledged there would be those who would believe, and those who would not. He was not calling people to a better life--He was calling them to lay their lives down. He was giving them a hard teaching, one which required them to set aside their very SELVES and follow Him as Lord and Savior.

And yet, in this obedience of faith, some may feel doubts of abandonment; will God forsake me? This is what the audiences were likely thinking in hearing the Gospel, since throughout the Old Testament, they were so quick to forget the Lord's faithfulness! Also imagine Noah, surrounded by wickedness, no one else righteous, but God calls on him to build an ark, to set apart from the rest of the world, and he did so, in reverent fear of the Lord. One might have felt abandoned, but his faith (as was Abraham's) made him an heir of righteousness because he stepped out in obedience to the command that the Lord gave.

So too we must answer the call and command of the Gospel in our repentance and belief in Christ. Paul's drive to preach to the Gentiles was to spread the Word to them, to bring them to obedience of faith. This is likely why Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 speaks of knowing nothing but Christ and Him crucified; he endeavored to keep Christ the central part of the Gospel. Many can debate about what is like, but in one thing it can be sure, it is separation from God and the only thing that keeps one from that damnation is repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our obedience in sanctification is quite another thing, but bringing someone to the obedience of faith (with the obvious help of the Holy Spirit) must be done first. If we have truly repented and believed, we will not be abandoned and He will not let us go.

Big Meeting

2008-06-10T20:28:00.004-04:00

Today I invited my boss out to dinner since this Thursday marks two years with my law firm (amazing how time flies, isn't it?). We ate at Outback, which was great food, and it was a lot more relaxed than if we met at the office to discuss my standing with the firm.

I think it went pretty well, and I'm sure I may have showed my hand a little, but I prayed fervently before the meeting that God would grant favor with my boss and that God would be honored in it all.

For those that have prayed, thanks! Do continue to pray as everything hasn't been stated or ironed out yet, so we'll see where it ends up.

I'm just glad it's over!

Mourning With Those Who Mourn

2008-05-22T18:52:00.003-04:00

My heart goes out to Steven Curtis Chapman and his family as the world learned today that his youngest daughter, Maria Sue, was struck and killed Wednesday by a SUV that one of her teenage brothers was driving. You can read the full story here.

The tragedy is something that I cannot even imagine, so please pray for healing, for peace, for comfort--not only for the family but for his son who was driving the SUV. They are all likely wracked with grief, though pray for a strengthening faith that would see them through it, that they would cling to Christ.

Steve Camp has a great post to call to pray for the Chapmans here.

Our prayers are with them.

It's a Boy!

2008-05-06T19:45:00.003-04:00

Well, ladies and gentlemen, after some suspenseful moments this morning at the ultrasound, it became quite clear that we are going to be having a son come October. The ultrasound (read more about it at my wife's blog here) was quite fascinating in that there was much more definition in the brain, heart, bones, etc.

I'm quite thrilled and can't wait to see him come October!

Whirlwind of Change...

2008-04-24T20:59:00.003-04:00

So, two months ago, I was simply a low-level associate traveling the roads of Virginia and looking for a way out of my job...

And now, somehow, in two months, we lost a paralegal (the other one's last day is tomorrow), my supervising attorney left for a job in Ohio, we've hired two new paralegals and I'm managing them and looking for a newer attorney who apparently I will manage as well.

It's just really bizarre to think that things can change that quickly in just a short period of time--I actually conducted a semi-interview with an attorney that interviewed with our office today. I didn't think I'd EVER do that, at least not this soon.

But certain circumstances really convinced me, even before this happened, that my time here in this job and this area is not quite done yet (my wife being pregnant, my neighbor's situation, other situations). I say "yet" because my wife and I may be nomads in some sense for the rest of our lives, only God knows (we've moved nine times in less than seven years of marriage)--but I know that His hand is in this, and He has been faithful throughout.

God's timing is always perfect, though we're not always able to trust Him leading up to the fulfillment of His faithfulness.

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I would also ask for continued prayers for my neighbor, whose wife left several weeks ago and is going down a path that grieves the Lord. Pray for repentance, reconciliation and restoration (for both of them). Pray that truth would break through and awaken her heart. My heart breaks for them both, because I know that but for the grace of God and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit such evil lurks and could manifest itself in my own heart.

God Does Not Forsake Us

2008-04-15T21:55:00.003-04:00

Something struck me about what I read this morning in my daily Spurgeon reading and how it closely matched with the theme of the sermon that Pastor David preached this past Sunday. In his sermon, Pastor David, while reading through the end of Hebrews 10, said that oftentimes in our daily lives, we focus on the here and now, making the special grace of our salvation serve the common grace of every day blessings that God may bestow.

It is this backwards or reversed (and unbiblical) thinking that often causes us to feel abandoned by God in times of suffering.

Here's the reading from this morning:

Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

We here behold the Saviour in the depth of his sorrows. No other place so well shows the griefs of Christ as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is so full of agony as that in which his cry rends the air—"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" At this moment physical weakness was united with acute mental torture from the shame and ignominy through which he had to pass; and to make his grief culminate with emphasis, he suffered spiritual agony surpassing all expression, resulting from the departure of his Father's presence. This was the black midnight of his horror; then it was that he descended the abyss of suffering. No man can enter into the full meaning of these words. Some of us think at times that we could cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" There are seasons when the brightness of our Father's smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ's case it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our Father's love; but the real turning away of God's face from his Son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused him?

In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in his case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God's face, but art now in darkness, remember that he has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the lustre of his grace; but since even the thought that he has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Saviour have been when he exclaimed, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

It is hard to imagine, hard to picture, but when Christ was on the Cross, in bearing our sins, he literally experienced a hell--separation from God. This is the same separation that will be experienced by those that will not call on the name of Christ and will not have their sins paid for. This image is the wrath of God borne by Christ with none of God's love, mercy or grace--it is an agony too hard to imagine.

When we measure our happiness and our life on the blessings and sufferings of this life, our faith has a foundation that is as firm as a sand dune, being blown and shaped by the wind. We have a season of blessing and then encounter a season of woe and suffering and we are swept away.

But we will NEVER have to experience the kind of separation that Christ endured on the cross because we as His chosen, His children, are His because Christ endured it for us, made sin for us. If we make the basis of our life--our faith--the special grace that we receive through salvation in Christ and make common grace serve this grace rather than vice-versa, then we will be further along to a peace that passes all understanding. Man was made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, meaning not just in this life but for eternity. God may ordain us to endure cancer for the last twenty years of our life, but He has just as sure ordained that we would praise Him when we pass into glory, forever and ever.

Do They Really Want to Free Tibet?

2008-04-09T08:14:00.003-04:00

If you've paid attention to the news at all with the upcoming Beijing Olympics, you've probably seen the protests that have been going on both in China with Tibetan monks and other Tibetans and now the protests here in America (San Francisco, specifically).

Now, I'm fully aware of China's human rights abuses and make no mistake, I'd like to make them accountable for what they have done (and are more than likely still doing). But what does that mean--how do we do that?

A few weeks ago I blogged about Mark Steyn's book, America Alone. He mentions that people have been protesting about freeing Tibet for years. In all seriousness, what has that accomplished? Slapping a bumper sticker on your car or tethering your self to the suspension cables of the Golden Gate bridge (which apparently they are doing) makes a statement, but it doesn't make Tibet any more free.

To those that protest: do you think that China will simply say in response to your protests, "you know, you're right, we shouldn't be doing that and we should free the Tibet people." Really? They won't any listen any more than if during WWII we had pleaded with Hitler to stop persecuting and killing the Jewish people during the Holocaust or with Stalin when he killed millions of his own people.

Rhetoric and protests are fine to do, but those that do that must realize that action must be taken to address the wrong--turning back through the pages of history in our own country, even to the start, did we ask the British crown nicely and they simply let us become our own country? No, we had to fight for our independence. This is what the American military is attempting to do in Iraq (whether you agree whether the war should have been waged or not in agreement with how it is being carried out)--to create a free Iraq.

Are those that protest willing to take a military force in to free Tibet? I don't think that they are--perhaps at most they would advocate a "peacekeeping" force but I doubt they would even go for that. Diplomacy has been tried for years on the human rights issue in China and while abuses may not be as obvious, they are still going on.

So, go on, keep protesting and slap your bumper stickers on your cars and do nothing more--the Olympics will pass and you will go back to what you were doing before the Olympics were approaching.

And Tibet will still not be free.

Stress Factor--Increased!

2008-04-04T17:46:00.002-04:00

Or as my wife would say, "bummed." It turns out that I got two very disheartening pieces of news today. The sole paralegal that I spoke of in my last post gave her two weeks notice today, so in two weeks, we'll be back to status quo (not having two paralegals, but just one since we'll have trained a new one and the old one will be gone). In addition, the attorney that interviewed this week did not take the job when we offered it, and we have no more prospects lined up.

I'm really trying not to be overwhelmed with it all, but it's hard. We'll see what the weeks ahead will bring.

Stay tuned.

By the way, did I mention that my wife and I are having a baby too?

Small Repreive Before the Storm

2008-03-25T22:13:00.005-04:00

By providence I will actually NOT have to be in court tomorrow, since I was able to get my cases in one area covered by another attorney, as well as get another case docket covered that I thought I might have to go on. Being in the office is crucial since the attorney that is leaving will be here only until Friday, so I have to learn as much as I can by then.

To say that I am unsure what the future holds with this position is to understate the case, but I do know that God ordains all things to pass as they do (if I did not believe that, worry and/or anxiety could easily paralyze me to the point I could not function!). I do have to work hard at not getting overwhelmed within the moment (it's easy to do when you get back to the office and have 30 voicemail messages!), but that is getting easier.

The good news is that I'm pretty sure we found a paralegal last week that should start soon, which will be a quite welcome thing, especially for our sole (and stressed) paralegal.

The thing that I pray in all of this is that I continue to work to be able to live, rather than living to work--my law career, while it is a profession, is simply a means to provide for my family and never supersedes my family or my faith (at least it shouldn't, though as busy as I have been, my devotional life has not been good as of late).

But one thing that keeps me going more than ever is the amazing event that will happen sometime in late September when I will be holding MY child in my arms. It's so amazing just to be able to type those words--I'll try to live in that moment for a long time, even though I know I won't be able to.

Still Dealing With It!

2008-03-22T07:37:00.003-04:00

This week has had its ups and downs--Tuesday I felt really horrible, Wednesday I felt better, Thursday was worse, yesterday was so-so and last night I slept a little better but now I believe I have a full-blown sinus infection (I took generic brand Afrin last night but then read somewhere online this morning that while it helps you to breathe, it swells your sinuses and can actually CAUSE an infection!).

I really don't want to have to do this, but I may have to break down and go to a doctor (I haven't seen one at all for about two years), but I have a full slate next week, and I certainly can't continue sleeping so irregularly.

The Maundy Thursday service we had at church this past Thursday was pretty good and the sermon on Christ having to suffer alone in the last hours was quite moving and very thought provoking.

Have a wonderful Easter!

When the Body Is Attacked

2008-03-18T07:39:00.002-04:00

This post this morning has two different levels, the immediate one being that I woke up at about 2AM with a very stuffy feeling, a headache, and the starting of a sore throat. I tried several remedies and managed to make my way through the night but it was not a restful one. There was a time which I would simply cry out to God that He could just take this away if He wanted (it's easy to think you're going through the WORST THING EVER when you're in the middle of it, no matter what it is), but through His grace (and His faithfulness in increasing my humility and my trust in Him) over the past ten years, I was able to pray: "Lord, I ask for your healing power and rest but if your will be for me to endure this I pray you give me the grace to bear it."

So I woke up this morning, somewhat rested, still have a little bit of a sore throat and headache, but grateful to have gotten the sleep I did.

The other meaning this post has this morning is that these are trying times for those I am surrounded by--my father right now is dealing with unemployment, my mother in trying to deal with finances as a result of that, my brother trying to figure out the next big step in his life, a dear church friend who is dealing with a son and his girlfriend who have gone so far in playing "jokes" as to swear out a warrant for her arrest, another church family member who is dealing with cancer, and neighbors who are contemplating ending their marriage.

The "easy" thing to do with those outside one's family is to give in to "bystander effect": someone else will help them. It's not my problem, right? The pastor is better equipped to handle these situations. WRONG! As the Body of Christ, we have been created for interdependence with one another. God's providence has placed you where he has for a reason and if you are presented with an opportunity to minister to a brother or sister in their time of need, even if it's just being there for them.

If you've ever watched one of those nature shows where an animal or group of animals is hunting prey, when are they most successful? When they get one of the herd alone. So too does the Enemy win by making us feel alone, putting such thoughts in our heads like, "those people at church don't care about you, you'll have to deal with this by yourself" or even worse "where is God in your pain?"

But Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 12 how we are all members of the Body, and we each have a function:

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, [5] yet one body.

We all have a function, and we are all members of the Body. Be aware, Christian, of the hurting people around you, and meet them where they are--not in judgment, but in love, building up the Body so that the Word can be proclaimed and God glorified through the restoration of others.

Immigration and the Muslim Question

2008-03-12T07:42:00.003-04:00

Recently I've been reading a book by Mark Steyn called America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It. In this book, Steyn points out that America is really the last bastion against the ever growing Muslim population and ideology. In fact, one of the major points he makes is that the Muslim birthrate far exceeds that of continental Europe, so much so that the Muslims, if the trend continues, will be the majority segment of the population in most countries in Europe by the middle of this century.

On the flip side, Europeans are not reproducing. Hardly at all--Spain and France have a birth rate closer to one child per family, which means they are not producing at a replacement rate (closer to 2 births per family). On top of that, Europe is often labeled "progressive" for how government plays a VERY large role in every part of their lives, providing them everything yet (as in France) requiring very little of the populace. They want their 30 or so hour work weeks but their paid vacations and benefits too. Unemployment is in the DOUBLE digits over there, while Americans complain if it breaks FIVE percent.

But the Muslim question centers not only around demographics, but ideology. The Muslim religion, in most parts of the world, is the fast growing religion at the moment. The situation with Muslim immigrants, more so than any other group, is that when they enter a country, they create an enclave of their own society rather than assimilate into the surrounding culture. They import their way of life and export that to their new community--so much so that Steyn notes in the Netherlands (a very "progressive" and modern society), women--who are not Muslims--are seen wearing head coverings if they live or work near Muslim areas.

The reason I wanted to comment on this issue is that Steyn commented on the American church, and while he is not a theologian and I have no idea of his faith, he said this:

Most mainline Protestant churches are, to one degree or another, post-Christian. If they no longer seem disposed to converting the unbelieving to Christ, they can at least convert them to the boggiest of soft-left political cliches, on the grounds that if Jesus were alive today he'd most likely be a gay Anglican bishop in a committed relationship driving around in an environmentally friendly car with an "Arms Are for Hugging" sticker on the way to an interfaith dialogue with a Wiccan and a couple of Wahhabi imams.

Now, is the above statement a little over the top? Maybe, but it does illustrate how mainline churches have forsaken the Gospel and have abandoned their duty to preach it. As a result, and letting down its guard, the Church (as a whole) has fallen down in Europe and allowed the Muslim influence to overtake it to the point where it is impotent in Europe (though through God's grace there may be an awakening yet).

He also stated that while there are "moderate" Muslims, there is no moderate Islam. Be on your guard, Christian, for the day may come that this comes to your doorstep. Gird yourself up in the Word and stand fast in the faith.

Saint and Sinner

2008-03-11T06:55:00.003-04:00

Oftentimes I think it is hard to think of ourselves as both sinners and saints simultaneously--we are "saints" in the sense that we are identified with Christ (if we genuinely believe in Him) since He, having saved us, will sanctify and glorify us. And we are in the communion of saints that have gone before us (see Hebrews 11).

However, I think it is easy for us as Christians to think of ourselves as more saintly than we actually are--we often forget that God declares us as righteous, not that we are actually righteous. As a result, we set up a false dichotomy in our thinking that our sins are not as bad as the next guy and we set up a hierarchy of sin.

My morning Spurgeon reading this morning really illustrates how we become dull to our sin:

Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, "Is it not a little one?" Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: "We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent." So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names.

Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced his heart! It made him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."

Sin is not a little thing--we must remember who it is the sin is against! Whether it is a "white" lie or capital murder, it is a sin against a holy and righteous God who calls us to strive in holiness and asks us to die to ourselves. Thinking of sin in light manner only cheapens the grace that Christ gave through his sacrifice to satisfy the just wrath of God. In addition, a light view of sin also leads one to think less and less of the repentance that we must daily ask of God for our sins and can lead us to simply take our failings lightly, as if they do not need to be addressed. The war that we wage on sin will continue until we are glorified--part of making our calling and election sure is showing growth in the faith. Growth in the faith cannot exist without a hatred for sin (and a refusal to treat it lightly) and a love for glorifying the Father and His Son.

The Apostle Paul, who wrote so many New Testament epistles called himself the chief of sinners--would it be that we would take sin that seriously.

WHAM!

2008-03-05T19:01:00.003-05:00

That was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor when the big boss (guy with name on the door) told me that my supervising attorney (only other attorney than me at the firm other than the big boss) was leaving our firm at the end of THIS MONTH! I was just stunned.

I'm still reeling a little bit and I had a short meeting today with the departing attorney, and while they are interviewing some attorneys to replace her (they will try to hire two attorneys to do her position because the job really requires it), if they don't find some, my job after this month will go from difficult to downright impossible. And just having let go a paralegal last week and finding a new one is also on the plate at the moment--I will have to watch and make sure that our only existing paralegal doesn't get too overwhelmed.

So we'll see. I (and my pregnant wife especially) would appreciate your prayers.

Caedmon's Concert--Afterthoughts

2008-03-03T19:00:00.003-05:00

The concert was an amazing event, but beside the songs, the great presentation about the Dalit people and Compassion International, one statement really stood out to me the whole night. With the election this year and all that entails, Derek Webb said this (I'm paraphrasing):

"Getting to know the 6 to 8 people that are your neighbors and knowing what their needs are and how you can meet them will have longer lasting effects than what you will ever do in that voting booth."

Whoa. I mean, WHOA! That was convicting for me--how well do I know my neighbors? Do I choose who I want to know? Of course I do! I have chosen to know the neighbors on either side of me because they were nice and solid, Christian people. I haven't tried to get to know the unchurched younger man across the street who lives by himself or the new family across the street because THEY AREN'T LIKE ME. Driving to court today, I really felt sick knowing that I have not been living the Gospel like I should and I repent of that today.

While living at the Beach, I did this kind of selective getting-to-know my neighbors. At the townhouse, there was a Jamaican-American family on one side and a Puerto Rican-American family on the other side, and in living there two years I got to know their names and maybe where they worked. TWO YEARS!

I don't know what I am going to do to rectify the situation but I do have some ideas that I will be praying about that will help in living out the Gospel as I know that I am called to do.

Can you imagine what this country would be like if everyone got to know their neighbors? What a concept. Now have the life-source of that idea be the Gospel, and man, the Holy Spirit will work.

***********************************

As promised, I'll give a short comment on what happened after the concert that night at a certain fast-food restaurant in downtown Hickory when I wanted to order four milkshakes for my friend and his wife and my wife and me (this is a replay of what happened--you have to remember, this is 10:30 PM and we're all tired after a long drive/concert):

Me: "I'd like two small chocolate milkshakes, two small vanilla milkshakes and a burger."

Girl on the intercom: "What kind of small milkshake do you want? Do you want the regular small or the 12 oz. small?"

(After a few moments of staring at the menu quite confused and in disbelief at the question asked, having seen only Small, Medium and Large as options on the milkshake menu)

Me: "I want the smallest small that you have!"

Upon reflection in a more lucid moment later that night, maybe there was some "kid" small size that was not on the menu but for someone like me who was tired, it was too much to try to think at that point. I was only concerned of having enough thought of how to drive to get home.

What a Concert!

2008-03-03T07:58:00.004-05:00

My wife and I went down to Hickory, NC with another couple from church for a Caedmon's Call concert Saturday night. Now, those of you who have read the blog for a while know that I went to see them in October, but Cliff and Danielle were not there (due to having a false alarm on the delivery of baby #4) and Derek Webb had not joined the Overdressed tour yet. Well, all three were present and accounted for (though their keyboard guy, Josh, was not present and they did not mention him).

What a great concert! Courtesy of caedmonscall.net, here was their song set:

Derek Webb opened the night with songs from his solo albums (so talented that he performed them ONLY with his twelve string and no other instrumental backup):

1. Lover
2. Nobody Loves Me
3. A New Law
4. King and a Kingdom
5. Name
6. Wedding Dress

7. I Wanna Marry You All Over Again
8. Savior on Capitol Hill
9. This Too Shall Be Made Right

The great thing about Derek's songs is that they are a bit controversial at times but I really think they cause people to think about where they are in their own walk with Christ and what they define as Christianity. Unlike some people that break away from a band to pursue their own career, I don't think Derek did it because he didn't like Caedmon's (as could easily been seen the other night--he had a blast), but that he had something that needed to be said (and wasn't being said by ANYONE else in the Christian music industry).

Then Caedmon's came out and did the following set:

1. My Calm Your Storm
2. There is a Reason
3. Climb On (A Back That’s Strong)
4. Trouble
5. Expectations
6. Two Weeks In Africa
7. Share In The Blame
8. Hold The Light
9. Forty Acres
10. In God’s Country
11. Share The Well

Then Cliff did a little spiel on the Dalit Freedom Network and spoke more in general about Compassion International, a group that they are very involved with and really do more than just give lip service to (Cliff and Danielle sponsor two children themselves).

Then Caedmon's took a break and new member Andy Osenga (who had at least 8 guitars on stage!) came out and sang the following songs from solo projects he has done:

1. When Will I Run (with Derek singing backups)
2. Swing Wide The Glimmering Gates (w/o the band)
3. New Beginning (with Todd, Garret, Jeff, and Josh)

The band then came back on and did this set of songs:

1. There’s Only One (Holy One)
2. Not Enough
3. Faith My Eyes
4. Shifting Sand
5. Hope to Carry On (this one REALLY made my wife and I feel like we were back in college seeing them)

Then the band went off in preparation for the encore, and Derek was the first out, to do one off the Overdressed record that is going to be featured in a Grey's Anatomy Episode:

1. Ten Thousand Angels

Then the band joined him and sang the last two songs--the crowd was actually not as young/energetic as the crowd in Salem in October, but got into it with Thankful. Caedmon's pulls out all the stops on this song, even Cliff does some percussion.

2. April Showers
3. Thankful

All in all, it was a great show--if you're counting, that's 31 songs and almost three hours of music. We didn't get out of Hickory until about 10:30 PM (I'll have a post on a certain fast-food incident later) and didn't get home until about 2:00 AM. But it was certainly worth the drive, for sure. Caedmon's and Derek Webb may never be back together again but I'm glad I got to see them. What a great concert!

Minor Debut of Baby B.

2008-02-26T19:39:00.003-05:00

And now announcing, Baby B.! We went to the first ultrasound today and when we finally got called back (appt at 10:30 and called back over an hour later), we got to see the little one.

Here's a pic courtesy of my cell phone (we have better pictures but I need a better scanner than the one I have at work!):

It's a little blurry, but I know that some folks might want to see even this pic. The head is near the bottom left and feet are at the top right.

More pictures to come.

Our Worldview and Our Identity in Christ

2008-02-16T06:50:00.004-05:00

As my wife and I await the arrival of our child, we have the fortunate chance to be studying Ted Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart in our Sunday School class. In it, it speaks of addressing the heart or sin issues that underlie the child's behavior--understanding not only the what of the behavior, but the why.

This week I was thinking of the importance of the Gospel in raising up a child in the way that he should go but in addition the importance of the Gospel in forming that child's worldview. We certainly cannot prepare a child for EVERY single situation that the child might face, nor can we shield the child from every bad thing. A proper and full understanding of the Gospel is key to giving the child the tools and framework he needs by the time he leaves home.

To give an example (and this may be a sore spot for some), the subject of drinking. Simply telling a child that he shouldn't drink alcohol because it is not a good thing as a stand-alone statement will not service them at all, not only because (as I read it) it is not borne out in the scriptures but it is not within any framework. Taught within the framework that we are put on this earth to glorify God and enjoy him forever, coupled with scriptural references to moderation (and not drinking to excess) and not causing another brother to stumble, a child can see what is proper for the situation and what is not. Giving a child precepts upon which he can address a situation is important in living the rest of his life--rules simply prefaced with "because I said so" (though there is a place for that at times) will not ultimately stick when the pressure and heat of life come upon the then-grown up adult.

How does this connect with our identity in Christ? A proper understanding of the Gospel informs the child to find his security and who he is in Christ, not in the things or pleasures of this world, or the affections or attentions of others. Even in Christian homes do children grow up to be insecure, for they are not shown the full riches of the Gospel (this is more rooted in an incomplete understanding of our adoption in Christ, but that is another post)! I admit that until I came to Reformed Theology I did not fully comprehend grace or the sovereignty of God; for me it adjusted my worldview where worry was no longer a part of who I was and my desire for glorifying God (through the continuous help of the Holy Spirit) became stronger because of this new understanding.

Preach the Gospel to your kids daily by your words and actions, confronting their hearts and shaping their minds so that they might give glory to God as a first response, even when they have left the home.

Let us make this our prayer, modeling it for our children (taken from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Readings):

"Lord, help me to glorify thee; I am poor, help me to glorify thee by contentment; I am sick, help me to give thee honour by patience; I have talents, help me to extol thee by spending them for thee; I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve thee; I have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no love but thine, and glow with no flame but affection for thee; I have a head to think, Lord, help me to think of thee and for thee; thou hast put me in this world for something, Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work out my life-purpose: I cannot do much, but as the widow put in her two mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and eternity too into thy treasury; I am all thine; take me, and enable me to glorify thee now, in all that I say, in all that I do, and with all that I have."

A Protest Vote

2008-02-13T07:33:00.003-05:00

My wife and I did something for the first time ever yesterday. We registered a protest vote in the Virginia Primary. What do I mean by that, you say? Well, I simply don't like the two Republicans still "in" the race, so I voted for the person I really wanted to vote for who didn't stay in the race. It certainly wasn't Romney and while I like a lot of what Paul says (like the fact that he adheres more strictly to the Constitution), he's a little too libertarian for me and I don't really think yanking all the troops out right away is the way to handle Iraq. I'd agree that LESS involvement in the world is what the US needs, but gradual rather than immediate withdrawal, IMHO, would be the best course.

Nope, I voted for Fred Thompson, as a protest to the selection of folks that were left--the selection feels like it did in 1996, though I couldn't vote then, but the end result may be different. McCain will likely get the nomination, and I suppose that when November rolls around, I will pull the Republican lever, but with McCain's tendency to lean to the left on most issues, who knows.

And on a side note, hello to my one visitor from Moscow, Russia (this Google Analytics stuff is great!)!

Silly Saturdays, Part One: Groucho Marx and The Seven Cent Nickel

2008-02-09T10:10:00.000-05:00

Something I'm going to start doing on this blog is every Saturday (or at least every other Saturday) is put a funny clip up for a good laugh. Here's a really great clip from one of my favorite Marx Brothers Films, Animal Crackers:

The great thing about Marx is that he NEVER stopped--it's one joke right after another. I have heard it said that there is a GREAT difference between comics, who have routines and bits, and comedians, who can honestly (in my humble opinion) be funny about EVERYTHING.

Enjoy.

33,285

2008-02-05T22:35:00.000-05:00

It's not the population of my hometown (I just looked and it only had about 7500 people), but the number of MILES that I drove JUST FOR THE JOB in 2007. When I added it up at work today, I couldn't believe it myself.

Whoa.

Mixed Bag at Court Yesterday

2008-02-05T08:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was an interesting day--I had a court appearance in the morning and one in the afternoon, and neither went how I thought it was going to go.

I had one case yesterday morning about an hour and a half away (which meant I had to get up early to drive and be there), and when I got there, proper service on the case had not been made, so I had to continue the case and drive back with no result.

In the afternoon, I fully expected to dismiss all my cases due to a judge that (in my opinion) was requiring more than the law required as far as documentation, but when I arrived, it was a different judge completely and I got judgment on all of my cases. A blessing, indeed!

I feel mostly recovered from the Super Bowl party the other night, but in some ways I am glad football season is over so that I essentially have six or seven months off from post-season type games that I might have to stay up for (baseball playoffs come around in September and October, when a certain little one will be joining us.... :) ).

Happy Birthday!

2008-02-02T11:10:00.000-05:00

My dog is now three and here's a funny pic:

Rambaldi says: "Whasaaaaa!"

What Do You Treasure? (Part Two)

2008-02-02T10:29:00.000-05:00

And now for the second part of the diagnostic questions (the first post with the first three questions can be found here):

4. What do you talk about? How often does the name “Jesus” come up in your conversation as a relationship to the word “money”? How would your spouse answer that question about you?

The more days that pass and the more I interact with people, the more I realize that one thing stays the same: we are a people of stories. It doesn't matter how much technology that has arrived or come out, we are storytellers. I get home from work and I talk to my wife about my day, and I frame it in a story. When you're with good friends, you start off, "Remember when you..." followed by laughter or some other reaction. For my part, to reiterate a response earlier, money comes up when a bill has to be paid or some future expense is discussed--now as far as how many times Jesus is connected with that conversation, I must confess not often.

But this is only because in analyzing this as I write, I realize that for some reason when discussing money (or often the lack thereof), I often speak of God providing. It is strange, but now that I think about it, I often speak of God as always being faithful in providing everything we need (physically) while I speak of Jesus as to spiritual needs. They are three-in-one, the Trinity, but it is interesting to think that I have compartmentalized in this way.

(as for what my wife would say, I'm not sure! :) )

5. What do you worry about? Are you more worried about the global state of the economy or the global state of Christianity?

As a matter of degree, I suppose that I worry more about the global state of Christianity rather than the global economy, but this is likely more of function in how I let the news affect me (if I read it much at all). Before I came to Reformed theology and really grasped the doctrine of election, things often paralyzed me because of the immense pressure that I had TOTAL control (though this was incorrect) over an outcome. Realizing the immensity and/or consequence of what the election doctrine holds was my "Martin Luther" moment (if you recall his Romans 1:16 realization). It opened up to me how God was really sovereign over everything and how I was NOT God and He very much was.

All that to say: I don't pray enough about the global state of Christianity as I ought, because I, like many Christians in the West, walk through life oblivious to the suffering and martyrs in the world. Even worse, I am oblivious to the suffering that goes on around me and if I'm worried about one thing, it's that I'll get to heaven and I will have to face the missed opportunities that I did not take advantage of to share the Gospel (not that my not doing these things thwarts the will of God in ANY way, but it goes back to the parable of the talents and sharing the grace that I have been given).

On some level, I probably worry about others' approval, if I had to choose something, but as to the second part of the question, as I have indicated, I don't "worry" about the global state of Christianity as I should, but in the ultimate, I know that God has us in His loving hands.

6. What would it take for you to live an “excellent” life? What resource would, if given to you right now, provide the fuel for you to live an outstanding life?

I don't know how to answer this question, because at this particular moment I feel pretty blessed. I have the Word as a great resource, though I don't use and study it as often as I should. No more money or better status would make my life more excellent, though traveling a little less might be better! God has taught me over the past 10 years the value of being content.

Treasuring the Right Things and Finishing Well

2008-02-02T08:57:00.000-05:00

As a sandwich post between my two posts on what people treasure, my good friend Joey Bailey, Family Life Pastor at Green Run Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, had a great article about his Dad (who recently passed away) and what he learned from him:

Longing for Heaven on Our Best Days

"Our passions are not too strong, they are too weak. We are far too easily pleased."

These words penned by C.S. Lewis have been much on my mind as of late. Over the past several months I watched as my father suffered through pancreatic cancer. For a man in whom I rarely saw weakness or failure, this last battle was a difficult one to watch for those by his side. My father taught me many things over the past thirty-four years. I learned how to be loyal to my wife and children. I learned to appreciate a day’s work and the provision it brings to the family. I learned that a man’s duty is to use his God-given strength, wisdom, and resources to help those in need and protect those who cannot protect themselves. I learned how to be unwavering in my convictions without hypocrisy. But it was in his last few hours of earthly life that my dad taught me his greatest lesson.

This world is not my home. This truth is no more evident for the Christian than in times of pain and sorrow. I watched as my dad’s suffering focused his eyes of faith more clearly than ever towards heaven. I saw the anticipation of hope fulfilled grow stronger in his heart. The inward groans of a Christian grow increasingly louder as they near the final stage of their redemption. The crossing of the Jordan puts Egypt forever behind them and the land of promise firmly under their feet. How sweet must be the tears of one who finally stands at the water’s edge ready to cross the final obstacle to an eternity of ever increasing joy in Christ.

There is no question that suffering in the life of a saint increases a longing for heaven. But what about blessing? I saw my dad long for heaven on his worst days. Do I find myself longing for heaven on my best days? Heaven is not simply the redemption of our bodies from all sin, sickness, and pain. God did not bring the Hebrews across the dry ground of the Red Sea just to escape the bondage of Egypt. Heaven is the fulfillment, the ultimate reality of the rich inheritance of all God has given us through Jesus Christ. It is a journey from Egypt to Canaan. Every good pleasure, every happy moment, every object of beauty and majesty in this life is a mere glimpse of what awaits us in heaven. The strongest passions of our hearts can only gain a small taste of delight here.

The danger for us lies in becoming, as Lewis observes, “too easily pleased” with earthly pleasures. We allow our appetites to be satisfied with appetizers, rather than allowing these things to increase our hunger for the real feast. Good days are good gifts from our good God. They are good because they are meant to make us long for heaven just as much as the dark and difficult days. Let us lay aside weak passions and small pleasures so that we may press onward in our journey to a land rich with delight far beyond our wildest imaginations.

Thanks, dad for teaching me how to fight and run in such a way as to finish well and receive the prize!

What Do You Treasure? (Part One)

2008-02-01T07:24:00.000-05:00

Last week our pastor preached on the passage in Matthew 6, where Jesus spoke of earthly treasures and instead of clinging to those so tightly, we should "lay up" treasures in heaven.

He then gave us some diagnostic questions to think about over the week, and I thought that I would post and give some comment/answers to them (from my personal viewpoint).

1. What makes you feel rich? What makes you feel poor? Is your answer to this question articulated primarily in monetary terms? What makes you feel full, satisfied, and successful? Conversely, what makes you feel empty, exposed, uncomfortable?

This one is quite a question indeed, and I think most of us do, on some level, answer it in terms of money. Sure, I'm no Scrooge McDuck, but part of living in America tempts you to look over to your neighbor and say, "Gosh I wish I had a better car" or house, etc. I admit that at times I feel poor because of a type of lack of security by degree. Now what do I mean by that? I have a car, but it has TONS of miles on it and I wonder if it breaks down at any point? I do have fleeting moments where I think of how much I earn and wish I was earning more, but for me it's more of stuff that money can buy that can make some folks (me included) feel a little poor.

But now to the flip side--as for feeling rich, I feel rich in the relationships that I have with others. I am extremely blessed in my family life in that I deeply love all of my family and that most if not all know and love the Lord--I am not estranged with anyone in my family, and unfortunately these days, many people cannot say that. These riches far outweigh any feelings I may have of feeling poor, because at the end of the day, knowing you are loved not only by your Heavenly Father but in your earthly relationships can buoy any sense of loss or lack.

Feeling successful or empty, I think, is often rooted in America's sense of wanting to be secure: you graduate from high school/college, you get a good job, get married, have kids, have a great house, cars, etc. If we look around to see that some have what we want, we wonder what we have done wrong, or if someone has what we have, only better, we feel as if we have failed. It would be easy for me to say that as an attorney, I should be making more money or have a better job, but I have to be content to be where God has placed me at the moment. God really showed me this through the whole job search process as well as John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life.

2. What must you get in order to make life sing? Is the answer a physical thing? A large comfortable home? Successful children? Financial Security? A satisfying work life? Good grades at school? Cool parents? Answer honestly – where does Jesus Christ fit into the song of your life?

Looking at this question, I had to think about it hard--at different times of my life (as the Holy Spirit worked on me), some of the above were the answers to the question. I can remember during the first two years of college how I studied SO HARD and yet struggled to get grades that I was satisfied with; it was only after the passage on not worrying in Matthew 6 really got through to me that I got my best grades in my whole time in college. I've never really cared about stuff or houses or even financial security (because I simply look at money as a means to live and buy things I need--this is why it's not as hard for me to give it away).

In thinking about it honestly, I'd have to say being an important part in other people's lives--service would I guess be one of my stronger love languages and I really like to help others, so that makes my life sing. I have to confess, however, that Jesus is not always at the forefront of this as He should be. If I was honest, deep down I wonder if it was to obtain recognition or praise, and I have to fight this, examining why I do things. I struggle much with having a daily quiet time and studying the Word as I ought (see my post on resolutions for the New Year!), so as to keep Christ my focus in my actions.

3. What do you think about most often? How often do you think of money? How often do you think of heaven?

I have to say that I think of money in two circumstances: when something needs to be paid or bought, or if some special need comes up that I think that we can fill. I don't often dwell on money (as in "man, we need $___ to do this or that") for more than a short time--my wife and I have been married a short time but have seen God's provision time and again.

I think of heaven somewhat often, though perhaps not in a glorifying way. What do I mean? Well, I think it is great to think of heaven, but not when you are thinking of it in an escapist way: Paul spoke of "to live is Christ, to die is gain" and that these present sufferings are in no comparison to our future glories in heaven. I am prone to more often think of heaven when I am troubled or in pain, asking the Lord to "take me Lord Jesus" and in a sense, asking Him to rescue me from this God-ordained suffering that will in fact refine me for His purposes. It's something I have to work on, thinking of heaven in a Christ-like attitude, "Thy will be done."

Rather than make this post longer than it already is, I will do the second half of the questions in another post. Feel free to comment, I always enjoy discussion!

A Wacky (and Amazing) Week

2008-01-26T16:05:00.000-05:00

This has been one heck of a week. Last Thursday (the 17th) we got quite a snow here in Southwest Virginia, in some areas getting up to 4 inches. I had to go to court that day, and because I was told by the court at 4PM the preceding day that, "yes sir, we are having court!" I went down to Abingdon to stay overnight at a Hampton Inn I often frequent.

Sure enough, when I got up, there was 2-3 inches in the parking lot and it was still coming down. I tried calling the courts, no answer, and I watched the news. Many schools were canceling their classes, but no news of any courts canceling. So, I loaded up my car at about 7:30 in the morning and off I went. The roads were just fine until about 20 miles from the courthouse.

Now, mind you, this still was a US Highway, though an alternate route (four lane divided highway), but apparently someone just hadn't gotten around to salting my side of the road (the other side was just fine!). Sure enough, I'm going down a hill at 15, 20 mph tops, and I slid and lost control, ramming my car into a guardrail.

Anyone familiar with Saturns, especially the ones manufactured in the early 2000s knows that they don't dent--they break (because they're made of a type of plastic rather than metal). It was basically cosmetic damage and I am fine (though I got the estimate and YIKES am I glad I have insurance!!)

So I had to pull out of the rut and continue on my way to court--ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THEY DECIDED TO CANCEL COURT ON MY WAY THERE!!!! But apparently I wasn't the only one that didn't get the memo ("Did you get the memo? We're hearing that you're having trouble with your TPS reports" but I digress).

The courtroom was full of people when I got there, several attorneys, both local and otherwise who told me they hadn't heard anything either. So what does the judge do? He decides that since there was a possibility that some announcement went out that court was NOT being held that day, that he would only give judgments, etc where the defendant showed up. And wouldn't you know, none of mine did! But none of mine ever do show, so I continued all my cases to April. FUN.

So all I had to show for my time down there was a beat up car (kinda makes you wish you had one of those t-shirts: "I went to _____ and all I got was a wrecked car!" Or maybe not).

But I was okay and all was well. I made it okay to last weekend and then something happened that my wife and I didn't quite expect.

Stay tuned. :)

Imparting Grace and the Communion of Saints

2008-01-05T07:52:00.000-05:00

We had a great small group last night where we talked about the communion of the saints and the importance of being with other Christians in our walk with Christ. We talked about Paul's exhortations at the end of several of his letters to the brothers and sisters at Corinth, Ephesus and Galatia.

Paul encouraged them to show each other love, grace, peace and to agree with one another (one could imply that he would mean as far as the Gospel and charity would allow) and the love and peace of God will be with you.

It's very easy to like someone that you love or already are at peace with--but what about someone who rubs you the wrong way or is mean? And I'm talking about another Christian! The Scriptures tell us that we cannot say that we hate our brother and yet love Christ because that brother that we despise is a part of the Body. This can be so difficult to do and yet we are called to do it.

We often become myopic when looking and judging others for their sin and at th same time forgetting our own struggles and iniquities--"love the sinner, hate the sin" we might be quoted as saying, but does it actually look that way in practice?

Do we "pray" for others by almost gossiping about other Christians struggles and sins? Or do we actively seek their restoration and sanctification by encouraging and praying with them? We as the local body of believers (and as the invisible Body world over and through time) are in this together. We were created for interdependence with one another.

Go and impart grace to one another today, sowing seeds of peace and restoration among the local body of believers and community that you are a part of, so that God may be glorified.

Purgatorio is Back!

2008-01-02T19:08:00.000-05:00

I had thought that Marc over at Purgatorio might go on an extended or even permanent hiatus, but I recently heard that Purgatorio is up and running again.

The Divine Vinyl posts are as great as ever. Check 'em out.

(NOTE: for those who don't know about Purgatorio, it's a site that points out humor in evangelicalism, christian culture, etc.--it's great for a chuckle and in some ways an interesting commentary of the state of things)

UPDATE: The "commentary" that I spoke of is VERY evident in his most recent post, a video posted by someone on YouTube, about how that person abandoned the faith. Such a message should encourage us all to be steadfast, and guard our hearts as well as those of the faith that are near to us.

Ringing in 2008

2008-01-01T07:49:00.000-05:00

So I stayed up to watch the ball drop last night (and for those who watched ABC, it's a little tough watching Dick Clark, right? But I'm glad he's still plugging on). Then we watched the fireworks from our porch and that was pretty neat.

I always try to convince myself on the eve of a holiday that I have to work the next day. Why do I do this? Because subconsciously my body reacts differently--yesterday morning, not only because I had just gotten back from a road trip to WV but because I had to work, I would have slept until 9 or 9:30 (yes, that's REALLY sleeping in for me). However, I went to bed at about 12:30 this morning and woke up at 7. Phooey.

So I was awake this morning and thinking of the topic of resolutions and whether to make them, and I thought that often it is what expectations we put on ourselves and the type of help that we use to implement them that causes us to fall short.

Making resolutions in general is similar to choosing what diet to use--a person can look at their weight and state that they are going to cut out several things from their diet only to buckle under the pressure because they have tried to do too much too soon. There is also power in numbers--if you have even ONE person who can do it with you, it can make it seem easier since you've got a friend along in the fight.

I've often made mistakes resolving to make grand changes in my personal devotions. I have bought huge commentaries or books that will help me only to fall from that after days or even weeks.

So, with all of this in mind, I will commit (rather than a more grand "resolve") to moving towards certain goals. Resolutions tend to ask for drastic change (not that sometimes drastic change is never called for). I think that looking at making changes more in the way that our own sanctification works in our walk with Christ can lead to them being more lasting and effective.

But such an attitude must be reinforced by others--no man (or woman) is an island, as John Donne penned. We need each other every day. One price of increased individualism is increased loneliness, depression and despair--every one alive today has (or had) a mother and likely uncles/aunts, grandparents, siblings, but we choose to ignore our resources. Even at church, many check in for service and then run out the minute the service is over! The Church is not a gas station for you to fill up with spiritual fuel and head out on your week! It is a buffet of resources and spiritual nourishment designed by God to help us through this life--Christ guaranteed that we would suffer for His name and that this life would NOT be easy. Is He not faithful to provide the means to endure it?

With all that said, I commit to the following (and I fully hope that anyone who reads this blog would ask me how I am doing):

1. To study (not just read) the Bible for 20 minutes each day, finding a consistent time for this and for prayer.

2. To make a concentrated effort to exercise more consistently throughout the week, not just on the weekend.

3. To spend quality time with my wife once a week (that doesn't involve the TV!)

4. To read one book a month.

And that's it. To me, it doesn't do to have a long list of resolutions and it doesn't help me to make drastic changes that set me up for failure. Any Christian should want to read the Bible more than they did a year ago, if they are progressing along in their sanctification, but even they might not be as consistent in it as they will be in 10 years time. Discipline is practiced and developed, not instantly made. I pray that the Spirit will move upon my heart and give me guidance as I work these out on a daily basis and that most of all that these would all be filtered through a desire to glorify God most of all. For as John Piper has said, He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

Happy New Year to all. May God send His blessings upon you this year.

A Tribute to a Godly Man

2007-12-27T07:46:00.000-05:00

Robert Bailey, the father of my good friend Joey Bailey (family life pastor at Green Run Baptist Church in Virginia Beach), passed away last weekend. Many knew him as "Bob" and here is his obituary, courtesy of The Free-Lance Star in Fredericksburg (found here):

Robert J. Bailey

Robert James "Bob" Bailey, 62, of Fredericksburg died Friday, December 21, 2007, at Inova Alexandria Hospital following a brief and difficult battle with pancreatic cancer.

He was born Feb. 23, 1945, in Glen Fork, W. Va., to the late Oley and Pauline Bailey. He graduated from Glen Rogers High School in 1963 with state awards in auto mechanics. Robert was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat, as well as the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement against hostile forces. On June 23, 1967, he was united in marriage to Gloria Jean Moran of Oceana, W.Va. In 1987, Robert moved with his wife and their two children to Fredericksburg to work at Ourisman Chevrolet in Marlow Heights, Md., where he faithfully labored for 20 years. Robert's life had long been defined by his commitment to Jesus Christ. He was a loyal husband and loving father. He was a man of great strength, courage, and commitment to both his home and his church. Robert's loyalty and strength were matched by a heart always willing to help some one in need. Countless peo ple have benefited from his life throughout the years. Robert would be quick to give credit to God. He was a faithful member of Chancellor Baptist Church in Fredericksburg.

The three greatest attributes of Robert's life were his strength, love, and commitment.

Robert is survived by his wife, Jean; his son and daughter-in-law, Joseph and Stephanie Bailey of Virginia Beach; his daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Paul Thompson of Fredericksburg; four grandchildren, Jordyn, Grace, Nathan, and Emerson, who all knew him as "Pappy" and were his greatest joy; and his brother and sister-in-law, Rick and Freda Bailey of Glen Fork.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 24, at Chancellor Baptist Church. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church. An additional service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26, at Palm Memorial Garden, Matheny, W.Va., with visitation one hour prior to the service.

Date published: 12/23/2007

Were it that even half of that could be said about us when we passed--a life of service, dedicated to God, and loved by his family. May we weep with those who weep, yet rejoice in knowing that our brother has gone on to the Lord.

Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week....

2007-12-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those weeks where it all seems to happen at once? I had two Christmas gifts for my wife get messed up in some way and that was frustrating, and yesterday I was in court until 12:45 (the docket started at 10:00AM) because I had to wait for an interpreter to show up who spoke Farsi. That's right, Farsi. It's apparently a Persian language of some sort.

And now for something completely different (and for all of you who have ever had one of those weeks), here's a great clip from one of my favorite comedies, Airplane:

The Heid Speech

2007-12-20T18:43:00.000-05:00

Since I now know how to post videos, I HAD to post this clip from So I Married an Axe Murderer. Before Mike Myers played several characters in the Austin Powers movies, he played both the character Charlie and Charlie's dad Stuart in the movie.

The thing I wonder is if Anthony LaPaglia's (the guy sitting to Mike Myers' left) laughter is actually him trying to keep from busting out laughing.

The Birth of Grace

2007-12-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

It's the Christmas season, and I love this season for so many reasons. One of them is the music--I LOVE Christmas songs and hymns (we honestly have at least 25 Christmas albums of some kind). I was on the road to court listening to one of my favorite albums, City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time and the song that Caedmon's Call sings on that album is "Babe in the Straw."

I had listened to the song several times, but when I was listening to it the other day, the words in the chorus struck me:

and if we lose sight of your sweet face
at the birth of grace, at the birth of grace
light of truth shine like Bethlehem's star
lead us to where you are, show us who you are

I've been reading a lot in the Old Testament for my nightly Bible reading (I just finished Ezekiel and if that doesn't put a fear of God into you, I don't know what will!). In Reformed doctrine, we often talk about the Old and New covenants and how God ordained the Savior to come as He did, and how Christ is the eternal priest before God and mediator on our behalf.

But there's something at work in the transition between the covenants as well--notice that before Christ the people of God had to continually make sacrifices to God that were of an appeasing nature but did not ultimately satisfy the holiness of God. God's attitude towards Israel--His own people--had to be one of mercy. Mercy is often defined as having leniency towards another when wrong has been done, in other words, on the receiving end, not getting what you really deserve when you wrong someone else. God, in His forbearance, showed mercy to the Israelites time and again, pulling them out of their slavery to other peoples and saving them on the battlefield.

But they would sin against the Lord and grieve Him, over and over. But He mercifully brought them back until ultimate salvation could be achieved--this was GRACE. That God sent His only Son to earth to be born of a virgin, live a perfect, sinless life, and die on the Cross for the sins of the elect, whom God had ordained to save. At the birth of Christ, grace prevailed--the Lord would no longer need to show His forbearance toward His people because Christ as Savior wore the mantle of God's Holy wrath against our sin on the Cross while at the same time being the perfect and eternal sacrifice that satisfied God's justice and holiness.

The Lord still shows mercy to whom He will show mercy, but not as much in the overarching way that He had to show forbearance to His people in the Old Testament. Grace now prevails in that it gives us what we cannot earn for ourselves--eternal salvation and righteous standing before the Father. And this was all guaranteed by the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.

So this Christmas season, celebrate the birth of Christ, for it was the birth of grace!

My First Trial is Over!

2007-12-06T16:40:00.000-05:00

I had court this morning about 3 hours away at 8:30 (which means I woke up at 4 and left at 5 AM), and that wasn't too bad.

But I had a trial today back here in the Valley that I have really not been looking forward to for a couple of weeks--the opposing counsel was actually being considered for a judgeship, and I really didn't know how it was going to pan out.

I got back from my morning court date around 12:30 and stopped by my office to make some copies, but I was otherwise unable to do ANYTHING before I left because all I could think about was the upcoming trial in town at 2:00.

They put on their case, I put on mine and at the end of the day, I got judgment in favor of my client (the defendant, so it was dismissed). I was thrown a couple of curves during the trial and I honestly didn't think we'd come out victorious, but God was faithful in giving me favor with the judge. It feels so good that it's over now, and I'm glad I was able to get a good result for my client.

My boss even let me go home a little early since I'd been up for about 12 hours, which was nice. I think my wife and I are going out to eat tonight to celebrate, which should be fun.

And as an example that it's not like what you see on TV, the opposing attorney came over after the case was done and congratulated me, telling me I did a good job. Don't believe what you see on television--the bar (what we call the group of attorneys that practice before the courts) is on the large whole a great group of men and women of integrity who you can argue with before the judge but yet after court go grab a bite to eat with or play golf with on the weekend. Most people think that we're mean to each other and that somehow helps them in their case, when in fact it does quite the opposite--if opposing counsel have good rapport, it makes any litigation go much smoother (or may even prevent it--good attorneys aren't deliberately trying to delay or make it difficult for the other side). Being an attorney is a privilege (which I could tell you by the fact that the Bar is quite busy policing itself and takes infractions VERY seriously) and I consider it a privilege to be counted among them.

Smearing Our Brethren on the 'Net

2007-11-29T07:19:00.001-05:00

I was reading my morning Spurgeon this morning, and he points out that we should not make it our business to "help the Devil dishonor the Church."

Spurgeon quotes from Leviticus 16:19, which states the following:

You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life [1] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

The KJV translation that Spurgeon quoted specifically states that we should not be a "tale-bearer," and it means that we should not go around spreading stories, true or not, that would damage the reputation of the person who is the subject of that story. Paul was very specific about those who gossip (see Romans 1:29-30).

The thing that has struck me most since I have been blogging and reading blogs on the internet is how easy it can be to vilify the individual (be that person a Christian or not) when telling a story about something that they have done or a belief that they hold to. Spurgeon goes on to state that we should most certainly rebuke sin, but this is to be done to his face (not to "rail" behind his back) so that you may restore that brother to Christ.

The internet provides a medium in which individuals can attack (and even appear to attack without meaning to) individuals personally rather than dealing with the sin or error itself (recent debates over doctrine on some blogs, I fear, have tried to rise to personal attacks and the medium is not personal so it easily lends itself to that).

Sin and error must be dealt with in the Church, but we must be careful in dealing with both that we do not take the extra step of trying to destroy the Body by our methods. We are the Body of Christ and they will know that we are Christians by our love for one another--this does not mean that we cede any essential doctrine or we water down the Gospel. May it never be.

Reproof and correction, at its base, should be motivated by a love and restoration for the other person, not a motivation to point out fault and claim "see, I told you he or she was [fill in the blank]!!!" Because we can all claim we are the greatest of sinners, and to smear another brother or sister in Christ in our blogging (and even worse, in more private conversations and emails) causes us to puff ourselves up and we do damage to our witness and the cause of Christ.

To echo Spurgeon, I would plead that our talk and actions be infused with the doctrine of the Gospel and our hearts be broken for those who commit sin and error. Make it a point that if someone tells you a tale or gossips about someone else, let it stop with you--glory in Christ and do not glory in pulling your brother down.

Doctrine-Infused Speech

2007-11-28T07:28:00.000-05:00

I was reading my daily Spurgeon this morning when a particular line grabbed me:

We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their manifestation in the man's conversation.

Wow. I have to ask myself, does the truth of Scripture grip me in this way, that my conversation shows my understanding of the Gospel? When I am pressed by the heat of situations or encounter others who struggle, do I promote the truths of the Gospel with my speech? I confess that I do not. Spurgeon also, in quoting 3 John 3, states that "doctrines simply held as creed are like bread in the hand," while if that bread is eaten and digested, it does nourishment (and so too with doctrine).

I've commented on this before, but what we feed on (intellectually and spiritually) determines what we produce with our mouths as well as how we act. We can be a tool of both reproof and encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ but also be a stumbling block and detriment to the Gospel in how we speak and act (see James 3:8).

What "secrets" does your conversation with others reveal? Are they the secret treasures of the Gospel or does your talk display something else? May our minds be permeated by the Gospel and its doctrines and may we hold them as dear as life.

A Thank-full Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T11:32:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night my parents came into town and it has been nice to have them here--we're a little closer to them than we were when we were at the Beach, so it's good for them to come and not have to travel so far. My wife unfortunately had to work today even though I did get a rare day off.

It's amazing to think that another year has passed since the last Thanksgiving when they were down here, and much has changed. My dad, who had a job last year, finds himself unemployed now and having to look for work at age 57, which is tough for him. But, in another way, it has allowed him to do four (!) devotionals each morning as he prepares for his day (sometimes God wants to get your attention, yeah?).

I'm thankful for family, and for the strong Christian roots I've been blessed with--not only on my side of the family, but my wife's as well. I'm thankful for being able to work and having a job, as well as a reliable car and good house to live in. We have a wonderful dog and food to eat. And we have a great church with a great group of believers to fellowship with on a weekly basis.

But while being so thankful my wife and I realize there is a deep desire that we both have (to have a child of our own) and we wonder (constantly) if/when that will happen. We have prayed and groaned and it has made us weary (wondering if there is something within us or within that desire that is wrong?)--but it is in this that reminds me how marriage and the love within it is based on a decision that must be made daily. I must wake up and decide that I will love my wife, no matter what may come, and she does the same towards me. When I say that I love my wife, it runs deeper than cutesy hearts and cupid arrows and chocolates on Valentine's Day--I am committed to being the person she needs, now and forever, until the Lord Himself relieves me of that duty.

People often wonder why the divorce rate in this country is the same between Christian and non-Christian homes. A person once said (I can't remember who?) that love is finding your happiness or joy in someone else's happiness or joy. Did you hear that? Your deepest joy should be in making someone else happy--and the end game of your actions should simply be their happiness. Not to get a promotion, to feel good about yourself in giving them a certain gift (so as to pat yourself on the back for a job well done), or puff yourself up, but simply bringing them joy.

Most people don't see love in this way--they use it to get something for them--if it isn't useful to them, or can't give them an advantage, why employ it(though they would NEVER outwardly admit this)?

Be thankful on this day that you cherish Christ and that Christ is the center of your marriage (with the gracious help of the Holy Spirit), and if it isn't, plead in your prayers to Him to convict you in this.

A Christ-less Heaven

2007-11-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

Today in church our pastor was in Hebrews 9 again and we were dealing with Christ entering into heaven itself and Pastor David pointed out what was right there in verse 23:

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

That's right. Christ died to purify not only the earthly manifestations of the "holy place" in which we would offer sacrifices, but also died to purify heaven itself. I have to be honest that that question had NEVER jumped out at me before.

It says just this in verse 24:

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Christ purified heaven itself--now, at first blush that would seem to say that there was something in God that needed to be purified, but remember: God made the heavens too. He is above it! And it is His presence that made the earthly copy of heavenly things holy! He was before time and before the heavens. 1 Peter mentions the promise of the new heavens and new earth that we look forward to in the time coming when Christ shall return--and Isaiah prophesies this in Ch. 65 and 66.

The union of Christ with the Father purified the heavens because perhaps in a way there was a peace--even an appeasement?--that occurred with Christ's entrance into the heavens. Christ was the Lamb who was slain for all time--taking away the iniquity once for all for God's people, whom He had chosen before time began. No longer did God have act as He did in the Old Testament time and again for His name's sake (due perhaps to the inferior nature of the sacrifices made and the unfaithfulness of His people)--Christ, His Son, offered Himself as a sacrifice once. And in this sacrifice, His work corresponds to the promise that God made in Ezekiel 36, when He speaks of putting a His spirit within us, giving us a new heart--this could not be done without Christ's sacrifice, because His holiness CANNOT be compromised (in the same chapter, several verses show God's concern for His holy name). Without Christ's sacrifice and the eternal effect of his life, death and resurrection, we would still be making continuous sacrifices.

Christ, in purifying the heavens, offers himself as sacrifice and as our mediator between us and the Father, forever interceding for us. Praise His Holy Name.

The other point that David also made is that we often may look to heaven as the end rather than Christ--when we are suffering and in a hard place, how often do we not say, "Lord, take me now!" But this type of escapism is exactly the attitude Christ does not want us to have, but rather we would say with Paul that I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the future glory that is to be revealed to us. And this glory is Christ! Do you dream simply about the streets of gold and the absence of suffering rather than being with Christ, your Savior? Remember that heaven without Christ, to quote my pastor, is just another word for hell--separation from Christ is no heaven at all! The Trinity is 3 in 1! Christ's entrance into heaven made it the "promised land" for us, because without His sacrifice we have no audience or standing before the Father!

No matter the storm, flee to Christ and fling yourself at His feet, hearing His Word for your life today.

Fighting the Spiritual Snobbery Within Us

2007-11-13T18:55:00.001-05:00

When I was driving to court today I was ruminating over the sermon my pastor gave last Sunday (it was on Hebrews 9, near the end of the chapter), and he talked about how we are so quick to judge others around us without looking very hard at ourselves. We easily condemn someone for a sin that we may even privately commit! We have (at most times) a very high and exaggerated view of ourselves--we often have mirrors spread throughout our house, but how often do we hold up the mirror of the Word to really (and I mean, REALLY) examine ourselves?

It's very easy to watch the news, even local news, and lament or even approach disgust at a thief (white or blue collar), murderer, etc--but our first response should be to say, "Lord, they need you!" and pray for their soul. Apart from Christ, we are nothing, and our accomplishments are nothing apart from what glory they bring to Him. There is a saying that goes, "But for the grace of God, so go I." Understand that you may not be a murderer, a thief or a cheat--but there is a flesh-nature that, but for the regeneration ordained by God and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit, would be capable of that.

So when you see someone in the world in your travels or watching television who may drive you to disgust or disdain, get off your high-horse and get on your knees.

We've Come a Long Way, Baby

2007-11-01T08:05:00.000-04:00

Last night was the 10th anniversary of my wife and I's first date. Ten years ago, my wife and I attended a social function at our college called "Artist Series" where the college would bring in theatrical or music acts for an evening, so that folks would not have to go anywhere (Lexington, KY was not far away, but not much to do in Wilmore!) The theater company performed Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and we had a blast.

Fast forward to last night, and you'd think we'd go out and have a big dinner, right? Nope. We're easy to please--we got Chinese takeout (about $40 worth--it's the ONLY way to go. it's like having your own buffet!) and watched TV that we had saved on our DVR. Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are the most satisfying.

Reformation Sunday Celebration

2007-10-30T07:05:00.000-04:00

My wife and I attended a wonderful service Sunday night celebrating the Reformation (as well as what God has done and is doing) at Grace Church here in the Valley, joined by several other Presbyterian churches in the area.

It was a time of worship, prayer, communion and a wonderful sermon. Rev. Mike Sharrett of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg (they have a wonderful website which can be visited here) preached on 2 Kings 2: 15-25, where Elisha is addressing three different categories of people shortly after the torch of prophet is passed from Elijah to him.

The first group is skeptical of Elisha's word that Elijah does not need to be looked for, but ultimately Elisha gives in and allows 50 of them to go--when they come back stating they could not find Elijah, he tells them that they should not have gone.

The second group (near the end of the passage) is a mocking group of boys who is representative of those in the town that disdain the message that Elijah brings and essentially call him "baldy"--Elijah then turns to curse these boys and two female bears come from the woods to tear the boys apart.

The third group in this spectrum is a group of those in the town of Jericho that come to Elijah about their water problem--they show themselves blessed to be where they are, yet their water does not allow them to possible grow crops or feed their livestock. Unlike the other groups, they come to Elijah believing that he through his God can help them.

Rev. Sharrett drew parallels to a spectrum of people that receive God's Word: the first group can receive the Word but when the heat of life comes, they run to other pleasures or sensualities for their comfort, forsaking the living water of the Word. The second group who mocks are the ones who disdain the Truth and further condemn themselves before the Father. Finally, the third group hears and treasures the Word, knowing that it gives life, believing that the Father will do what He says.

Rev. Sharrett gave us a challenge to be people of the Word, to read it daily and not just on Sundays--one test that he gave us to tell whether we were people of the Word was not whether we were actually doing it everyday but if we missed it, did something inside us ache for missing it. Part of our regeneration is the changing of our desires--do we desire the Word, even if we are not perfect in our execution and exercise of that discipline?

May we be people of the Word, and do honor to the saints that have come before us, especially those of the Reformation, who liberated the Word from the pulpit, making it available to all and reemphasizing the priesthood of all believers.

What Is the World Coming To?

2007-10-12T07:05:00.000-04:00

Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to letting people know about the "climate problem."

But how does someone win a prize so prestigious as this for using scare tactics and what some have called bad science?

All things considered, I guess it's better than having him for president the last 8 years or so. Sheesh.

Not Blogging Much...

2007-10-05T08:01:00.000-04:00

I haven't been blogging much lately not because I haven't had much to say but because 1) work has been crazy the last week (staying until 7 or 8 PM several nights this week) and 2) I injured my finger playing football at our church's picnic last Sunday.

And no, it's not simply jammed, because I've done that plenty of times. You can usually just pull your finger and it will correct itself. This time (as in the many other times) it was hard to bend without pain. As I've told others, at the worst it's a fractured knuckle and at the least just a pulled tendon. The funny thing is that I can't remember if this is the 2nd or 3rd time I've broken this finger (I have broken one middle finger once and the other one twice).

Most other folks would rush to the emergency room to get it x-rayed, but not me. From experience (four broken toes and four broken fingers), all they do is x-ray it and tell you it's broken, give you a splint and send you on your way...oh, and then there's the bill for $400 (we have a HSA plan, so we pay full price for most services up to a deductible, and I'm NOWHERE close--I haven't been to a doctor in 2 years)! A decent splint can be picked up at your local pharmacy and most over-the-counter stuff will help deal with any pain (of course, if you are in a great deal of pain, see the doctor!).

The only thing the x-ray would do is to help me figure out the exact injury and how long I need to wear the splint (I'd thought about going to the airport and going through their x-ray screen but they might not want me on the conveyer belt with the luggage?). My guess is two to four weeks. I'm hoping toward the lower end, since the men's retreat is coming up a week from now and we're playing captain's choice golf on Saturday (it's my understanding that this is where a team plays but the best shot at each juncture is chosen and all play from that spot--but I could be misunderstanding the concept).

I doubt that I'd have best ball on most shots, though--maybe I'll just bring my putter (and maybe a wedge).

Emerging Church/Emerging Conversation

2007-09-28T08:27:00.000-04:00

I won't pretend that I know all the distinctions/difference between the above terms, but I know there has been much going on in the blogosphere lately on the topic.

There are many leaders/speakers within this movement, but two of the folks in the conversation, Doug Pagitt and Brian McLaren, have made some suppositions/statements which I find somewhat disturbing.

To start, I have to say that the part of the movement which is probing what it means to be missional (however that is defined) is something that does interest me, insofar as it searches to find how the Gospel is to be practiced or lived out. It's when in trying to be missional that some folks redefine or reshape the Gospel that I have a HUGE problem.

You see, it's folks like Pagitt who state that John MacArthur preaches a perverted Gospel. Yes he said that--see this post.Pyromaniacs: Different Gospels

McLaren in a recent book, Everything Must Change casts the Gospel as a type of social gospel, where Christ came to establish His Kingdom here on earth, and the Gospel is meant to essentially cure social ills and the human condition. (see a great post by Tim Challies on McLaren's newest book here)

There's a sense in which they feel they have a new lease on the Gospel, that they are trying to invent a "new" way to be a Christian, but this social gospel has been preached before, and as Tim Challies mentions, it has been defeated.

McLaren and Pagitt want to leave behind "stuffy" Protestantism and orthodoxy, but if you do this in abandoning basic understandings of justification, atonement, etc, you have no Gospel at all. Jesus did not come to die so that we could have a better world--he died to save us from it and from the wrath of God!

Were the disciples preaching the Gospel to help create a better world? Did they die for that? Did Paul preach dying to oneself everyday because the people he was preaching to needed a better sense of community? NO! He preached to them because they were sinners, and they needed a savior! When Peter speaks in his letter about being prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have, he speaks of the hope in Christ that we have for our salvation, not some social interpretation of the gospel.

Helping and serving others should be a work that is an outflow of the grace that Christ has shown us--it should be a means, not an end of preaching the Gospel, and that's where I fear that the focus of this "conversation" is moving toward.

We have been told in the Gospel that there is one name by which we are saved, and that is through Christ--He said Himself that no one can come to the Father except through Him. If we begin to make the Gospel into a different focus other than the fact that each person needs to come to Christ for salvation, then the Gospel is not preached.

Suffering and Trusting in God

2007-09-27T19:36:00.001-04:00

Now that I've posted something trivial about sports, I'll turn to the topic of suffering and the really great sermon that our elder Chris preached on this past Sunday.

The passage was from 1 Peter 4:12-19, which reads as follows:

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And

“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Chris began by stating that Christians who suffer should trust the love of God for a joyful outcome, outlining three points:

1. Be Sure That Suffering Will Come (v. 12)

Suffering in this life, as a Christian, is not a matter of if, but when. Suffering is often utilized by God to test us, to burn away the impurities much like the person who burns away the dross off the gold. Christ told his disciples to count the cost in following Him, because he warned them that as He suffered, so they would suffer. The importance of trusting in the love of God is that we are taken by surprise when we suffer, to the point that we cry out to God, saying "Why is this happening to me? Have you forgotten me God?"

Now, honestly, how many of us have said that when we have come up to suffering or adversity? Many of us have because we forget how God is ALWAYS with us, and is ALWAYS faithful. But God is not only there, but He gives us the grace necessary to rejoice in our sufferings and to cause us to look to God and see His sovereign purpose in it--which is to glorify His name by it (see Rom. 8:18). Notice it is to HIS glory, not yours, that you suffer, so throwing a pity party does not proclaim Him or His gospel in your life.

2. Be Sure That Your Suffering Is For Worthy Reasons (v.15)

It is often that we are bold enough to ask God "Why me" when the suffering is a result of our own disobedience! Peter speaks of evil doing, murder, theft, and even of someone who is a busybody and meddles in another's business. We should not moan in our suffering if we have consciously sinned as Peter mentions. It should be a warning to examine ourselves to make sure that we suffer for worthy reasons.

3. Be Sure That God Has a Sovereign Purpose For Suffering (v. 17)

a. In judgment, God separates the dross from the gold by revealing His glory through the suffering of His Church--in judging His people first, He identifies them as His own, setting them apart for His glory and honor.

b. In producing faith through the suffering, God causes us to put our faith in Him rather than lean on our own understanding or righteousness or flesh. HE must be our portion--we must cling to Christ and in Him alone when we suffer.

c. In connection with the one above, we entrust our soul to God by practicing the faith that He has given to us--this comes in our being sanctified.

In conclusion, Chris reminded us that our motivation for doing good and trusting Him in suffering is that he loves us despite our level of obedience and faithfulness to Him. What a blessed thing indeed!

Trying to Fix Somethin' That Ain't Broke

2007-09-27T18:54:00.000-04:00

There are times when you really have to scratch your head at what folks are thinking. I'm not a big fan of women's soccer, but in general, internationally, the U.S. Women have had the best squad since the World Cup was instituted for women almost 10 years ago. So that sets the stage.

Enter U.S. Women's Coach Greg Ryan, who decides to bench his younger goalie, Hope Solo, in favor of veteran goalie Briana Scurry, who hasn't played a match since June (almost 3 months ago) for the semifinal match against Brazil yesterday. You can read the entire story here.

Up until this point, Solo had only allowed 2 goals and had gone the last almost 300 minutes of play (each game has 90 minutes) without allowing a goal during this World Cup. She had played very well. Not surprisingly, when the U.S. lost 4-0, Ms. Solo was frustrated and stated that she would have been able to make those saves.

It is really interesting when someone decides to change something when it seems to be working, but I guess that the coach will take the heat for his decision in the days and weeks to come.

A Close "Call"

2007-09-23T07:57:00.000-04:00

My wife, her brother and some church friends of mine went to see Caedmon's Call last night--when they came out onto the stage, two members (Cliff and Danielle) were noticeably missing. Andrew Osenga played a song or two, then revealed that just as they were about to get on the plane from Houston, Danielle went into labor and they couldn't make it for the show. So not only was Derek not on tour with them yet, but Cliff and Danielle was not there either. I was sort of bummed.

But I have to say that my wife and I have a new found respect for somewhat-newly acquired member Osenga (he has been with them for about 5 years since the Normals dissolved). We were both kind of disappointed when Derek left to do his own thing, and thought that Andrew wasn't a great replacement. But he surprised us as he really carried the show last night (he's a suprisingly funny and quick-witted guy), and stepped up--they brought a friend of Caedmon's from Houston to fill in for Danielle (Sarah?) and she did well. Josh Moore was AMAZING on piano, and the percussion stuff was fantastic. It wasn't the ideal that I was hoping for, but I had a great time. If anything, I hope that it shows Caedmon's that this area can produce a pretty good crowd so that they'll come back when they're full strength.

I look forward to seeing them in the spring.

Our Bibles Are Not Antiques

2007-09-18T07:29:00.000-04:00

I was in a Christian bookstore last weekend to purchase a concert ticket and I was noticing how many different types of Bibles there were available for purchase in the store; study bibles, devotional bibles, parallel bibles, children's bibles, and numerous translations. Next to the Bibles were the numerous ways to cover your bible, whether by fabric or by leather, zipper case or not.

It got me thinking about a few things--for starters, how many bibles I had in my house (close to six, I think). In addition, looking at the casings in the store, I thought that oftentimes we treat the physical Bible itself as an antique rather than something to be used. We don't mark it up or highlight in it, because it's the Word of God, after all! We put it back in its casing and are very careful to open and close it, because we wouldn't want to damage it--but have you ever seen the Christian with the Bible whose cover is worn and the pages marked up like it was a college textbook? That's how we ought to use it, for as Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, and for training in righteousness."

Now, notice the picture to the above right--it is an old Bible and not one that was preserved in glass or in pristine condition. Or this picture, which shows a Bible that has clearly been used.

When my wife and I got married, my dad gave us a table that had been in his family for a long time--it was a table that my parents and I used as a computer table while I was still living at home, but when it was given to us, it became our dining table. Now, we could have put it over in the corner and treated it as an antique, but we were given it so that we could use it.

So before you are quick to be overprotective of your copy of God's Word (notice that I'm not saying you should toss it around like you don't care about it), remember that it's been given to you by God for use and for your benefit.

We Are All Proclaiming Something

2007-09-08T13:05:00.000-04:00

I went to men's prayer breakfast this morning and heard a WONDERFUL advocating of family worship. We read from Ephesians 5:22-6:4, a well known (and sometimes misinterpreted) passage of Scripture.

It speaks of the wife submitting to the husband and the husband loving the wife as Christ loves the Church; the visiting pastor (also named David and a pastor of a ARP Church in Blacksburg?) very correctly pointed out that the passage was NOT about the privilege that a man derives from that passage, but in fact the responsibility of men to their families. I am the first to say that I do not practice family worship as I should, and don't pray often enough with my wife--our pastor David pointed out that it takes a real intimacy to pray with your spouse, and this is something that has to be developed through the action of prayer.

The visiting pastor pointed out that there has been a real abdication of responsibility of men/families within the Church when it comes to spiritual instruction and family worship, and certain statistics were thrown out to show how many children leave the faith (being defined as not being a member of a local church) after a certain time subsequent to high school. The percentages were high and some objected to them bringing in examples of the prodigal son, that they don't tell the full story, etc. But focusing in on the numbers or their fallibility misses the point. The passage focuses on the responsibility of the man as head of the family to model and live out his faith by his instruction and discipline. We will be accountable for what WE do--focusing in on the complexity of the situation and other cultural factors will allow us, if we are not careful, to excuse our inaction when it comes to spiritual instruction to the family. We might say, "Johnny has strayed a little bit, but it's that city he's living in--it's too liberal" or "the college he chose doesn't have any good churches nearby" and so on.

But do we ignore the Psalms and Proverbs where it says "train up a child in the way he would go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it?" Do we not try?

I am of a younger generation, and though I do not have children, I am a product of the generation where youth functions and groups were designed to completely fill the gap created by the lack of instruction at home. As time has gone on, more and more "innovations" are put forth to pull more kids in--but if they don't see that lived out at home, there's a disconnect. The whole schematic is backwards. Home should be where the spiritual foundation is laid, and the church in its functions for youth should reinforce what is already or mostly known.

I agree with the visiting pastor--I don't have anything against youth groups--but it asks the youth leader to do more than he's able. If you abdicate your responsibility of spiritual discipline and instruction to the pastors of the local church, do you know what you're saying? "Hey Pastor Bob, would you raise my kids?" Because that's what it really amounts to! You can't shove the kid into youth group (at least the ideal) where the Word is preached and God's commands are advocated and then expect him to come home, see the exact opposite (or at least only apathy toward spiritual things) and be able to process the contradiction! It's like having two parents who have two completely different standards.

And this brings me to the title of this post--we all proclaim something with how we live our lives. Some will say, "I am not evangelist, I don't really know how to witness well" etc. But I would challenge you that are witnessing to people everyday, whether you know it or not--if they know you go to church, even that you are a Christian, you proclaim something. In your relationships, your work ethic, your temperament, and so on.

We as men will be held accountable for how we carry out the responsibility we have been given over our families, and it is something, when I think about it, that shakes me to the core because I know that I have failed miserably in it. But as someone so correctly pointed out this morning, it is not too late to start now.

Christ is not just a part of our life, he should BE our life, permeating our conversation and our thoughts, as well as our relationships with our family. This can only happen through immersion in the Word and gaining knowledge about our God, having His praises on our lips through song and through prayer. What did Paul desire? In 1 Cor. 2:2 he states, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Christ and Him crucified." Let that be our prayer today as we love and minister to those to whom we have been entrusted with, and let the Lord deal with us graciously, and not as he ought.

It's 5 A.M.

2007-09-06T05:10:00.000-04:00

And all the rest of my house is sleeping soundly, while I sit eating breakfast and prepare to leave in a few minutes on a 3 and 1/2 hour journey to Southwest Virginia. It's not that I have not had anything to write about--I've got sermons to blog, other thoughts that run through my head, but maybe I've taken a sub-conscious break from blogging because I haven't felt very motivated. The days have all been a blur, and these past few months have been very tiring. A friend of mine asked whether I prefer being in the office or on the road, and I said it was an interesting question--I'd rather be in a different type of work!

My wife and I went up to West Virginia to her family reunion and it went well, though with all of her dad's brothers and sisters aging (he's 67 and the youngest of 12!), less and less are showing up due to death or illness. But it was still a good time--lots of food and visiting. Makes me wish my family could do something like that, but the logistics (everyone being flung across the United States--one as far as Oregon, the other coast) make it very impossible.

I hope to have some more thoughts when I come up for air this weekend. Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Excited!

2007-08-28T19:04:00.001-04:00

I just got the new Caedmon's Call CD in the mail--you can view information on their new album here. The title of the new album is called "Overdressed" and it is great to hear Derek Webb with them again--to me, it just really hasn't been Caedmon's Call without him. Of course, he won't be joining them permanently (I don't think--but I'm not sure).

The EVEN BIGGER NEWS is that Caedmon's will actually be coming to do a concert 15 minutes from where we live!!! My wife and I haven't gotten to see them since college, so we are VERY excited that they are coming close by--it will be a real treat to see them again.

In other slightly important news, the Red Sox play the Yanks tonight, and I'm not sure I'll watch since as a superstitious baseball fan, to watch would be to somehow jinx the Sox, and I don't want that 8 game lead to dwindle!

Tale of Two Dexters

2007-08-27T19:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was an interesting day. I may have mentioned before on this blog how I seem to attract dogs that are not my own--well, it happened again yesterday.

I took my dog for his morning walk, as is always my job on the weekends, and suddenly this Jack Russell darts out into our walking path. It has no collar and no owner appears to be nearby. To set the stage, it is 7 AM on a Sunday morning, so to quote a Christmas poem, "not a creature was stirring."

So, here is this Jack Russell, and I'm really not sure what to do with it--having my dog is actually a good thing, as it seems most dogs will come to you if you also have a dog with you. My dog was going nuts, as he does with all dogs his size ("someone to play with!"). I picked the dog up--he did not seem to mind--and took him to a house where I had thought I had seen a Jack Russell before, but after I knocked a couple of times, realized that it was not the same dog.

After going back and forth in thinking that I could take the dog home and call Animal Control to see if anyone had reported missing a dog and taking it back to the place where I had found it, a woman drove by in a minivan, jumped out and said, "Dexter!"

********

Fast forward to later in the day, where we went over to another young couple's house (who attend our church), who also had a dog named Dexter. What are the odds?

Cheerful Holiness

2007-08-14T07:51:00.000-04:00

Spurgeon, as always, continues to amaze me with his words. In today's morning reading (which can be found here), in speaking about Psalm 92:4 he says:

Cheerful holiness is the most forcible of sermons, but the Lord must give it you.

We all acknowledge that the Lord must even give us the faith and grace to continue in this life, but look at the type of holiness that Spurgeon speaks of here. A cheerful holiness--not a prideful, boastful, solemn or dutiful holiness, but a cheerful one--makes the greatest testimony to the work that God has done in you.

Why? Because through your words and actions you display your gratefulness to God for the salvation He has given you. Your sanctification should be permeated by a thankfulness to the God of all things--this is why an overemphasis with what a man has done in the salvation he has attained through Christ (that man came to Christ on his own, etc. without any effectual drawing) can overshadow or deflect such gratefulness (in my opinion) and make the focus of their sanctification wholly one of duty rather than one of cheerfulness and thankfulness.

Glorify God in your sanctification, never forgetting that Christ has died for you--love others and express to others the love you have been shown!

Life Before Cable?

2007-08-13T07:22:00.001-04:00

So I was watching the PGA Golf Tournament yesterday on CBS, and the tournament was about 45 minutes from being over, Tiger Woods was on his way to his 13th major, and suddenly, the TV got stuck. I mean every channel became freeze-framed. The DVR stated that all the channels were temporarily off the air, and when I took the DVR off-line, the channels were all stuck in that particular moment in time.

I thought, "man, I'd like to see the rest of the tournament, guess I'll have to see if they are broadcasting it on the internet." (for some reason, the internet, which we also get by cable, was working) So, for a few minutes, I was watching on the PGA website some very grainy "live" webcam action from the tournament.

A few minutes later, my wife says, "you know, we might be able to get some type of reception." And I was thinking, "but the cable's out, right?" She says, "through the antenna."

And it was like transporting to a former time (not too long ago for us, but still a few years ago) where we adjusted the ol' rabbit ears to see if we could get this or that channel--lucky for me the tournament was on a network station, and I got to watch the rest of the tournament. Always nice to have a backup plan.

Wash Me Savior, or I Die

2007-08-07T19:35:00.000-04:00

The above is a very memorable line from a great hymn, Rock of Ages. The full verse reads as follows:

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly,--
Wash me, Savior, or I die!

The verse is very powerful (as is the rest of the song) because of its imagery--a person acknowledging that he has nothing to bring to salvation and knows that he must cling to the Cross and that Christ must clothe him with His righteousness. But before this is obtained, a washing must take place in the fountain which is Christ's blood that was shed for us.

I have been meaning to post on this topic for a while, only because in C.S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (a book in the Chronicles of Narnia series) there is a amazing illustration of this. To set the background, in this book, Edmund and Lucy, two of the original Pevensie children who visited Narnia in The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe have returned to Narnia with their cousin, Eustace, who is most certainly a brat in the kindest sense of the word. He is self-centered and only concerned about what he can get out of Narnia. In this scene, Eustace has wandered off from the landing party and to a cave.

But as he got to the mouth of the cave, he saw what we would know as a dragon, which came to the edge of the lake to drink, twitched, giving one last breath and died. Edmund almost laughed out loud in relief, and went inside the cave when it began to rain. When he went in the cave, what did he find but loads of treasure--in fact he had found a bracelet which was too big for his wrist but slid it up past his elbow (since he thought he could take some of this treasure for himself). Then he went to sleep and a strange thing happened....

He awoke to a great pain in his arm, and he noticed that the pain had become strangely tight. He moved to take it off and was shocked at what he saw coming from his right and his left: dragon arms moved across his sight line as he moved his arms. Of course, he thought that he was now between two dragons that surrounded him as he slept, but he saw that smoke was coming out of his own nostrils: he had turned into a dragon.

Eustace, after realizing this, only now wanted his friends and felt bad for how he had treated them, resigning himself to the life of a dragon. And then one night he was visited by a lion (those reading the books would know him to be Aslan), and the lion prompted Eustace to follow him to a well:

But the lion told me that I must undress first...I was just going to say that I couldn't undress because I hadn't any clothes on when I suddenly thought that dragons are the snaky sort of things and snakes can cast their skins...So I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place...my whole skin peeled off beautifully...it was lying beside me, looking rather nasty.

Eustace tried this several times, but discovered each time as he went down to bathe in the well that each attempt to scratch the skin off had been unsuccessful. The lion soon spoke:

"You will have to let me undress you."

Fear ran fast through Eustace as the lion approached him with his claws, but Eustace's desperation won over his fear:

I was pretty afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but the I was pretty nearly desperate now. The very first tear he (the lion) made was so deep that I thought it had gone right through my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt...He peeled the beastly stuff off just as I thought I had done it myself the other three times, only it hadn't hurt--and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and knobbly-looking than the others had been.

The lion then grabbed Eustace and threw him into the water, waiting a few moments, then dressing Eustace in new clothes.
************************

What a great illustration this is of the concept of our rebirth in Christ! Before we come to Christ, we may be prompted by some sense of our own self-righteousness or morality to reform ourselves and then think ourselves better (such as Eustace trying to scrape his dragon skin off). But when we come to Christ, we realize that we are no different than we were in the innermost depths of our soul, and there is a washing that only Christ can do when he washes our hearts (in regeneration and justification), replacing a heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Christ sees our inner wickedness that must be redeemed that we cannot see (or choose not to see) in the mirror.

Without this washing by Christ, we are still under God's wrath and are justly condemned to die for our sins, just as the other dragon died in the story above that Eustace met before he became a dragon.

Christian, rejoice today in the new creation that you are and the new clothes that Christ has given you in the salvation that He has called you to!

Jesus as Guarantor of a BETTER Covenant

2007-08-06T20:22:00.000-04:00

Pastor David continued into Hebrews 7 yesterday, covering verses 18-22:

18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’”

22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

Pastor David began by reminding us the definition of covenant, which is essentially a solemn promise between two parties. A guarantor is someone that assumes responsibilities for paying another's debt or fulfilling their responsibilities (for example, like a co-signer on a car loan).

Beginning in the text, the writer-preacher is quick to point out yet again the weak nature of the Old commandments in how they could not save and did not make anything perfect. The writer also again points to the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood, in that Christ was made priest with an oath (whereas Levitical priests were made priests simply by bloodline)--The LORD swore an oath that Christ would be priest forever. The permanence of such a promise likely had a profound effect on the hearers, yet they were still tempted to go back to what they knew!

The reason that the writer preacher is spending time on this is that the hearers of this message are under much persecution--homes are being destroyed and they are being thrown in prison. It was easy to follow Christ when times were easy and good, and the Romans tolerated their religion--but Pastor David pointed out that when the persecution began, the pressure was trying to push them back to the Old Covenant and all that came along with it.

But the writer's point in showing this "better hope" and Jesus being the guarantor of a better covenant is to show them that Jesus fulfilled the law and superseded the Old Covenant and brought the New Covenant. There is no Old Covenant to retreat to, and yet these hearers wanted to run back to it!

The same pull or force that tempted them to desire the ways of the Old Covenant is the same force that drives us to fall back into old patterns when we come into suffering or strife that tests our faith. When we are stressed and the pressure is brought to bear on our life, we crave the "comfortable" (or at least what we think is comfort). Even as regenerated, new creations in Christ, we grab for the thing which does not satisfy when we are put under pressure, because we think that will satisfy and bring us comfort. But it is a lie! Christ, as the guarantor of a better covenant, is the only thing that will truly satisfy and sustain. We cannot turn to bad language, violence, pornography, gossip, or other vices to alleviate our suffering or make us feel better about ourselves. We must ask the Spirit to cleanse our minds and our thoughts and fight the temptation to revert to patterns which we must surrender to Him.

Lord help us to resist the temptation to fall back into old patterns and instead cling to the Cross, as you are the guarantor of a better covenant and a lasting hope!

Who Was Melchizedek, Part II

2007-08-02T22:49:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday Pastor David explored verses 11-19 of Ch. 7, where the writer-preacher lays out the comparison between Jesus and Melchizedek, and which read as follows:

11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,

“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

Pastor David broke this section down into two parts, the first addressing the imperfections of the Levitical priesthood.

I. Imperfections of the Levitical Priesthood: vv. 11-14

1. The imperfect nature of the Levitical priesthood as established from Levi, the 3rd son of Jacob and Leah can be illustrated in two ways:
a. First, to give some background, Levi was one of the brothers who defended his sister's honor by going into the city to find the men that defiled her and killed all the males, not just some, but ALL. Does this sound like a priest?

It is important to note that the priesthood came from Levi because first, Moses, who was a to be a great deliverer of Israel (as Christ is the ultimate deliverer) was the son of a Levite. Thus, Aaron, as his brother and first of all priests was also a Levite. In addition, even though Jacob had essentially disinherited Jacob from any land when his other sons got land, God had a different plan. In Numbers 3, God sets the Levites apart as His, to be His servants and the Lord anointed them as priests. From that point on, the Levites were to be given 10 percent from the other tribes essentially in exchange (as a redemption price) for having ALL Levite sons being dedicated to the Lord, in place of dedicating all firstborn sons from all tribes in that fashion.

b. Second, the imperfections are quite evident and don't take long to show, as the most obvious would be when Aaron agrees to have a golden calf made from jewelry of the people while Moses is still on Mt. Sinai. Thus, the FIRST opportunity Aaron has to exert authority and minister to the people, he fails! But this should ever tell us that people are fallible, no matter their position, because they are sinners!

The most striking thing about the above example is what Moses says in response to Aaron and the Israelites when arriving and finding what they have done--he states that perhaps he can make atonement for their sins. He knows the God that He serves and His majesty, holiness and justice! He is a mere man and can only beg of God's mercy as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah--at that point there is no firm approaching of God as we have in Christ! So this is why the law needed to be changed--for while our disobedience can be radical, He pours out His grace even more to overcome it!

2. Changing the Mosaic Law (vv. 12-14)
As evidenced in the above example, the law could not save the Israelites--it only served to show God's standards, their sinfulness and their inability to keep that standard. Just as they could not do this, we cannot either--their faith in some ways was tied to their obedience because they had a law that could not be satisfied within themselves. Our faith is not predicated on a maybe or perhaps, but on a firm foundation.

II. Superiority of the New Priesthood
1. Jesus' priesthood is forever, and He is our Savior to the uttermost!
Christ lived the perfect life and became priest in this manner and not because
he descended from Levites.

2. Jesus is a better hope! Jesus, being perfect in every way, living the perfect
life, and being raised on the third day is a MUCH better hope than the
Israelites had in their priests (who made their own share of mistakes).

Pastor David concluded by looking to Isaiah 11 where it talks of Christ's coming and God speaks of what His priest will do and how peace will be illustrated by a lion laying down with a lamb. This is the work of Christ and the power of His salvation: that peace will reign in the hearts of men because He has saved them and has given them a new nature and new heart. This is the awesomeness and effectiveness of His priesthood. He is not a Levite priest who wails repentant prayers of atonement annually for the people hoping that a righteous and justly wrathful God will hopefully hear his prayers, but Jesus Christ, Word made flesh, who reigns on high with the Father in the Triune Godhead who was made sin for us that we might live and ever intercedes for us before the Father. Picture it, for this is your hope and salvation! Rest in the glorious grace of Christ.

Meditating on the Promises of God

2007-08-01T21:07:00.000-04:00

After having pulled two 12-hour work days from 6AM to 6PM (I was actually on the road this morning to court by 20 minutes to 6), I'm quite tired, so blogging Pastor David's most excellent sermon from last Sunday will be up tomorrow.

In the meantime, I will turn once again to Spurgeon for something worth thinking about, this taken from my morning reading on Friday July 27th, where Spurgeon quotes 2 Peter 1:4 ("Exceeding great and precious promises"):

If you would know experimentally the preciousness of the promises, and enjoy them in your own heart, meditate much upon them. There are promises which are like grapes in the wine-press; if you will tread them the juice will flow. Thinking over the hallowed words will often be the prelude to their fulfilment. While you are musing upon them, the boon which you are seeking will insensibly come to you. Many a Christian who has thirsted for the promise has found the favour which it ensured gently distilling into his soul even while he has been considering the divine record; and he has rejoiced that ever he was led to lay the promise near his heart.

But besides meditating upon the promises, seek in thy soul to receive them as being the very words of God. Speak to thy soul thus, “If I were dealing with a man’s promise, I should carefully consider the ability and the character of the man who had covenanted with me. So with the promise of God; my eye must not be so much fixed upon the greatness of the mercy—that may stagger me; as upon the greatness of the promiser—that will cheer me. My soul, it is God, even thy God, God that cannot lie, who speaks to thee. This word of his which thou art now considering is as true as his own existence. He is a God unchangeable. He has not altered the thing which has gone out of his mouth, nor called back one single consolatory sentence. Nor doth he lack any power; it is the God that made the heavens and the earth who has spoken thus. Nor can he fail in wisdom as to the time when he will bestow the favours, for he knoweth when it is best to give and when better to withhold. Therefore, seeing that it is the word of a God so true, so immutable, so powerful, so wise, I will and must believe the promise.” If we thus meditate upon the promises, and consider the Promiser, we shall experience their sweetness, and obtain their fulfilment.

**************

Christian, I will simply say that it is quite easy for us to read the Bible as we do any other book, as I myself often do, as if it is an assignment for a grade! But how often are we exhorted to meditate on the promises, to own them and know the God that made them! Read the promises of God and pause, considering the God who has made them in his wonder and glory, crying out at the same time, "wretched sinner that I am!" Yet, wonder in His infinite grace and know that you are His, bought with the blood of Christ! If he can achieve so great a salvation, can He not provide for you in EVERY other manner?

Worry and doubt are rooted in the ignorance (meaning, lack of knowledge) of Biblical principles--and that may offend some, but it is the truth. Why do you think that several writers in the New Testament are rebuking their hearers that they should have moved on to spiritual meat instead of being stuck on spiritual milk? Many of those even in Christendom would want to see signs or experience God in some sweeping emotional way when they have the Word of God right in front of them! He has revealed Himself to us in His Word so that we may know Him and believe, and with the help of His Spirit we can grow in knowledge of Him. We are called to be a sanctified people, set apart for Him--and in this sanctification, we grow in Him.

Christian, meditate deeply on the riches of Christ and the promises of God, and pray that the Holy Spirit lead you to the assurance that only God gives!

Harry Potter, Magic and Should I Read It?

2007-07-26T06:43:00.000-04:00

There has been much controversy among Christians ever since the Harry Potter books first came out whether these books should be read. I must confess that my wife and I did not start reading them until the 6th book was coming out, because we had simply bought into the belief that they were not to be read due to the utter focus on magic and did not investigate it for ourselves.

Having just finished the 7th and final installment of the series (at 12:30 this morning!), I can honestly say from a literature standpoint, it was very well written, and the themes and plots of the series were wrapped up quite nicely (I will not say anymore since there are likely people reading that have not finished/may want to read the books!).

For those that would wish to criticize the book, I would ask them to examine their reasons from refraining. Is is because they have carefully looked at its content and in good conscience not wished their children to read it? If so, then I wholly support that conviction. However, it is often that there are those that take one look and state "it has magic in the book! It is evil! It cannot be read!" Funny, so did The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis (though there are those who do not think these novels should be read either).

My friend Joseph Bailey wrote an article recently (which I cannot find, but as soon as I do, I will link it here--I will attempt to paraphrase) about the Potter books and others like it, in that when he looks at stories or books and whether they are appropriate for a person to read as a Christian, he looks at the overall themes, such as the fight against good and evil.

In the books, evil is not glorified, and teamwork, courage, love, and trust are exemplified. Now, it is important not to make the books do more than they are made to do, since that goes beyond Ms. Rowling's intentions. This book is not to be overly trumpeted by Christianity, something for us to shove theology in every nook and cranny of the story that we can find. To do so tortures the story and goes to the opposite extreme--though I will say that the theme of redemption is prevalent.

Ms. Rowling tells a great story, the books are a great read, and I believe they can teach valuable lessons. Magic and the wizarding world only provides a backdrop for the relationships that are formed and the fight against good and evil (and that often such a fight requires sacrifice). So, in examining whether to read this or any other piece of literature yourself or to children, ask yourself what is being held up as truth in the themes and concepts of that book? What is glorified? Asking such questions can help us know whether we are living by conviction or simply rejecting something (which may have value) without thinking--Truth is in the world and God owns that Truth, wherever it may be found.

Great Memories, Part Three

2007-07-25T21:28:00.001-04:00

So I was chatting with my brother the other day about old video game systems, and we were talking about the Sonic the Hedgehog (yeah, Sonic is to the right) video game we loved to play, and it took me back to the time we bought the Sega Genesis game system we used for playing Sonic.

Flip back to when I was about 14 or 15 (or was it sooner? I can't really remember the exact year) and our family had a BIG yard sale, and sad to say, I sold some toys and other items now that I wish I had not but my brother and I were making money like crazy! I cringe now, but I sold an Atari 7800 and 40 (yes, 40!) games for about $50 Who knows what it would fetch on Ebay now?

At the end of the day, we counted our money, and do you know what? We had about $160 between the two of us! Know what we did? Well, what any self-respecting kid would have done, but march right down to the toy store (might have even been that day!) and buy a Sega Genesis video game system. We thought we were on top of the world! Now, of course, we got tired of it eventually, but I'd have to say that we felt pretty good to take our earned money and go down to the toy store and buy something so expensive! We thought we were rich!

So Who Was Melchizedek? Part One

2007-07-25T21:07:00.000-04:00

In the first of two parts, Pastor David preached on Hebrews 7:1-3:

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

Who Was Melchizedek?

1. He was a king (vv. 1-2) of peace (Salem is derived from shalom, meaning peace) and of righteousness.

2. He was a priest. Now why is this interesting?

Because the Levitical priesthood was later created by Mosaic law, and this was 400 years away! So we have a priest essentially before there was an "official" office. In addition, the Mosaic law made a VERY strict line that separated the King and the priest, making them separate offices (one need only look to Uzziah's mistake in 2 Chronicles 26 to see this illustrated).

3. He also had no genealogy.

This is also interesting because you have to realize that both for the hearers of Hebrews and those living in Old Testament times, genealogy was VERY important. Why do you think that Matthew begins with a genealogy in setting the scene for the Gospel? EVERY other Old Testament believer had a genealogy, but it was likely because he was a type.

Melchizedek Was a Type of Christ

1. Definition: a TYPE is a divinely-purposed illustration or example of the ultimate reality

2. A type POINTS or foreshadows the reality--at the end of Hebrews 6, it states that Melchizedek was a forerunner

3. When the type is considered, the reality of that type is greater appreciated--just as Melchizedek was king of peace and righteousness, Christ is the ultimate King of peace and righteousness.

How did Melchizedek act as a type of Christ?

Pastor David closed with three points to illustrate this:

1. Melchizedek was a king; Jesus is the KING OF KINGS.

2. Melchizedek was a priest; Jesus is the HIGH PRIEST.

3. Melchizedek did not have a father or mother; Jesus is THE ETERNAL AND ONLY Son of God, THE Ancient of Days, always existing, immutable, glorious.

The importance of this forerunner to Christ is the illustration of the joint office of Christ: He is both our intercessor as priest, ever our representative before the Father and King over us as our Creator! And even more, He acts as the person offering sacrifice AND having been the sacrifice! Glory in Christ as your King and High Priest!

God Made a Promise!

2007-07-25T20:34:00.000-04:00

Continuing on in Hebrews 6, Pastor David (on July 15) finished that chapter by stressing the assurance that God provides.

To introduce the topic, he quoted Romans 15:4: For whatever was written in former days (the OT) was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

And now to the passage:

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, [2] having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

God uses the Scriptures to encourage His people, and what a better example to point back to than Abraham (vv. 13-15)! We are to patiently wait for the salvation of the Lord, just as Abraham did on the mountain as he was about to sacrifice Isaac. Why is this significant?

Notice in Genesis 22 that Abraham doesn't merely think that God will provide, but KNOWS he will since Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son: Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”

Our pastor stated something, and I thought this was great: "Truth properly understood can give encouragement, and enable us to live our life." Focus on the first part of that: Truth PROPERLY understood. I can look outside and see that it's raining but if I don't have an understanding or make the connection that I will get soaked unless I wear a coat or grab an umbrella, the knowledge that it's raining will not help me.

Similarly, our faith grows by the power of the Holy Spirit helping us to understand the Word--our study of God's Word to us increases our understanding of who God is, and can follow this progression:

ASSURANCE--> PERSEVERANCE --> HOPE

Biblical instruction in the church is an instrument of God to lead to encouragement of the body of Christ. If we are strong in Scripture, we can be strong in hope.

So after describing this example, Pastor David then moves to how God brings about such assurance. God swears by His name and in doing so, He shows us two things:

1. That in swearing by His name, God gave His promise an especially solemn character.(v. 16)
I have been reading in Isaiah over the past month or so, and in the last 10 or so chapters that I have read (Ch. 40-50), I have been overwhelmed by the glory of God that is proclaimed by the LORD Himself:

Isaiah 42:8: I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.

Isaiah 43:25: I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

There are many other examples--but note on the second verse I mentioned--he blotted out our transgressions for HIS OWN SAKE. Many other examples of Scripture point to the fact that God does things for Israel and His people for His name's sake, because His holiness, righteousness, and might are not to be trifled with and if He states that a people will be redeemed, they will BE redeemed, and there is nothing that ANYONE OR ANYTHING can do to undo that promise.

2. That as a result of this, in God swearing by His name, we are to be encouraged!(vv. 17-18)

We are to hold to this strong promise of God and know that He will accomplish the work that He began in us, and will bring it to its end.

Last, Pastor David closed with a wonderful illustration that shows how God is a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (vv. 19-20):

Cargo ships coming into the bay would oftentimes have to wait for the high tide because there were often sandbars that would prevent them from coming all the way into the bay and making them unable to set anchor. However, over time, smaller boats were made to come out to the cargo ships to bring them into the harbor and help set their anchor. Similarly, Christ comes out to us, anchoring us with the Word and His Spirit as we live this life--He does so through His person and His life lived on this earth in spreading His Gospel.

Go forth and be encouraged in the certainty of salvation which has been vested in the Lord Jesus Christ and we are all beneficiaries of His work!

Playing Catch-Up

2007-07-25T07:32:00.000-04:00

I've been in the midst of reading several good books lately (Next by Michael Cricton and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling) so I haven't had much time to blog on last week's or this week's sermon and I need to post a memory or two as well--I will try to do some this evening, rest assured.

Serving in the Hindmost

2007-07-18T07:45:00.000-04:00

As usual, Spurgeon's Morning reading for today was very thought-provoking:

The camp of Dan brought up the rear when the armies of Israel were on the march. The Danites occupied the hindmost place, but what mattered the position, since they were as truly part of the host as were the foremost tribes; they followed the same fiery cloudy pillar, they ate of the same manna, drank of the same spiritual rock, and journeyed to the same inheritance. Come, my heart, cheer up, though last and least; it is thy privilege to be in the army, and to fare as they fare who lead the van. Some one must be hindmost in honour and esteem, some one must do menial work for Jesus, and why should not I? In a poor village, among an ignorant peasantry; or in a back street, among degraded sinners, I will work on, and “go hindmost with my standard.”

The Danites occupied a very useful place. Stragglers have to be picked up upon the march, and lost property has to be gathered from the field. Fiery spirits may dash forward over untrodden paths to learn fresh truth, and win more souls to Jesus; but some of a more conservative spirit may be well engaged in reminding the church of her ancient faith, and restoring her fainting sons. Every position has its duties, and the slowly moving children of God will find their peculiar state one in which they may be eminently a blessing to the whole host.

The rear guard is a place of danger. There are foes behind us as well as before us. Attacks may come from any quarter. We read that Amalek fell upon Israel, and slew some of the hindmost of them. The experienced Christian will find much work for his weapons in aiding those poor doubting, desponding, wavering, souls, who are hindmost in faith, knowledge, and joy. These must not be left unaided, and therefore be it the business of well-taught saints to bear their standards among the hindmost. My soul, do thou tenderly watch to help the hindmost this day.

Very often we as Christians look to the Apostle Paul, Peter, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, even those of our day like Graham, Piper and so on and think, "wow, I wish I could do that or speak in that way!" But Spurgeon points something out here--there must be a rear guard, a servant among the lowly masses. Can Piper serve the neighbor across the street who has no family and doesn't know what love is? Sure, he can send him or her a book, but can he serve that person in the personal way YOU can? As Christians, we are all called to serve the Lord and in different ways. However, we oftentimes think if we cannot serve him in such great ways as a Piper or Graham in preaching to multitudes, we often think there is nothing to be done. But there is!

Note what Spurgeon says: Fiery spirits may dash forward over untrodden paths to learn fresh truth, and win more souls to Jesus; but some of a more conservative spirit may be well engaged in reminding the church of her ancient faith, and restoring her fainting sons. Every position has its duties, and the slowly moving children of God will find their peculiar state one in which they may be eminently a blessing to the whole host.

We may not be the "fiery spirits" but we may be involved in restoration and healing--and he notes too that the rear is a dangerous place, since dark forces will try to attack from the rear and lowly places. Do you think that Satan uses all his forces on a church with 10,000 members? I would say close to 90% of the churches in the country have less than 1,000 members and these have no notable Piper or Dever at the helm, and these are churches he would attack, creating factions and divisions. Pastors who have no help from their members in serving the church are doomed to become overworked and neglect their flock, if not becoming burned out and leaving that church (and maybe even the ministry). We must be on our guard, wherever we are called to serve, and bear the standard where we are, serving our Lord in grace and truth. As Spurgeon states, we should glory in the fact that we have the privilege of being in the army in the first place by God's saving grace.

Father help us to be content wherever we are called to serve, be it in the front, middle, or hindmost and proclaim your Gospel by what we do!

Hindu Prayers in the Halls of Congress

2007-07-12T22:21:00.001-04:00

Everyday in the halls of Congress, in the Senate especially, a prayer is given before the start of each day's session. Today, "history" was made because the first Hindu prayer was given by Rajan Zed, who is an interfaith director at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nevada. He was invited by Senator Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

Some protesters made quite a ruckus in the gallery while the prayer was made, and Harry Reid, a Mormon, defended his choice to invite Zed by saying these two things (go here for the story):

"If people have any misunderstanding about Indians and Hindus," Reid said, "all they have to do is think of Gandhi," a man "who gave his life for peace."

Which of course makes all Indians and Hindus ever peaceful, right? Let's forget about violence between Hindus and Muslims or violence of Hindus against Christians, right?

"I think it speaks well of our country that someone representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can speak in communication with our heavenly Father regarding peace."

Now, as Frank Turk correctly comments, "Here we have a Mormon defending a Hindu as if either of them believes in the same god."

Here, a Mormon who believes in a monotheistic God (though that view is warped and false) defends the prayer of a pantheistic Hindu, who prays to an abstract "Deity Supreme," as if they're playing on the same team? Does anything in that prayer even suggest that the Hindu was praying to "our heavenly Father"?

But the best part of the article? The quote by the director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, in response to the protesters, saying it "shows the intolerance of many religious right activists. They say they want more religion in the public square, but it's clear they mean only their religion."

(I'm convinced that the AP has that guy on their speed dial for these stories, because he always seems to be quoted in such religious "equality" or tolerance situations.)

As a lawyer, I understand the idea of religious freedom and free speech--but the real problem going on here is the muddling of the truth. It's not a matter of tolerance but intolerance.

We are told to accept other faiths into the public square while being told to throw away any ideas of there being only one way to heaven which is through Christ. God and Allah are not the same, and neither are God and the Supreme Deity that the Hindu spoke of the same.

Hit Me! (Or, Great Memories, Part Two)

2007-07-12T21:36:00.000-04:00

I had thought with these posts that they might go in chronological order, but I dispensed with that when I was watching ESPN this evening--I was watching something about a poker tournament, and that got me thinking about playing cards, etc. and it brought back a great memory.

When I was a kid, one of the greatest things about going to public schools was the opportunity to go on field trips. You couldn't get your permission slip signed fast enough! You found out what day you were going and counted down the days because you knew it would mean a) no schoolwork for that day and b) a chance to get outside the school building. Yeah, you'd learn something too, but who thinks about that?

The story on the game of poker reminded me of a particular field trip that I took when I was in 4th grade. There was an air show that was being held at the Bluegrass Regional Airport (that was then, this is now), and they had planes from World War I and World War II, as well as other types of commercial airplanes. In addition, there were Air Force and Navy airmen, both veteran and current, that were there to answer questions about the planes. I thought planes were the coolest thing--I had a poster of the Blue Angels on my wall, along with posters of F-14 Tomcat planes.

They had a lot of events going on, and for some reason, there were airmen playing cards with passers-by and giving out prizes, one of them being a set of playing cards. The game my friends and I played with an Air Force lieutenant was Blackjack. I can't remember how many times I played, but I remember that I did win at least once and came away with a pack of playing cards that had different airplanes on each card with facts about each plane (yeah, Blackjack is mostly luck and knowing when to press yours, but winning is winning, to a kid).

It was the coolest thing in the world to win a prize, but to win against a grown-up? THAT was priceless, and I got to tell that story to my friends for a while ("Remember the time I beat that Air Force guy at Blackjack? Here's the deck to prove it"). I think if I looked around long enough at my parents' house, I might find that pack of cards.

But really, the great thing was not the cards: it was having a field trip in prime of Spring, being freed from the confining walls of a school building to go look at cool planes (what boy doesn't like planes?) and beat an adult at Blackjack.

What a day indeed.

Inheriting the Promises of God

2007-07-11T21:31:00.000-04:00

Pastor David explored verses 9-12 of Hebrews 6 (which you can read in last week's post), and began the sermon by using a diagram. At one end of the spectrum, there are Principle/Truth/God-focused people and at the other, there are People/Love/People-focused people.

John 17:17 shows the commitment of the Principle folks: Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 1 John 4:8 shows the passion of those who are people-oriented: Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

But with any spectrum and in dealing with extremes, there must be balance. 1 Corinthians 13, a chapter that speaks on love and speaks that love is patient and endures all things, states in verse 6 that at the same time, "it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth."

This relates to Hebrews 6 in that the inheritance of the promise and the assurance of that promise is gained by the service to the saints (here on Earth) that is a part of our sanctification.

Pastor David made the point first that God's Word is not divided--the same God that passed judgment on the many different nations that persecuted Israel (as well as Israel itself) is the same God that became a man and walked the earth, dying for our sins. God is both Love and Truth. We are called to balance both.

If we are too principle-driven (I don't want to say too God-focused, that doesn't come out right!), we can be wanting in how we love people. I can throw right theology in the face of an unbelieving person who just lost a loved one and while I would be correct, would I be showing him or her love? Truth and Love should be a marriage of concepts, not something divorced from the other, hence the idea of speaking the truth in love. Our speech has the power to heal but also to very quickly and just as easily hurt.

On the other hand, if we are too people-oriented, we can compromise truth to continue pleasing people. To maintain relationships, we rationalize or we bend things so that the people we are trying to please will still remain with us. We need only look to Jesus to refute that--He showed the greatest love through giving His life and in His teaching and His miracles, but not once did He change His methods or His message. He did not tell people what they wanted to hear to appease them--he told them hard truths and some people stopped listening (see John 6), and he said that His Gospel would turn relatives against one another (see Matt. 10) Truth has a place; love has a place. We must show both.

Pastor David then gave his theme: "Assurance of salvation is an intimate, intertwined relationship between the faithfulness of God and the work and love of believers."

Many Protestants may bristle when they see a relation between assurance and works, since we know that anything that we would do does not bring about our justification--but it does assist in having an assurance of that saving work. God through his free grace declares us righteous in calling us to salvation by justifying us, but it does not stop there. The natural outflow of that calling is a prompting to respond not only by accepting the Gospel but to bear fruit! This is what the writer-preacher of Hebrews is talking about when he mentions that the Lord will not overlook the "work" that the hearers have done in serving the saints--the preacher knows that they would not do such works of love for their fellow believers (and non-believers) unless they truly loved the Lord.

This is why the author of Hebrews encourages them to show an earnestness in service to others because it demonstrates not only the love that we were shown through salvation but trusting in God and who He is. We are to imitate those of the faith that have come before us and who have inherited the promises.

Think of it as being laborers in a great company, going down the hall and seeing Noah, Moses, David, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and other Christians through the generations. But it's not just their responsibility to work in the company--we are all called to be a part of it in the body of Christ. As they labored, so are we called to labor--and in that labor we take hold of an assurance of our faith--that the outflow of our faith is the production of fruit which is glorifying to the Father.

Imitate the heroes of the faith today!

Great Memories, Part One

2007-07-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

It would be very easy for me to continue to complain about my job situation or other personal problems, but instead, I'm going to take an opportunity on this blog to recount some great memories and times I've had. I don't really know what form or structure these will take, or even if they will be ranked in a certain way, though I think I'll try to go chronologically.

When I sat down and thought about it, I tried to think of the first thing I could remember. It's interesting, but when I think of my childhood pictures, much of it I don't actually remember but the pictures do bring back a glimpse of the memory. I grew up in Versailles, KY, a small town in one of the richest counties in the state (due to horse farms and the tobacco crop) outside of Lexington, KY.

We had lived at three different addresses by the time I was five, and at that third address, my first memory that I can remember was my first real bike. It was red and yellow, with a guard over the chain, big pedals, and of course, training wheels while I was learning to ride it. I rode that bike during the summer as much as I was allowed, and I remember when I asked my dad to take the training wheels off and he helped me learn how to balance. Yeah, I fell--a BUNCH (I'm convinced this is when my accident prone nature began to rear its ugly head)! Once I learned how to ride, I rode everywhere! Wind in your face, going down the hill (of course, way too fast but it was fun!), and riding until your legs are too tired to move!

It wasn't the best bike or even the most expensive, but it was my bike. And I thought it was the best thing in the world.

This Fourth

2007-07-04T18:38:00.000-04:00

There's much to be thankful for, in living in a country where we can speak freely and worship freely--but there is a lesson that American Christians should take from the Roman Empire. The very same empire in which the Pax Romana allowed for the spread of the Gospel was the same empire which persecuted and martyred people of the faith. The growing intolerance of the Truth and growing call for "tolerance" for us to "just get along," meaning that the other faiths say: you must validate my faith and yet minimalize your own.

So enjoy and cherish your freedoms America--we are a young country at just over 210 years old. Worship the Lord in His splendor this Sunday, enjoying your freedom to do so without persecution. At the same time, pray for the persecuted church, that they would persevere in the faith despite their sufferings and that they would not denounce Christ, but be a witness to His grace.

And thank former and current service men and women especially for their service in keeping those freedoms in tact. Sometimes in our age of nonstop news, TV, work, etc, it's quite easy to forget that.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not?

2007-07-04T12:47:00.001-04:00

When Christians talk about the love of God, most will agree that he is very loving to His children--however, there are dear brothers and sisters in Christ that, when reading Hebrews 6, Christians can fall so far as to fall out of the love of God and out of His saving grace.

Our Wesleyan/Arminian brethren would read Hebrews 6 as stating that one who is in the faith can in fact lose their salvation. A simple illustration of humor might sum it up best:

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. Like plucking the daisy here, so goes our faith and our standing in Christ (and the differing viewpoints between Arminians and Reformed folks on justification and sanctification has much to bear on this discussion but I will not expand it here--I have written on it before). Some might laugh this off, but in reality it is no laughing matter--this viewpoint may paralyze Christians from realizing assurance of faith in this life. So you have to ask yourself: does God provide a permanent and lasting salvation which is not able to be lost, and is guaranteed? Or can one truly come to Christ and then wholly lose that salvation?

Pastor David explored the first 12 verses of Hebrews 6, which are as follows:

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, [1] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Now, there's a lot in there, and a lot which can be taken to mean different things if it is not read together and in context. Pastor David made a great point in focusing on the pronouns of verses 1-3 and then 4-8. Notice this! It's quite important as to the audience who he is speaking to, and the group he is speaking of--in verse 1 and 3, he says, "let us leave the elementary doctrine..." then verse 3, "and this we will do..." What does he do in verse 4 when speaking of the impossibility of coming back to the faith and the group that is falling away? He says those who have been enlightened, have tasted, etc. He's not talking about his audience, but another group of people. This is evidenced by his switch in verse 9 back to "in your case..."--the writer-preacher knows he is not speaking about them, he expects better for them, "things which belong to salvation."

Now, either he's talking out of two sides of his mouth and trying very hard to confuse his listeners, or he's warning his audience of another group.

Pastor David then made some observations about the writer's discussion of the group that had fallen away: the enlightenment that the writer spoke of could be the common grace that they had experienced being among Christians or even a common grace that is allowed by God on the earth. The word "enlighten" is the same word used in John 1:9-10 in describing Jesus being the light that came into the world and yet did not know him. The writer goes on to say that these people tasted in the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit, which Pastor David indicated could very well be allusions to their participation in Communion and even baptism. Further, they may have sat under the preaching of the Word, tasting the goodness of it.

What do we take from all of this? If we conclude that the writer is speaking of one group of people, who are faithful on one side yet able to take in all the benefits and yet fall, then we would all need to be a bit more worried about our salvation than we are. But other texts argue against that:

John 10:28-29: I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

There is definite purpose in what Jesus said, in that there is nothing that can happen which would snatch us out of the Father's hand, let alone us ourselves! Romans 8:38-40 has Paul exclaiming that there is NO POWER or anything else in all creation which can separate us from the love of God!

Pastor David concluded by saying that this passage is ultimately an encouragement to those who are true believers in Christ and yet it is a warning to anyone who would want to "play church" or trifle with such spiritual matters. Jesus is not something you "try" or be apart of like you would the rotary club--this is spiritual life or death. Today is the day of salvation and do not delay, or you may be spoke of in this way:

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. (John 2:19)

God through His Son Christ will lose NONE in the end, and there is nothing, for those who truly believe, that will change that fact, even our own will. Would so great a God provide so amazing a grace that He would save us from drowning only to allow us to jump back in the water and drown ourselves? Some would say yes because God is so loving that he would allow us the choice to turn our backs on Him and do just that. But that's a whole other post.